For many, when they think of Greek life they have negative connotations and believe the stereotypes that are portrayed in the movies. As someone who is currently in Greek life I’m not going to sit here and give you the whole “we do so much more than party and we actually do stuff for the community” speech. However, this month an Alabama Alpha Phi was expelled from school and got her membership to the sorority revoked.
My one friend who is in Greek life at a different school sent me the tweet that went viral about this woman. I was shocked when I saw the tweet and watched the videos of her using such vulgar language and using racial slurs. As an Alpha Phi member, I was mortified watching them because she doesn’t just represent herself, she represents her chapter at Alabama and all Alpha Phis across the world.
Harley Barber, the Alpha Phi who got expelled was only 19 years old. In my opinion, she threw her entire future away practically for being ignorant. Something like this will never go away because for one, it’s on the internet, and two, it’s all over the news, so when she’s getting a background check for any job in the future all you have to do is type her name into Google or any search engine and that story will come up.
For a little background for those of you who don’t know what happened, in the first video she is in a bathroom and states, “We do not waste water . . . because of the poor people in Syria.” A few days later she posted another video on her Finsta threatening the people who wanted to report her to Alabama Alpha Phi for the use of her racial slurs. She then goes on to say, “I don’t care that it’s Martin Luther King Day” and the proceeds to follow up with using the same racial slur about a dozen more times.
Usually, most parents might have the “my kid would never do something like this or should get such a harsh punishment” mindset. However, Barber’s mom is the exact opposite and thinks that she deserves the punishment that she was given. In addition, she made the statement, “This is not a reflection of how she was raised. She’s just degrading herself and it breaks my heart.” I didn’t even think of what the parents and the rest of Barber’s family are probably going through and the backlash they must be receiving. I actually applaud her mom for not standing by and defending her daughter, but rather going about this in a way where she’s defending herself a little.
These remarks are ignorant and disturbing and in no way reflect the values of The University of Alabama. This unfortunate behavior has been reported to the Office of Student Conduct as it does not align with the community expectations of students at the Capstone.
— The Univ. of Alabama (@UofAlabama) January 16, 2018
For those of you who are reading this and aren’t involved in Greek life or even considering going Greek at some point in your college year, please consider something. While Barber’s ignorance might overshadow all the good things that Alpha Phi does, try to not let it make you think that all Alpha Phi’s are like this. I promise you, I have found my best friends due to this organization and can promise that Barber does not live out our values that our 10 founders have set for us.