AKA Rushee Reports Harassment, Bullying

By Debra Renee Seth

Opal Dyson (Kathleen Brown)The historically black fraternities and sororities that make up the National Pan-Hellenic Council were established by their founders as a means to promote academic achievement, community involvement, leadership, equality and unity among black college students.

But according to honor student Opal Dyson and students from schools all over North and South Carolina, certain members of one NPHC sorority on Winthrop’s campus seem to have forgotten those core principles. Dyson is a junior social science major with an outstanding record of achievement.

The McNair scholar has a 3.65 cumulative grade point average, has been on the Dean’s List every year since her freshman year and is actively involved in the Winthrop chapter of NAACP and other organizations.

Despite her many achievements, she said that she was not only rejected membership into the Mu Xi chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., but also publicly humiliated, defamed and bullied by certain members of the organization. She has filed a formal complaint with Campus Police and university officials.

A shattered dream
Dyson recalls her initial interest in becoming a member of the sorority.

“Since my freshman year, my cousin encouraged me to pursue Alpha Kappa Alpha. This semester, I knew rush was coming up and decided to apply. I dedicated my time, education and money to perfecting an application to an organization that is supposed to be about serving the community, professionalism and high standards, only to be rejected for an extraneous reason,” she said.

Dyson said she never got a firm explanation for why she was rejected. Puzzled, she said she decided to call graduate adviser Betty Gathings to inquire about her rejection and said Gathings told her there was nothing wrong with her application, but “the decision had been made not to offer membership.”

“I was upset for about a week, but then got accepted into the McNair Scholars program (a program designed to help outstanding minority students) and decided to let it go. Then, I started getting calls from other influential people on campus saying they got rejected too, and I just think it’s sad for high-achieving young women to be rejected and offered no real explanation,” Dyson said.

Stanley Jackson, Winthrop’s program director for fraternity and sorority affairs, commented on the criteria for membership into Greek organizations on campus, but noted that criteria for each group are different.

“All of the guidelines are different for each organization, but the basics are typically a 2.5 grade point average. That doesn’t mean everyone has to have a 2.5; it just means that overall it averages out to a 2.5, and then 12 credit hours,” Jackson said.

Still hurt by the decision, Dyson pushed forward and began to focus on her other endeavors, including getting ready for the NAACP-sponsored “Swaggajacked” performance in which she was selected to impersonate famed rapper Nicki Minaj.

For the performance, Dyson changed her appearance to mirror Minaj, who is known for wearing bright hairstyles. While some loved the look, others seemed confused by her choice. Dyson defended her decision.

“You may think I’m obsessed over Nicki Minaj, but I just happen to be a fan of hers. My hair is like this in preparation for ‘Swaggajacked’ — a charity event,” Dyson said. “We had to do photo shoots so we could advertise before and after spring break.”

Alleged degradation and bullying
Regardless of her reasoning, her resemblance to the rapper was so striking some began to call her Nicki Minaj, Nicki and Opal Minaj. As a fan of the artist, Dyson embraced the nicknames and tried to go on with her life.

But on Thursday, April 8, during the AKA’s unannounced new member presentation in Tillman Hall, Dyson said she was publicly humiliated when former friend and member of the spring 2010 line, Chondra Crosby, gave her speech.

“I knew Chondra since freshman year and I’ve never had a problem with her,” Dyson said.

“I stood up and was cheering for her when she first revealed herself, but at the end of the speech, she said loudly, ‘That’s why Nicki Minaj will never wear my pink and green,’ and I was like, ‘What? Did you just hear that?’ She was talking about me!”

Pink and green are the signature colors of the AKA sorority.

At that point, Dyson said the crowd of hundreds of students instantly reacted. Some cheered. Others sighed. And many turned to look at her for her response. She wasn’t sure how to react, but remembers feeling very embarrassed and humiliated.

“I wanted to cry,” Dyson said, “but I didn’t.”

If Dyson’s allegations are true, Crosby and others may have violated sorority guidelines. According to the AKA official Web site, membership into the sorority “will not be extended to an individual who knowingly participates in activities which are demeaning, degrading, demoralizing, and unkind.”

The site also informs prospective members that if they participate in activities other than those outlined in our MIP (Membership Intake Processes), they are in violation of the sorority’s policies, and their behavior will not be tolerated.

Dyson said she thinks the comments were directed toward her.

“I applied. I got rejected and I just happen to be impersonating this certain rapper. I have every reason to believe it was about me. That’s public humiliation. That’s defamation of my character,” she said.

Gathings said she was unaware of any controversy surrounding the April 8
presentation.

“I was there at the presentation,” she said, “but I haven’t heard of any controversy that occurred.” Dyson said she tried to make sense of what she’d just experienced. She immediately felt Crosby’s comment was directed squarely at her.

Fighting back tears, Dyson decided to ask Crosby for an explanation.

“Right after we were outside of the auditorium and I approached her and said, ‘Were you talking about me?’ All she could say, while she ran her fingers through my hair, is ‘Opal this is not you.’ She never answered my question. I said, ‘What do you mean? You know I’m impersonating Nicki Minaj for ‘Swaggajacked’,’ and all she could say is ‘Opal this is not you’,” Dyson said.

Crosby initially agreed to an interview with The Johnsonian when reached by phone. But in a later e-mail, she declined to comment.

After the event, Dyson said the situation took a turn for the worst.

On her walk back to the Courtyard, Dyson said a white car with an AKA license plate pulled up beside her.

“The car, which looked to have three to four passengers, then made a right and stopped on the train tracks near Courtyard,” she said. “The vehicle then turned into Courtyard, reversed and drove back over the tracks toward me, reversed again and drove off toward University Place Apartments.”

Dyson said she spoke with Campus Police regarding this and other incidents with members of the sorority. She also told police that while attending an AKA rush event at The Shack in February, she and others were asked to stand outside, according to her statements issued to Campus Police on April 11.

While standing outside, she was asked “why she was even there, and was asked to leave repeatedly by members of Alpha Kappa Alpha,” police said.

“They are trying to intimidate, bully and harass me,” Dyson said.

News Travels
Dyson said she was the subject of comments on Facebook and Twitter that night and the following day.

Winthrop alumni and members of other sororities and fraternities contacted Dyson, she said.

“The situation was getting big,” she said. “That night, my phone and text messages were blowing up. I thought I was gonna be the laughing stock on campus. Everyone knew who they were talking about, and I am grateful for those people who actually stood up for me.”

Jackson said Greek life is aware of the situation and is “looking into it,” but Dyson said there is still a lot more to be revealed.

She said some people have accused her of trying to shut down AKA’s line, but that’s not true.

“I’m not a snitch,” she said. “I don’t hate on people because I have my own life and my own accomplishments. I did not one time ever call nationals or regionals, but at this moment I don’t care about joining a Greek organization,” Dyson said.

The bigger picture
Dyson’s allegations bring to light a bigger issue that may possibly exist not only in Mu Xi, but within historically black fraternities and sororities nationwide: a loss of focus on their founders’ principles.

Former Winthrop NAACP president Joi Coaxum thinks this situation is indicative of the worn state of relations among blacks.

“When you see the black community — whether it’s a Greek organization or any other — it reminds me of perpetuating the slave master’s dream. It’s similar to William Lynch’s theory on how to break the slaves: putting two colors or genders against each other,” Coaxum said.

She said she has advice for all Greek organizations.

“Even if I have imperfections and you don’t want me to be in your organization, I can respect that, but my thing is there is a more mature and professional way to handle things,” Coaxum said. “You don’t torment people. You don’t harass people and you don’t degrade. You enlighten them and teach them how to be better. That is what you’re supposed to do.”

She also cautioned individuals not to focus solely on this particular incident.

“It’s not just Opal and the Mu Xi chapter,” she said. “It’s all over campus. This situation reflects how we feel about each other in the black community. We no longer empower each other. There’s too much competition. Sadly enough, the strongest point I feel where blacks were really unified and actually had the community strength was during the Jim Crow era.”

What happens next?
Coaxum said students should get involved in organizations while striving to maintain their individuality.

“The main reason we come to college is so we can learn how to become an individual. There’s a lack of individual thought and independent thinking,” she said. “With maturity your thinking is supposed to be mature, and with a lot of these organizations the ability to think independently seems to be lacking. That scares me. I don’t see how you can be a leader in anything if you don’t have individuality. Who are you?”

Dyson, who is scheduled to perform again on April 16, said she is determined not to let this situation break her.

“There’s nothing wrong with me and there’s nothing wrong with my hair,” Dyson said. “I just happen to be a unique and dominant individual who is not going to be manipulated by a Greek organization to limit myself or censor myself in order to please others.”

She smiled confidently and said, “On Friday, I’m gonna go all out, and if anyone tries to heckle me, I will stop that music and I will start over. I pray that things go well.”

The ‘SwaggaJacked’ event is Friday in Tillman Hall. All proceeds go directly to Safe Haven Men’s Shelter. With a canned good, tickets will be $2 or $3.

Online update to this story: Brittany Williams of AKA posted a press release on behalf of the sorority on the daily student announcements. The press release said that any comment about Nicki Minaj during the April 8 presentation was simply about the rapper, not any student or faculty. "We sincerely apologize for any way this statement could have been taken out of context or misperceived," the press release said.

The Johnsonian did have a link to AKA's press release but the release is no longer online.