Analysis:
Vikki Fuller made her present very known on TCU’s campus during her time period here. In 1975 she was featured in several articles of The Daily Skiff. Vikki Fuller was an African American Cheerleader on Campus and ran for homecoming queen. She was promoted in several ads to elect her for homecoming queen, and also did an ad special for a boutique called The Yellow Daisy. Vikki is featured in this ad; she is standing tall with her hands close to her side. Only three-quarters of her body is visible, with a little cleavage area showing. She is described in the ad as wearing a “sensuous” dress. Vikki Fuller ads were placed in several newspapers and her Yellow Daisy ad was larger than the ones around her. This being the largest ad on the sheet, followed by a brief article of women power lifters and 2 other ads next to her. In a different volume two separate smaller ads are there that was promotion her running in the election. Not only was Ms. Fuller very active in cheer leading and social life, she was a part of the Greek Life as well. In a Skiff article, she is listed as the president and during her time helped to add black sororities to the Panhellenic council on campus.
Reflection:
As we know it fraternity and sorority life has had a major impact on college campuses, especially when it comes to socializing, networking, serving the community and many other aspects. TCU fraternity and sorority life has sustained for many years, but in the beginning did not include African Americans. Six years before Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated was chartered on TCU’s campus, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated was chartered. One African American student who helped charted the Kappa Lambda chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Vikki Fuller, who was one of the first women to be named and recognized for her involvement with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. This piece of information is particularly important and historical because many people spelled her named Vicki Fuller, when in fact her named was spelled Vikki, so this caused a lot of confusion over time. In The Daily Skiff, Vikki Fuller, is described as “Vikki Fuller, Band Deb, in the spirit for Homecoming Weekend fun! She is Hearing a long, sensuous dress of Nyesta by Joy Stevens from The Yellow Daisy.” This particular quote stood out to me because of the verbal usage of sensuous, and how they described her physical attributes compared to other similar ads. Pictured in the ad, she is seen smiling, standing straight up, only showing a portion of her body, but still is judged by what she is wearing. It is also particularly interesting that the word choice used means to be pleasurable by the physical senses rather than stemmed by the mind or intellect.
In a similar ad by The Yellow Daisy, a drawing of a white lady is captioned with “Cuddle Coat of Cloth- Stitched Furred Wrapped Tied $80,” essentially in no way passing judgment or implying anything. As we can see today, African American are still often times described to subtly degrade them or create unwanted judgement of the consumer. We see this in the media today, when people are criminalized for the things they may or may not have done, such as using mugshots for victims of certain situation even though they are not the criminals. The way women were spoken of at this time resembles the things women of color still face today. Another way we can evaluate the verbal usage of those times is the way they started the article talking about black sororities. “The University's official Greek system may include blacks before the year ends if two black sororities are admitted to Panhellenic.” This introduction is very off-putting especially by them using “Greek system may include blacks” as if it was something negative or dehumanizing. During this time period there were far less African Americans on campus so it was a lot harder for their voices to be heard, especially in the manner they probably would have liked. Women were often times talked about in a manner like they are a lesser, and have to accept little or any reorganization.
Significance:
Vikki Fuller gained a lot of her recognition through cheerleading and running for homecoming queen. She has her name placed in many ads promoting her election and making a presence on campus. Fraternity and sorority life on TCU’s campus is very large and active. Nearly half of the student population is a part of this aspect compared to the rest of the students. NPHC in particular only has approximately 50 member give or take a few, compared to individual chapter of other councils who has well over 200 members. This may not seem like something that is good or beneficial, but it is because every chapter is growing a little more every year or so. NPHC chapters are also getting a lot more recognition on campus and are making small and large impacts in different parts of the university. From chartering the sororities around the 1970s to still standing today seems like progress. Another huge recent historical thing that has happened is the NPHC Pillars that was placed among the Greek houses to give recognition to the NPHC council. Cultural visibility is very limited on this campus, and for the longest was silenced and not considered. These pillars give us huge recognition in the midst of the Greek world. Compared to the beginning times we have come a long way as a campus of watching the things we do, or say to avoid any problematic issues. As a campus, Greek life in particular, has taken the initiative to build the broken bridges, and to help support each other across councils. Gong to workshops, programs, and events to help build these bonds as council have really helped because it allows the opportunity to learn about one another, and to understand some of the things we wouldn’t have individually. As a small chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. in particular, we have made huge impacts on this campus and the community around us.