But if a women's GLO gives him a bid, there will be no chance of that GLO becoming an NPC.

No offense, but our houses have been around for anywhere from 80 to 100 years...I don't think any house ever wants to become NPC. That's what we love about our system, is that we make our own rules pretty much...this particular rule just hasn't come up yet!

Your Greek Advisor asked about this on the Association of Fraternity Advisors listserv. The general consensus was that while the organizations by law, don't have to give him a bid, the university by law, cannot prevent him from participating in rush. That falls under Title IX.

If that's the case, then how do NPC sororities prevent men from rushing?

Suppose a woman signs up for sorority rush, but she does not meet the GPA requirements of any sorority on campus. (Assume for the moment that Panhel doesn't impose a minimum GPA to sign up for rush.) She will go through round 1, then be cut by all sororities because she doesn't meet GPA requirements.

This isn't too dissimilar. Here is a man who wants to rush, but he doesn't meet the requirement the sororities have, that you must be a woman to join. So he will go through round 1, and then be cut by all sororities.

If a particular sorority is open to the idea of having a man join, they might invite him back and see where things go. If they do bid him, the sorority becomes a coed GLO.

My sorority is a local that is technically co-ed. When I say techinically, it's because we have had members in the past that have been male, but currently we are all female. We actually decided that we were still going to be a sisterhood, and we only give bids to men who really encompass what KDChi is. We actually used to have a really big problem with guys pledging becuase their gfs were in the group, and that is definately something that we do not allow now. I think since you're local, if your group is open to it, go for it! It's a lot of fun having guys in the group.

Freedom of Association
 

From the National Panhellenic Conference web site.

Policies : : Resolutions and Recommendations

KDChiNicole - do you mean that your chapter has had members in the past that have been male, or on the national level? Is that something KDChi nationals has talked about? Are they "full" members meaning they have been through and are allowed at ritual or "honorary" members (like a male chapter advisor for example) that are not normally allowed at closed-ritual things? I'm just wondering b/c I think that's interestng.

We're actually a completely local sorority, established at Cornell College in Iowa in 1957. KDChi National is a Latina Service Sorority that was established in 1987. Two completely different groups, but I can see where it's easy to get the two of us confused as it has happened before.

Basically, what happened is about 10 years ago, there was a lot of interest for making our local sorority co-ed, as there were several men that spent a lot of time with our group, and really held the group to a high standard. We changed the constitution at that time to make it so that any member of the college in good standing could join the group, as opposed to only females. The guys that have been a part of the group have all done our version of rush, pledging, and initiation, and are all full members of the group.

We are a local though, so it gives us the room to do that.

Actually, fraternities and sororities that are exempt from taxation under IRC 501(a) are exempt from the non-discrimination policies of Title IX. See 20 USC Section 1681.

Phoenix~

My chapter was single-sex when I was an undergrad, but in 2000, we became co-ed when a gay man rushed.

He was a fantastic sister, is a fantastic, supportive alumni, and the chapter has NEVER regretted it. The sisterhood is still predominantly female (we've had four guys become sisters-- one dropped out shortly afterwards, though).

It definitely is something each chapter has to discuss, but it doesn't necessarily have a negative impact. :)

~ Mel.

I'm not sure they can stop him from signing up for rush. However, obviously you are in no obligation to invite him back, and if you're a national sorority, you probably wouldn't be allowed to even if you wanted to. ;)

If you're a local, however, I see nothing wrong in at least giving him a chance.

Hmmm...having a male initiate does not necessarily prevent you from ever ever ever becoming a part of the NPC.
Delta Gamma has had a male initiate (George Banta) and so have a couple of other sororities which are in the NPC. Mind you, that was like 100 years ago and now all of those male initiates are dead.

NPC Women: has your sorority ever, in history, initiated a man?

If a local wants to turn into an NPC chapter, wouldn't this problem just right itself because the women could potentially become members and the guy not? The local women would not all necessarily become members either, because they would have to "pass muster" with the colonizing NPC, n'est ce pas?

ack...Perhaps you can just talk to the guy and tell him that he is welcome to hang out with y'all, but the way that things stand right now, he can't actually become a full fledged member-member? Or, do what the other locals did in the above posts and let him in....it seemed to have worked for them (okay, now my brain hurts).