Chapter was just closed - now what?
 

Hi everyone, I'm new here!

My sorority's chapter was just closed a couple of weeks ago. I'd rather not go into detail regarding why..... Anyway, I've been in this sorority since my second semester freshman year, and now I'm a senior, about to graduate. We had a meeting with our National President during which we were given notice that our chapter was going to be shut down and we will all be dismissed as members. She explained to us that now, according to the org, none of us have ever been members. We won't be considered alumni and basically any trace of us having connections to the sorority are going to be gone. Additionally, we can't "function" as a sorority, and we were warned against wearing our letters in that we could face legal repercussions by doing so. I personally filed an appeal but won't hear back for another few months.

In the mean time, every morning I look into my closet and seriously struggle while getting dressed because LITERALLY 90% of my clothes have letters on them. I've resorted to secretly wearing them anyway. Does anyone know if I could face any real legal repercussions by doing this? Our biggest concern is other orgs taking pictures and sending them in, because that's been a problem in the past. But I can't help but wonder what could happen to me even if I do face that scenario? Technically I have already been a member of the sorority for over 3 years, and paid A LOT of money over time in dues as well as for all of these lettered shirts/ sweatshirts etc. I don't know how anyone could expect me to just pretend like it never happened... If I can't wear them "because im no longer considered a member," couldn't I just say I'm wearing them to show support for the organization even if I'm no longer part of it?

Please let me know your take on this! And if you have any advice it'd be appreciated. (:

The fact that you were not given alumna status gives me pause.
There must be a VERY GOOD reason for this?
Are you for real?

What conference was this in? NPC, NPHC, NMGC etc.

NPC

Says quite a bit.

I'm so sorry about your chapter. It truly is like a death in the family.

I've never heard of a chapter closing and all members being expelled, but I'm sure it's happened before. The circumstances must have been truly egregious - I admit, I'm very curious.

But if the national president told you personally that legal action would be taken if you identified yourself in any way with the sorority, then I would say it's pretty certain the sorority would not be shy about prosecuting. It's conceivable that the sorority could demand all goods with their copyrighted symbols, letters and emblems.

Wear your stuff in private, if you must, but start collecting some new garments.

As far as I know,most NPC groups will ask for your badge back if you are expelled. So I concur that it must have been an egregious event and well investigated. While it is sad, it is reality based on the actions of evidently all the chapter members. Goodness! So sad.

As far as wearing letters, I don't think an org can prosecute on that. I'm not a lawyer, but I'd think that would fall under freedom of speech. My college roommate/close friend was a DPhiE and I'd borrowed an event tee (with letters) before when I hadn't done laundry and was desperate. I def wasn't going to do anything disrespectful while wearing that shirt.

I'm really shocked you guys weren't given automatic alumna status. If there were a couple of bad apples in the chapter it's not fair to punish the rest. :( Feel so bad for you.

I don't think that's how the law works.

I swear to God, I thought the last sentence from the OP would be, "Since I was technically never in this sorority can I join another NPC?"

:rolleyes:

Yes, we were asked for our badges back but many of us either don't have them anymore or brought them home... Also, not all of us were involved in why the chapter was closed. That's why I personally am so disappointed by it. Those involved also seem to be unaffected and don't care. :/

Our campus also had three other sororities and two frats be closed down by their nationals in the past 2-3 years for similar reasons. So it really is more of a campus-wide problem. My sorority closed our chapter because they did an investigation and did find some reason for why it should be closed, but it was more because they felt that having a chapter here was a liability considering how other orgs here are functioning.

Definitely, some bad apples have drawn attention to our chapter by nationals. I've never acted disrespectfully or in any way that would reflect poorly upon my sorority while wearing my letters. Other girls... Not so much.

Also, our First Amendment protection is the first thing that came to my mind when I decided I would just still wear my letters anyway lol. Don't I have the right to wear what I want? It's Freedom of Expression, as long as what I'm wearing isn't threatening to others... That's why I was wondering what real legal action could be taken if they wanted to prosecute me for something like that.

Nope, I still want to be able to represent the sorority that I was in because it was something I've always been proud of.

This is the issue: If you signed something when you were initiated saying that you would return certain items and not wear the letters if your membership was ever terminated for any reason, that is the legal leg they have to stand on. Many NPC groups have such a statement that the newly initiated members sign or sign right before initiation. If you signed such then that's a promise you made.

Oh. =| I don't remember signing anything about that... I'm going to look into it.

Realistically, no one is going to do anything to you for wearing a shirt whether you have the right to do it or not.

I'll put a little disclaimer on that and state that I don't know what the full arrangement is with your group and whether perhaps good standing alumnae status is predicated on you not wearing merchandise in public, etc. or (insert whatever hypothetical you left out here)

Expulsion outside Convention?
 

Just curious, is this possible in other GLOs? In Alpha Phi Omega, the Board of Directors may suspend a brother, however that suspension only lasts until the close of the next convention. Expelling a Brother takes 2/3 vote of the convention.

Not my council, but it seems to me that if something so extreme/egregious/offensive has taken place that the entire chapter was not only suspended, but expelled, then there's much more to the story than what is being told. If the OP is truly interested in the appeal which she filed, it would make sense to follow ALL of the rules set forth by her national board until a final decision is made.

All of that comes as an aside to the way that I feel to see a non-member wearing my letters. If you're not an official member of the organization, you do not have the right to wear the letters which represent it. End of story.

Here's the thing - if you are appealing the decision (to get your membership, or at least alumna status), then wearing your letters around when you were clearly asked not to, isn't going to help your case. If I were you, I would be on my very best behavior. (Edited to add: BossLadyAKA and I were replying at the same time. Great minds think alike.)

Also, part of the issue may stem from the idea that, even though you personally weren't participating in the negative behaviors, all members had a responsibility to report and/or put a stop to it.

Agree on both counts. As saddened as we all are to hear that members in what could be our org lost their membership and now don't know what to do with themselves, that sort of thing doesn't happen over low numbers or because a chapter wasn't financially solvent, at least not without it blowing up in local news media. There is blame here, and without knowing the story I'm reserving my sympathy.

I'd shy away from going much farther with your story, while your appeal is pending, OP. I would also refrain from wearing anything with letters on it out of respect for the organization that you wish to still be a member of. I'd go to Target, Walmart or Old Navy and buy some cheap shirts and focus on graduating and keep your nose clean until your appeal is decided.

Did you all receive individual, official letters addressed to each of you by name, informing you of your termination?

If not...you're not terminated. Wear whatever you want.

If you did, then Old Navy etc.

Yeah...I really only wanted to know about wearing letters, lol. Thanks everyone

So four NPC sororities have closed down on your campus in the last 2-3 years for risk management reasons? I think not.

She didn't specify that they were all NPC. (I have no idea what campus this is, I'm just sayin.)

You don't have first amendment rights in this case. The first amendment protects you from the government, not from a private group. Arguably, you were granted a license to wear theater copyrighted letters and now your license has been revoked. I doubt you will.get sued, but still...

I can think of one school where 3 NPC chapters have closed in the last 2 or 3 years but I believe one recently reopened.

There are many things that I'd find upsetting about this situation, but the shirt wearing restriction would be pretty far down the list.

I can also think of a school that's had four chapters close over the past few years-at that point I really do think it's a culture issue and I can understand why a national org might think keeping a chapter there is a liability.

From the GC Recruitment thread, this university appears to be Connecticut and DG is back in the Connecticut Panhellenic FB page. The suspensions were all the same year, were they all the same otherwise? Were the groups or nationals given improvement plans? 2014 to 2016 is not enough time to graduate all former chapter members.

I'm not saying this is the school because I have a different guess but here is UConn's statement on unrecognized groups. Delta Gamma was suspended for less time than the other two groups, which are still suspended.

http://greeklife.uconn.edu/unrecognized-groups/

I don't think we're talking Connecticut. UConn was my first thought, but there are more than 5 NPC organizations at UConn....

Penn?

No. The last time sorority closed there was in 2009. AXO technically hasn't closed there; I think the national is hoping to reorganize, or whatever the terminology would be.

I'm considering a campus not yet mentioned: one NPC closed in 2010, one 2015 and, according to the campus website another one closed this spring 2016. (But, the 2016 closure is not reflected on the GC threads).

On one hand, I don't want this to turn into a "hunt"; on the other hand, understanding the campus and/or reason for the chapter closing would help us and the OP better understand her options. Though, we probably should respect the chapter's need for privacy/discretion.

I just feel there is more to this than meets the eye. Just sayin'.

I believe you and I are thinking of the same school. And I agree, I don't want to out the OP - but I think if we knew more about the situation, we could give better advice.

The OP said there were three closed before hers, all within the last two to three years and implied they were all for risk management. So including hers, that would make four closed in three-ish years. That one doesn't fit the criteria. RM closures for NPC groups are relatively rare, so we usually hear about them. To have that many in such a short period of time would be something pretty well known I would think. Look how many of us know about UConn. I don't doubt that her chapter was closed, but I don't think we're getting an entirely accurate picture of the circumstances or campus.

I hear what you're saying. I'm wondering if this is a case of over-exaggeration. You know, when people say things like, "So, like, there's literally chapters getting shut down every month!!" Well, no, not really. Like you said, we would have certainly known what she was talking about if any of us knew of such a campus with major problems like that. That's why I think it would be beneficial for us to know which campus is being considered here. There has to be a way to address a widespread problem in the Greek community. On the other hand, if it's really not as widespread as she says, then I can see the benefit of not digging too far down.

As for the other point, the campus I was thinking of does have a 4th NPC that is being listed as closed on the campus website; but, I don't know what year it closed. They also have an NPHC sorority currently suspended, along with a whole laundry list of fraternities that have been de-recognized.

She. Never. Said. These. Were. All. NPC. Groups.