Popular Posts: the Gentlemen of Quality brotherhood

The Knox Student: Knox College
 Wednesday


Popular Posts: the Gentlemen of Quality brotherhood

BYLINE: Eden Sarkisian


This discourse column is about the Gentlemen of Quality brotherhood,
commonly referred to as GQ. A fraternity of self-identified Gentlemen,
made up mostly of men of color, GQ was founded in 2007 and is unique
to Knox. This fraternity uses the Greek letters AGA. A Gentleman,
Always.

Alpha Gamma Alpha is an all-Armenian sorority, founded in 2002.
Registered with the U.S. Government as a philanthropic organization,
AGA members have been doing incredible things for the advancement of
their community and nation as a whole.

Considering the fact that GQ is a registered fraternity at Knox
College, its executive board must know how Greek systems operate. The
executive board must know that Greek letters, given to each
organization, are not arbitrary. They are one of a kind. And a simple
Google search of any assortment of Greek letters alongside the terms
"sorority" or "fraternity" links all existing and discontinued Greek
organizations with mentioned letters.

So why would GQ use the already active letters AGA? I can only think
of two possibilities.

I) GQ has not done research on the letters they are using and the toes
they have been stepping on since 2007. This option seems highly
unlikely since some GQ members know of the existence of the Armenian
sorority AGA. Which leads us to the second option.

II) GQ as an organization and Knox as an institution are okay with the
preventable exploitation of women of color who work hard to maintain
their sorority and sisterhood, Alpha Gamma Alpha.

As an Armenian woman it hurts me immensely to see the erasure and
exploitation of Armenian femme culture, history and advancement by the
hands of men of color. It is saddening to see that the same people who
are supposed to be rooting for us on the sidelines of our marathon are
putting out their legs and tripping our runners.

My hope is that this column encourages GQ to reevaluate their values
and their symbols as a fraternity. However, I especially put this
responsibility and request on the shoulders of the brown men of GQ.
Please, stand by your brown sisters and siblings.

Eden Sarkisian
Tags: AGAfraternityGQgreek lifesorority