There are two Black fraternities at MIT, but theyare not recognized by the University or the IFCbecause of their hazing policies. They don't denyhazing and they won't stop," he says.

But Black frat members say their organizationsdo not haze. Says Jay Grant '89, a Harvard memberof the MIT-based Kappa Alpha Psi, says "We're nota hazing fraternity. It's a lot of discipline.People get the wrong impression seeing themrunning through the Yard in formation."

"It is preposterous to think that we arehazing. We often hear accusations that we haze. Wedon't think it is our responsibility to explainourselves until people come and ask us about ourpractices," Williams says.

Members of the predominantly Blackorganizations say their groups are also oftenunfairly characterized as discriminatory. "Ourpolicy is to not allow groups who discriminate tobe members of the IFC" so Black frats are not partof it, says Jeff Hornstein, chairman of the MITIFC and president of the predominantly white ZetaPsi. He notes that the IFC does not prohibit sexdiscrimination because fraternities and sororitiesare by definition single-sex.

Although there are no non-Black members in theBoston area chapters of the Black frats, both theBrown and Dartmouth chapters have non-Blackmembers, frat members say.

"I wish people would put down these myths thatwe haze because we walk in lines and that wediscriminate because we are predominantly Black,"says Sean Cranston, an MIT student and vicepresident of KAP.

"If anyone is being closed-mindedit is thepeople who are judging us based on what they seerather than on the true realities," Fulton says.

People who are not involved with Blackfraternities or sororities "have this militaristicimage of us," Grant says. When people see pledgesupholding the vow of silence, they begin to makeassumptions, he says, adding that pledges chooseto take the vow and may break it if they want to.

Many students, both white and Black, say theyperceive the Black fraternities and sororities asmilitantly separatist, a charge that Black Greeksay they find laughable.

Eden William '91, whose mother and father stillbelong to a national Black sorority and fraternityrespectively, says she does not want to joinherself. "It is too bad [Black frats] still exist.It's more detrimental to race relations than it isbeneficial. I can understand the initial bondingwhich takes place, but when they get to be sostrict in terms of only associating with eachother, that's when you begin to question theirpurpose."

But Black frat members say that people whopledge Black frats are not attempting to isolatethemselves. Instead, they say, Black fratscontribute to campus diversity.

"This is part of the Black experience. I don'tsee it as promoting separation," Grant says. "IfHarvard wants to talk about diversity they have torealize that by mixing us together at some pointwe will go back to our own. It is a unique part ofthe Black experience, no different than going tothe Hillel or the Phoenix."

"I would not have come to Harvard if I wereseparatist," Fulton says. "If anyone is beingclose-minded it is the people who are judging usbased on what they see rather than on the truerealities."

Harvard administrators say the number of BlackGreeks on campus is too small to create separatistattitudes on the campus as a whole. "I don't thinkthe numbers are that large as to create[separatism], although if they were we would beconcerned," Epps says.

Furthermore, Black Greeks say that people wholevel charges of separatism at the fraternitiesand sororities are overlooking what theorganizations do.