"If you go to any Black college campus, [Black frats] are always the most visible organization on the campus because they're in uniform. What other group is walking around wearing the same colors and doing everything the same way? That's why they're powerful, even though they only make up, like, 10 percent of the student population," Spike Lee, director of School Daze, a movie partially about Black frats, told the Village Voice recently.

Harvard technically has no fraternities, but Black frats maintain a visible presence on campus, particularly during second semester, the traditional pledging period. This year 15 Harvard undergraduates went through the rigorous process and became members of Boston-area Black fraternities and sororities.

While pledging the Cambridge chapters of several of the four national Black fraternities and sororities, these students undergraduates joined undergraduates from Tufts and MIT in a process that is known as being `on line.' The pledges eat, sleep and move together during the period, which lasts as long "as necessary... for the bonding to take place," says one member. The lines can last between four and 10 weeks.

Dressed alike, the students `on line' march in caterpillar-like fashion to and from specific events and are not allowed to speak to or acknowledge people who are not members of their fraternity or sorority, says Jeff Schaeffer '91, who rooms with a Kappa Alpha Psi (KAP) member. The pledges' identical outfits change as the weeks pass. The uniform can include red sweatshirts, jean jackets, red berets and red satchels.

The fraternities and sororities are not formally recognized by the University, because Harvard does not permit student groups to be affiliated with national organizations. Nonetheless, the Black frats and sororities rotate their activities among the Harvard, Tufts and MIT campuses, in part because they do not have fraternity houses.

Bernard Fulton '91, who recently pledged KAP, described the period of being `on line' as a time when, "you only interact on a social level with the brothers."

"The fraternities stress being a good line brother. They stress the line brothers doing everything together. They alternate campuses, and places on campus, and they all sleep together. Every night [during part of the pledging period], they had to march back from the Quad on line" singing fraternity chants, Schaefer says.

Three Harvard women who pledged Delta Sigma Theta this year obeyed a series of strict rules when `on line.' According to a student at the University of Georgia who is considering pledging the sorority, "They are supposed to look alike. They can't wear fingernail polish or makeup.They're not supposed to be with their boyfriends.They have to greet other Black Greeks by saying,greeting most noble Greek.' They're not allowed tosmile," she says.

Most male Harvard pledges shave their headsduring the process and have the option of beingbranded with the fraternity's Greek letters. AlphaPhi Alpha member Alan R. Williams '91 would notsay whether Harvard students actually choose to bebranded, but he says, "When people join afraternity, they will do anything for it. Thebrand is seen as an everlasting mark."

Students at the University of Georgia say thatbranding is common practice among members of Blackfrats there.

The pledging process has led non-members toview the Black fraternities and sororities withsuspicion.

"There are a great deal of misconceptions heldby outsiders because by their general nature, thefraternities don't reveal their ways and pledgingtechniques. What people see they may notunderstand. There's a lot of mysticism behind itall," Williams says.

Administrators and non-members at both Harvardand MIT worry that the organizations may beviolating Massachusetts anti-hazing laws.

"We are concerned about the amount of time thatstudents are required to contribute to thesefraternities and also by some practices,particularly those that involve regimentation,"says Harvard Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III."Like all colleges, we have given assurance thatwe have informed our students of the hazingstatute in Massachusetts, and we want to insurethat fraternities [comply] with that statute inletter and in spirit."

About seven years ago, one of the Blackfraternities asked to be admitted to the MITIntrafraternity Council (IFC), but the petitionwas denied, says Tim Collins, IFC vice chairman.