Seems like the bachelors program issue was the dealbreaker, to be honest. People in graduate and certificate programs are excluded from membership under most circumstances, too, because they're not in a traditional undergrad/bachelors program. If there is another girl at the school with the same disability who is both in a sorority and a fulltime student in a regular degree program, then it's not too hard to figure out what likely went wrong.


Even putting the bachelors program requirements and GPA aside, if you're not enrolled in what your college would consider a regular full load of units, that could be a bar, too. The school in question is nontraditional in a lot of ways - the LIFE program, night school, part-time, etc. - so I can see why people would be shocked when sorority groups might appear to be unfairly "singling out" someone who is otherwise a normal part of their college life, but hundreds of women across the continent get cut - or outright excluded from rush in general - because they don't meet basic, objective membership requirements, either.



I'm frustrated with the girl's sister because she's painting with a hugely broad brush, which effectively a. slams organizations which may have actually wanted her sister, and b. gives the PNM the impression that *nobody* wanted her. Some of the chapters may have excluded this PNM out of hand when they realized she had Downs Syndrome. But others may have genuinely wanted to keep her on, and couldn't because she didn't meet minimum requirements.



I don't know anything about this girl that hasn't come from her sister, but if she is as active in school activities, as nice, and as eager to participate as she seems, I'd guess that my chapter, at the time I was a collegiate member, would have been happy to have her as a sister. But if she didn't meet basic GPA/matriculation requirements for my org and my university, the choice would have been out of our hands.

Yes, I believe she participates in both programs. She was admitted to GMU under the same standards as others -- SAT score, high school GPA etc. I didn't know if that might make a difference when it came to membership selection as some speculated. If there's an AXiD sister who only participates in the MasonLIFE program, then that seems to negate the claims of this young woman and her family.

In the article, it was mentioned that she indeed graduated from DC Public Schools with a 3.7 GPA and full high school diploma.

33girl mentioned the other site. I just went and looked - over there they are insisting that she was invited back to two chapters. George Mason Panhellenic's statement was, "This past weekend, it was brought to the Panhellenic Executive Council’s attention that a student in the MasonLife program was released from our Formal Panhellenic Recruitment process." Was she completely released or did she withdraw? I can imagine the upset that a young lady would have when she takes cuts from 8 down to 2. Perhaps she was just too upset over the cuts (or didn't like the chapters she had left) and withdrew. We see it here all the time with girls at universities from all over. Though, the older sister's statement said that she was released on Sunday morning, which appears to the 3rd and final round before Bid Day. So, she was invited back to round two and released before pref?

If she was invited back to two chapters, then I think Panhellenic and the university need to clarify this.

Agreed! I can guarantee she would not have been the only girl that dropped to two houses. And they’re also saying she rushed (and dropped) last year.
??

So this student was definitely enrolled in the degree program? For some reason I gathered that the example of girl who had been enrolled in both LIFE and the bachelors program was a person who was already in a sorority at the school.



If the subject of the kerfuffle dropped out of rush this year with two chapters still on the line, this is on her. And she rushed and dropped last year, too? No wonder.

I truly do not mean to sound accusatory Homeward Bound, but I am curious. What is your connection that you know the status of AC at GMU?

I think there is some confusion. Unless I missed something, homeward*bound and I are both referring to a student with Down Syndrome, Madison, who received a bid to Gamma Phi Beta at this campus last year. homeward*bound was saying that Madison participates in the MasonLIFE program but is also on a bachelor's degree program track. So she was confirming the enrollment status of our own Gamma Phi Beta sister.

AC is the young lady at the center of the current debate who did not receive a bid.

I have two neighbors who are GMU graduates, and were members of different NPC chapters. I chatted with one of my neighbors (over a glass of wine!) last night, and she confirmed that participants in Mason Life have been deemed eligible to participate in recruitment and join Greek chapters. The university announced that back in 2017, so it has been in effect for the past two rounds of formal recruitment. It's a different issue if the nationals of a GMU chapter won't allow them to extend a bid to a PNM who isn't in a degree program. FWIW, my neighbor told me that, according to several alums of her chapter, AC was invited to pref at two GMU chapters on Sunday; they were apparently not among her top-choice chapters, so she declined the invitations.

But I don't think we'll ever learn what really happened unless or until GMU Panhellenic provides more specific facts. Panhellenic Council's typically won't discuss the details of formal recruitment due to privacy concerns, both for PNM's and chapters. But if the rumors about a possible lawsuit are true, details might end up being revealed during the legal process.

Thank you Navane. I found the post confusing.

Forrest, maybe big sister is trying to jump start her legal career?

While I admire her desire to pursue a legal career addressing disability issues, I'm a little concerned that at least some of this situation is contrived controversy, rather than a legitimate issue which requires redress.

Yes.

Yes, my sister Navane is correct. I was attempting to remain as non-invasive as possible with our collegiate sister's information while confirming that there is at least one current sorority member there who has Down Syndrome. I am a Gamma Phi Beta, and I also have a personal connection to Down Syndrome. If you have any further questions, please feel free to private message me.

On the one hand, people with disabilities (I am one) wish to be treated the same as everyone else. That includes the chance that you won't get a bid. (Assuming she met all other requirements).

I've been told on another site that the young woman in question was indeed cut from all chapters during Recruitment. However, I think that some women on here are closer to the situation, and can possibly give me a better informed answer. Did she withdraw this year, or was she released with no invites?

Although I expect AC's sister Lillie to have had a full and complete grasp of AC's true recruitment situation before Lillie's twitter posts I, too, would appreciate further clarification if indeed the 'rumors' are true that AC chose not to continue her Fall 2018 greek journey. There are very recent, online-available articles and tv segments that continue to insist AC was indeed cut by all the sororities on campus.