Silver Pond

The University of Mississippi has long been known for its incredible Greek life but the school’s history with Black Greek Life has been less than simple. In 1930, the National Pan-Hellenic Council was formed at Howard University to unite all historically Black Greek organizations and has been thriving on college campuses across the U.S. ever since. Omega Psi Phi became the first of the “Divine Nine” National Pan-Hellenic Council Greek organizations to establish a chapter at the University of Mississippi in 1973. Since then, six different historically Black fraternities and sororities have found community at the University of Mississippi.[1] Despite having an undeniable importance on campus, there is a lack of physical representation and space that is painfully tangible among NPHC students. The lack of Greek Houses is the clearest way in which NPHC fraternities and sororities have been excluded from on-campus culture. It started in the summer of 1988, when members of the NPHC fraternity Phi Beta Sigma had to halt their plans to move into their new house on Fraternity Row after it was burned to the ground by a still unidentified arsonist.[2]

In a similar but less violent incident, another attempt to house NPHC students on campus ended in failure. When the Residential College was built in 2007, the faculty houses that once stood in the parking lot next to “Silver Pond” on Sorority Row were demolished. For a short time, these houses had been home to three different National Pan-Hellenic Council sorority chapters: Alpha Kappa Alpha, Zeta Phi Beta, and Delta Sigma Theta. This had been the first time that historically Black sororities had housing on the University of Mississippi campus; however, the situation was less than ideal. Some did not think the houses were up to par, especially compared to the kind of housing they were surrounded by. According to Assistant Provost and Associate Professor of Mathematics Donald R. Cole, these dwellings resembled “slum houses” in the middle of a street full of gigantic and extravagant sorority houses.[3]

The houses were still houses, though, and NPHC students who lived in them felt like they were finally able to claim a space on campus to call their own. It seemed like things were changing for Black Greek students on campus, but it didn’t last long. As soon as the Residential College was built, the three sororities were booted off campus once again, leaving no trace. Once again, Sorority Row was made homogenous, devoid of any semblance of the National Pan-Hellenic Council. This absence leaves a scar on the Black student community and always has. Candace Bolden, current President of the National Pan-Hellenic Council at the University of Mississippi, feels that even though she was not a member at the time these houses were destroyed, she has had to deal with the fallout of this incident. She said, “It was a big slap in the face for Black students who did attempt to create a space for themselves, especially in the sense that other members in the Greek community had their own spaces and the opportunity to grow their housing without worries of someone destroying them or burning them down or discrediting them based on how they look.”

It’s no secret that Greek life dominates the University of Mississippi;–over forty percent of students here are involved in a sorority or fraternity–but members of Black Greek life face challenges that other students simply do not. The exclusion of these students, both in the physical representation of the campus and the ideological representation, creates a rift between the members and their University. These groups don’t have any set meeting place that can accommodate their numbers and they don’t have on-campus housing. For many, it feels like there isn’t a space for them on campus and the University’s actions in 2007 solidified the fact that administration simply disregard Black Greek life when making decisions. On the other hand, historically Black sororities and fraternities continue to impact the Oxford-University community through cultural events, fundraising, volunteer work, and educational forums. Their proud history on campus and in the city of Oxford shapes these students’ experience at the University of Mississippi. 

This entry was written by Reagan Whittington

1. "About National Pan-Hellenic Council." The University of Mississippi. accessed October 15, 2020. https://nphc.olemiss.edu/about/.
2. Richmond, Mckenzie. "NPHC Greek Houses Absent on Fraternity and Sorority Row." The Daily Mississippian. October 11, 2018. https://thedmonline.com/Black-fraternity-houses/.
3. Richmond, McKenzie. “NPHC Sorority Houses Still Absent on Campus After 2007 Displacement.” The Daily Mississippian. November 6, 2018. https://thedmonline.com/nphc-sorority-houses/.