Uni of Alabama all-white sororities win right to remain racist after rejecting two applicants for being black

27 student senators block bill from reaching public vote, just 5 in favour

Resolution called for 'complete integration of Greek letter fraternities'

Uproar over ruling more than half century after first black student admitted

Racism has been condoned at the University of Alabama as all-white sororities win their fight to ban black students from applying.

A group of 27 student senators blocked a bill to fully integrate fraternities at the establishment from reaching a public vote, with just five in favour, and two abstentions.

It has sparked outrage as critics blast the 'backwards' state of student societies more than half a century after the university first granted black students entry.

Uproar: Student senators at the University of Alabama have been blasted for voting 27 to five, with two abstentions, against racial integration within fraternities

The conflict emerged after the student newspaper Crimson White published an article last year reporting all-white groups had accepted two black applicants.

The paper reported that Pan-hellenic society members blamed their alumni for 'stepping in' despite their attempts to back the student's application.



Since 1963, only one black student had been permitted entry into the Greek system, so-called because each 'frat' is named after a letter of the Greek alphabet.

Another mixed race student was granted a place, but it is claimed they did not reveal their race until they had been accepted.

Tabling a motion to integrate students in sororities last September, university president Judy Bonner said: 'I am confident that we will achieve our objective of a Greek system that is inclusive, accessible and welcoming to students of all races and ethnicities.

'We will not tolerate anything less.'

Her words came after hundreds of students turned out for a protest on the 50th anniversary of black students being admitted to the establishment, calling for change.

The resolution was intended to wipe clean the university's reputation for segregation more than half a century after the first black students were admitted

And in an initial bid to encourage diversity, Ms Bonner ruled that sororities could be bigger, and accept students at any time of year, as opposed to the previously strict admissions process.



However, Friday's ruling has caused a major set-back in the fight to stamp out racism.

The resolution had proposed 'the complete integration of all Greek letter fraternities and sororities at the University of Alabama, with respect to social diversity among its membership'.

Though it would not have had the power to change the Greek system's policy, the amendment was billed as a statement that the student body supports integration.

It was also an attempt to clean the university's 'stigmatisation' in the media over the saga.



Last year, students held a rally fighting for integration that sparked a resolution to be tabled last week, but it failed to pass

But the measure will now have to be re-written and re-tabled next year if it is to pass.



Speaking after the debate, Katie Smith, lead sponsor of the resolution, told the Crimson White: 'I think that this reflects our SGA poorly but also accurately. I am not surprised. I don't believe that I put anyone in a catch-22. They chose to vote on it and they chose to vote it down.'



Chisholm Allenlundy, an Alabama student who co-sponsored the measure, told the paper: 'I think ultimately the reason that it failed to pass was it gave the impression, I think maybe, that – to a lot of the senators – that maybe we were attempting to disparage the Greek community, you know, which wasn't the case.

