SISTER PROFILE
At the Head of the Table A
fter serving as Chapter President in 2019, Simone Brooks, Lambda Delta–Rutgers University, was excited to continue her Greek service as part of the institution’s Panhellenic recruitment team. Her team’s intentionality and hard work paid off, leading to Rutgers’ largest formal recruitment with more than 600 potential new members. However, their success also revealed a significant flaw in the university’s Greek system— not one of the 600 women who had signed up for recruitment identified as a Black woman. place I could find sisterhood was in an NPHC "Divine 9" sorority." Still, Simone wanted to be part of something bigger, and at the time she went through recruitment, there were no active NPHC sororities on campus.
Simone Brooks (she/her)
“It was an interesting position to be in. One minute we were celebrating and the next we were questioning all the work we had done,” Simone said. Simone is familiar with the reasons that might prevent women of color from joining a sorority, having once also felt sorority life was not for her. Simone shared her experience as a Black woman in a predominantly white organization in an address entitled “A Seat at the Table: It’s Not Black and White Anymore” at the National Panhellenic Council’s College Panhellenic Academy meeting this past January. “I was most nervous about joining Greek Life because I had no idea what to expect, except from what I saw in the media. When I looked at chapters' social media and websites, I felt like I didn't see anyone that looked like me,” Simone said. “Additionally, I felt like the only 18 Alpha Gamma Delta Quarterly
"In some ways, joining an NPC group as Black woman almost felt like turning my back on my own identity. For some reason, it just felt like being in an NPC chapter would mean hiding my Blackness as much as possible," she said. "Obviously, years later, I know the exact opposite to be true. But I do know that the hesitancies and concerns that women have about joining a chapter are additionally layered when you are a Black woman.” To address the inequities in Greek Life at Rutgers, Simone mentioned in passing that she should start a coalition, an alliance dedicated to helping members of color envision themselves as a part of the Panhellenic experience. Her Panhellenic advisor, who happened to be Amy Vojta, Alpha Kappa–Bowling Green State University, encouraged her to pursue the idea. Through the Coalition for Women of Color, Simone and Rutgers University Panhellenic are celebrating diversity and uniting women of color and their allies in a shared mission of equity and representation in Greek Life. The CWC—which kicked off last spring— began at both a challenging and opportune moment in our national and global history. The organization’s purpose and resolve were
strengthened after George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis last May and the protests that followed it. “We seized the moment and CWC became not only a space for BIPOC members, but also a space for white counterparts to just listen— and to do so intentionally,” Simone said. The CWC became a necessary outlet for talking about injustice and a space for those seeking ways to stay connected while forced apart due to the pandemic. While CWC has been unable to have an in-person meeting, the organization has successfully mobilized students through virtual events and online social media platforms. The CWC Instagram page regularly publishes profiles that highlight members of color within Rutgers Greek Life and offers resources for helping Panhellenic members become better allies. Though it has been challenging to start an organization and keep momentum during Rutgers’s continued campus closure, Simone and the CWC remain energized by the positive response from the Greek community and focused on the CWC’s mission. “The CWC has been the bridge to help Panhellenic members who want to be a part of the conversation outside of our community and who are ready to do the work within to address diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Simone said. Now a Rutgers alumna, Simone has taken her activism from the local to the international level as a member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee for the Fraternity’s
