When Linda Bamba applied to Syracuse University in 2015, she took note of the school’s diverse student body. But during her first encounter with SU’s Greek life, she didn’t see that same representation.

After arriving on campus for the fall 2015 semester, Bamba said she and another black friend attended the Panhellenic Expo in November, where sorority leaders gathered in Goldstein Auditorium to speak with women interested in joining Greek life. Bamba and her friend saw no one who looked like them.

“There was no representation of anyone of color,” said Bamba, a senior public relations and sociology dual major. “In that moment, I knew I wanted to chase a leadership position when I went into Greek life.”

Bamba would be elected the first black president of SU’s Panhellenic Council in November of the next year. Her experiences growing up helped her develop the leadership style she’s used to be an agent of change on the SU campus.

Bamba grew up as a “military brat,” with her father serving in the Marine Corps and her mother in the process of joining the Air Force to serve as a nurse. Her parents grew up and attended college in Ivory Coast. Bamba was born in New York City but has lived in San Diego; Tampa, Florida; Hawaii; and Japan.

Living at military bases meant Bamba met people from all over the world. In each place she’s lived, Bamba said she’s experienced an extreme amount of culture shock.

“That instant moment when you get there and everything is different, I think that’s the most memorable part,” Bamba said.

She recalled driving on unpaved roads in Hawaii and learning that some residents had never been to the rest of the United States, which they referred to as the “mainland.”

Bamba credits her upbringing for instilling in her the importance of diversity and an ability to quickly make friends. It also led her to enter the sorority recruitment process with an open mind. Bamba said she was curious but knew little about the chapters or the history behind them. After meeting the women in the chapters, she started to form her own opinions.

As Panhellenic president, Bamba’s biggest responsibility is to play the role of a middleman between the sororities, the university and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs. This means that every day at 8 a.m. she’s hit with about 140 emails, she said, and there are constant meetings with delegates, sorority presidents and advisers.

There are six Greek councils on campus, Bamba said, but Panhellenic is the biggest. A significant part of her job involves maintaining relationships not only within the Panhellenic community but also among the other councils, including the National Pan-Hellenic Council and the Professional Fraternity Council.

At the start of each year, there is an All-Council Retreat for leaders from all the Greek councils, said Dana Matuson, the Panhellenic Council’s vice president of communications. But usually, over the course of the school year, the leaders get so wrapped up in their own councils that they forget about the others, she said.

“Linda has been really good about grounding us,” Matuson said.

She added that Bamba organizes monthly meetings with the other councils and makes it a point to encourage attendance at their events. She also set up a GroupMe for all the leaders to communicate.

Bamba listens to all points of view and comes up with diplomatic solutions, said Taylore Ratsep, public relations chair of Kappa Kappa Gamma, Bamba’s sorority. Her knack for keeping the peace comes in handy when drama arises in the Panhellenic community, Ratsep said.

“She’s one of the most outstanding mediators I’ve ever met,” Ratsep said.

Bamba said a lot of the work the council does is much bigger than themselves. National movements such as #MeToo and the Women’s March have inspired the council to take action on a smaller scale on the SU campus.

“And with women, we are so strong and so powerful, and our voices, they need to be heard,” Bamba said. “And in a community like this, that power can actually be put to use … and it can travel further than you could ever imagine.”

In March, the council will host a Women Empowerment Series, with some events open to all women on campus and others reserved for women in Greek life. One event is “Let’s Taco About It,” which gives girls on campus the opportunity to engage in “girl talk” while they eat tacos.

Bamba has permeated the idea that anyone can be a sorority woman, Matuson said, adding that race is still a daunting factor for some women looking to join Greek life. Matuson recalled a moment at Kick-Off, the first event of Panhellenic recruitment, when a black woman approached Bamba and said, “I hadn’t considered Panhellenic recruitment before I had seen your face as the Panhel leader.”

Bella Carter, vice president of judicial and standards on the council, said Bamba has made comments about seeing more women who look like her at recruitment events.

Bamba also advocates for breaking down the self-separation that exists on campus and bringing people together. Carter said she’s able to accomplish this as a black leader of a predominantly white Panhellenic Greek life.

When she became president, Bamba said she didn’t know she was the university’s first black Panhellenic president. The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs told her a few weeks later. It was surprising and inspiring, Bamba said, since Greek life has been part of the university for so long.

Women from all over campus — not just those in Greek life — have come up to Bamba with positive comments, she said. Her election encouraged women to be in the same position and opened the eyes of women who were on the fence about recruitment, she said.

And at the Panhellenic Expo in November, Bamba said she saw an immense amount of diversity compared to her first expo three years ago.

“I think that’s really why I did this,” she said, “and to know that it worked? Pretty awesome.”

Published on February 18, 2018 at 11:27 pm

Contact Sandhya: ssiyer@syr.edu