In Alpha's case there was a direct correlation between the Arizona immigration law and your organization's mission. The odds that any Alpha supported that legislation were slim to none. And slim just left town (and Arizona, I guess).

Mission (and Abortion)
 

Is there any Panhell sorority whose membership is likely to be more toward one position on Abortion than another Panhell sorority? The only one that springs to mind as a *possibility* is Theta Phi Alpha, which is historically Catholic and was the last of the Panhell groups to become open to all women regardless of religion.

Beyond *that*, maybe Beta Upsilon Chi which is a Christian Fraternity and a member of the NIC. (or the other Christian Fraternities and Sororities)...

I can't think of any GLO likely to be significantly more Pro-choice than the population of their campuses in general.

Theta Phi Alpha’s identifier as a “Catholic sorority” is long gone for the most part. All it means is that many of their older chapters are at Catholic institutions.

Agreed with the first. The change was in 1968. I should have added the term "slim" to "possiblity". However the second sentence is actually odder. The Sorority was originally set up for Catholic women at non-Catholic schools (founding 1912), with the Sorority only allowing itself later to spread to Catholic schools (1939) and the majority of the chapters opened between 1940 and 1965 being at Catholic schools.

However, now having looked through the Theta Phi Alpha website, I see that Theta Phi Alpha has a policy of being open to transgender women, while not a guarantee, the likelihood of any sort of consistent organizational position against abortion seems even less likely.

(my apologies to any Theta Phi Alpha sisters for whom my guess caused a problem)

No offense taken to the bold! Financially, this would hurt AST more than it would hurt Georgia.

As I mentioned, there are companies and organizations with a lot more money than us that are pulling out of the state and refusing to do business there. For example, this story just hit the news yesterday: https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/a...ry?id=63188842

AST is not Amazon, nor do we have Amazon money, and we certainly wouldn't make the national news if we moved our Convention. However, I think stories like this are where some people get the idea and motivation to also try and make a large statement.

I'm sure people have their own reasons for signing the petition, but I wonder if it's more so "Let's hurt them where it counts" or "We're a women's organization and should not force sisters to travel to a state where they may feel their rights are being trampled". Perhaps it's a little of both. But as has been stated, not everyone is going to be happy either way.

Interestingly, I'm a very involved alumna and a national volunteer, and Convention didn't even cross my mind when I heard about all of this legislation being passed.

I didn't intend for that comment to be a specific commentary or slight to AST - I'm glad you received it in the way I intended. It's just that these huge entities have so many convention customers that one is a drop in the bucket. This would be especially difficult for a smaller organization.

Now, in the other example that we just saw, Alpha Phi Alpha was able to financially and logistically absorb the costs of moving their event. I doubt that the State of Arizona was too upset by that; but, the men of Alpha Phi Alpha were able to live their values and their conscience.



This move by Amazon is a bunch of fluff and hot air. So, they're not going to film their online TV show in Georgia? Big deal. They admit that they were only just scouting for locations and Georgia hadn't even been selected yet. There are a million and one other places to film their internet TV show. The show is new, with no episodes, and no one has even heard of it. Yawn. Now, if Amazon wanted to take a real stand, they could say that they will no longer ship any of their Amazon products to the State of Georgia.

Oh wait.....that would cost them a lot of money.


And this is where I get stuck on issues. We should stick to the core values of the organization to the best of our ability and advocate from that position. However, some topics are obviously rooted in an organization's values and some are not as clear.

This is ultimately what it comes down to. If this new legislation was in direction opposition to what AST as a whole believed in, advocated for, or was based upon, I might be behind moving convention.

I can't even think of a reasonable example right now, but let's pretend Georgia wanted to end women's right to vote. I could certainly get behind not holding major events in the state. But an issue like abortion, which clearly presents arguments on both sides of the aisle, for which our sisters could push for legislation one way or the other, doesn't present a situation where this would make sense.

Related: https://www.watchtheyard.com/deltas/...ama-statement/

What I find most interesting:

It sounds like this has long stood as an issue the sorority supports. I'm curious to know what the initial fallout - if any - was 40 years ago.

At the same time, this is simply a statement and call to action for members. There is no major change being made (e.g. moving Convention) that will hurt Delta Sigma Theta financially. However, perhaps they'd be willing to make such a change if they found themselves in such a position.

It looks like Disney may pull the rug out from under Georgia for their strict ban.


https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/30/b...-abortion.html

This is a really interesting petition and am surprised this is the first I'm hearing of it. I attend a college in Atlanta with a chapter of AST. I knew convention was coming up and is in Atlanta, but didn't know it was being protested (I use that word very loosely).

I would imagine that moving a national convention this late in the game is a HUGE hoop to jump through. I will say that Atlanta prosecutors have agreed to ignore the Heartbeat bill. Most people don't realize that Atlanta is a very blue dot in an ocean of red.

Maybe there is a compromise to be reached? Perhaps adding a panel on legislation and women's health (which goes hand-in-hand with the Women's Wellness Initiative)?

As a very prochoice women, I understand the want to host your convention elsewhere, but I think it is important to consider that the women suffering from this law didn't ask for it. Taking your convention elsewhere is - in a way - denying support to your Atlanta-based sisters as much as it is condemning the bill.