Sangam Diaspora

By Cecilia Gomes

Who are you? Who do you represent: Indians specifically, South Asians in general, or an array of multiple cultures?

Our organization is based on South Asian interest, but anyone can join. We’re open to anyone with good character and that have an interest in South Asian culture.

How have you gotten the word out about this your new organization?

First of all, we have three pillars service, education, and unity. To uphold them, we sponsor and co-sponsor many activities that spreads awareness of our culture and the fraternity.

What are some activities your fraternity is involved with or sponsors (note, this does not include philanthropic events)? Do you collaborate with other organizations on campus? Who?

We hosted an event for the National Gandhi Day of Service to Habitat for Humanity and got Sangam members to come. Social activities include a Garba, which we’ve held in the past two years. Our Third Annual Flag Football Tournament is a charity event for which all proceeds are going to Ekal Vidyalaya; which funds and supports a school in a village of South Asia for a whole year. We just want to give back to the South Asian community. Every year we make a decision on where to make our donations and the amount of money we raise during events go to many charitable organizations. We’ve thrown parties at Player’s for charity, held bone marrow drives, co-hosted dinner for Muslim Student Association after their fast breaking. We’ve worked with Delta Phi Omega, other Greek Alliance Council members. DSI also has internal events which the brothers participate in such as paintball and DSI Olympics which involves our Brothers to competing in different sports against each other throughout the semester.

What is your specific philanthropy?

Bone marrow registry is our national philanthropy. We’ve held 2 drives this semester alone and registered over 110 people .

What is the process in order to become a Brother? When does it begin? Is there a house?

There’s a two week process at the beginning of every semester known as “rush” in which students get to know the Brothers, get a feel for what we do, what we do stand for, and what we offer for people who join. We hope the process will inspire interest.

What kind of students do you look for? Can some have an advantage over others?

There is no certain type of person we are looking for, we look for people with high characters, and high morals. Our screening is based on the GPA requirement, students’ morals and their interest in promoting South Asian culture.

What factors lead you to decide to join a culturally based fraternity instead of one of the many IFC ones?

When I first came, I wasn’t planning on joining it. I had stereotypes of my own about fraternities, and then one of the founders came up to me and asked if I was interested. They told me about what they stand for, about the pillars, how they promote our culture. I learned that they were huge on community service. So I thought that I couldn’t go wrong with this. Once I tried it out, I realized that this is what I really wanted to do; I wanted to give back to the community. Ever since then, I have been a brother, devoted a lot of time and now I’m President of DSI which shows how much DSI means to me. Culture is very important, and we strive to uphold it here.

How do you think having a culturally based fraternity separate from a social one shapes the Carolina experience?

We’re considered to be a Social Service fraternity. We can show that Greek Life is more than what most people think, that it adds to the diversity of the community. By having a fraternity that is based on culture, going out there to actively promote it, we are able to create events on a larger scale and, thus create more awareness. Even people who aren’t involved, like people who aren’t South Asian, are exposed to it. Our efforts lead to such exposure.

What do you think students gain from being involved with DSI? And specifically, what have you gained? What was your most rewarding or gratifying experience in the years of being involved?

Obviously, I gained friendship with a group of guys that has become closer. They provide a loyal, trustworthy support system. Coming into my freshman year, I didn’t think I would have had that, that reliable group who I trust and can call any time of the day. People always say, “I don’t want to buy friendships.” I don’t think that stereotype applies to DSI. It’s not the right way to look at us. We are a tight group of people; essentially you earn it [friendships]. Once you do, it opens up so many doors and makes the experience so much better. You can call on people for help, life issues, future concerns. In one click we can send out emails to hook up brothers with jobs, or residential availability, anything. We gain a huge national network. There are definite benefits through service aspect as well. We’ve helped kids, run down communities, the elderly, build homes for Habitat. I wouldn’t have been exposed to all of this without DSI. It’s really hard to be self motivated as an individual sometimes, because you may not have the information or the resources, but with a group of people who all have the same mindset, it makes efforts much more satisfying by making a big difference in the community. We’ve actually won awards for contributing most service hours, which was very rewarding. I think we’re all most proud about executing our service aspect of our pillar and culture. Otherwise, we’ll be just another fraternity. What good are we if we don’t do those two things? I’m most proud about giving back to the community and promoting our culture.