UI Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority made a racist comment on Instagram ?
 

“We are writing to emphasize the comment made by this individual was unacceptable, and the Panhellenic community does not stand for this,” according to a message to chapter presidents from UI Panhellenic President Elah Shulruff and UI Vice President for Student Life Melissa Shivers.

UI officials did not disclose details of what the sorority member wrote on Saturday on the social media platform Instagram. But, in a separate statement from the Panhellenic Council, leadership disavowed the comment and the “racist ideology” it promoted and stressed it “will not stand for nor tolerate these unacceptable comments.”

Please see full article below.

https://www.thegazette.com/subject/n...gamma-20191008


This is truly so sad that things like this keep happening, and it negatively impacts the whole Org and university. Now I know why our chapter officers beat it into our head repeatedly that what we posted on social media directly affected the image of the chapter. Nobody worked harder than our standards board. Bless them.

Nice that Kappa made a comment about it immediately, however vague. At least they condemned it.



I'm still waiting for Alpha Phi to make one about the incident at OCU, but I'll be waiting forever because I don't think they care.

YES! I always think it looks so much better for the org to come out and condemn the incident or clarify that that member's remark is not a direct representation of their values. It looks worse to me when they refuse to comment at all.

Well before we get our pitchforks and torches, we should know what was actually said. Just a thought.

Oh no! No pitchforks and torches necessary. We were just commending them, because it is honorable that Kappa released a statement condemning what was said. Not every Org does that, but I think it always honorable when they do. The UI Panhellenic President also addressed it, which was a noble move. I commend both entities both for being so prompt to address & take action.

Here you go..... "The Instagram post Saturday, which showed members of the sorority all dressed in white, received a comment by a member that said “join the kkk” but then added “I mean the kkg.” Both comments were circulated around Instagram."


UI Greek council addresses racist Instagram comments

Oh Lord in heaven above.. WHAT?...it hardly seems that was an innocent typo either.
Why do these girls not think before they post racy comments on socials?
--Sigh.

Or, why don't people stop being racists? Either way.

(not calling you a racist, but I think a lot of times we worry about the behavior, and forget to address the cause.)
__________________

Oh no, I totally agree.
I more or less meant what is even going through these girls heads AT ALL. I have never even thought something of that sort, much less posted it on social media.
Have I said some things that were inappropriate when I was young that I didn't fully understand what I was saying.. I am sure I have. But girls this age are old enough to know better.

I definitely understand what you meant. I just wish I knew how we could halt the mentality entirely. Unfortunately, racism seems to be a trait that is learned. Not a trait people come into the world with, so perhaps the real issue starts at home. How we correct that, I am not sure. But the school & org are doing the right thing by saying they will not tolerate it.

Is any one besides me getting so VERY DAMN tired of hearing about all of this Waa, Waa Crap?:mad:

This is wrong, that is wrong, and all I see is a bunch of Cup Cake eating Suck up Woosies crying like little babies who do not get their way!

Well folks get over your little cry baby ways and act like adults with a back bone. :mad:

Thank you and have a fine day!:)

Whenever a sorority or fraternity acts like racist douchebags, they deserved to be called out and punished.

I am getting tired - tired of racist pieces of shit joining our organizations and spewing this garbage everywhere.

Tired of old, whiny white dudes making apologies for racists.

I'm getting tired of hearing about it, but I am getting more tired of it repeatedly happening. People should really know better. People should know by now (you would think) that when you are a member of ANY organization, that what you post/ say/ do directly affects them and every member in the org as well. I don't even see how anyone in their right mind could possibly think posting a comment on Instagram that said "join the KKK, oops, i mean KKG" could possibly be a good move on behalf of themselves, or of the members of their organization. It's not just the repercussions it has on the organization of KKG, but also the personal repercussions that saying something like that could have on the young lady's future, who said it. My standards chair would have nipped it in the bud so quick, the news source would not have even had a chance for it to be published. I used to get so annoyed with our Standards board, for "nitpicking," and asking us to take things down off of socials, etc. but truthfully, I understand it more now than ever. We live in the era of social media. Everything you post is available for the entire world to see in a matter of seconds. As a result, people, especially those representing an entire group's values, morals and ethics, should really consider being more dignified and reserved with their posts. I am not saying that it is right that stuff of this matter is magnified on such a grand scale as it is today to where one girl makes a comment and it is a major news headline...but knowing the kind of scrutiny Greek Orgs are ALREADY under....why not think before you post something and how it may potentially affect your organization and even your university? If you want to silently be a racist...well I guess we can't stop you....but DO NOT BRING DOWN YOUR ENTIRE ORGANIZATION WITH YOU.
I am tired of hearing about it, but I am even more tired of people not realizing this kind of behavior IS NOT acceptable, especially for a young woman that represents the values of a group of other young women. When you are in a Greek Org, you are held to a higher standard. More is expected out of you. I went into Greek Life knowing that. These ladies and men should know the same.

I've heard that the particular member may have had more than the Instagram post.

Couple of things. First, our intake processes are often too superficial to really prevent us from recruiting a dumbass 19 year old who happens to be a racist and we don't often find out about that until that individual is a full fledged member. And then, once the behavior is known, with regard to the leaders of the organization between 20-22 years old, let's be honest, not a lot of them are going to want to take days out of their week utilizing standards to properly adjudicate unacceptable viewpoints.

And we recruit a fresh batch of 18-19 year old kids every single year and every single year, we open ourselves up to the same behavior, and every single year that behavior continues to happen. Why are we tired or surprised? Our organizations don't have much capacity to learn unless they are properly advised by adult volunteers, but the advice we give very often falls on deaf ears.

It's a problem with no real solution that I can think of.

How dare people be offended by racists and their racist actions? /s

My 2 cents. I don't think the comment was necessarily meant to be racist. In my opinion, the member saw a picture of her sisters dressed in white, and tried to make a stupid joke that failed.

She saw a picture of sisters all dressed in white and said "Join the KKK" and immediately followed it with "Oops, KKG." It wasn't an accident, but she didn't say, "I love the KKK and I hate all minorities!" She did not attack any groups. She did not use any disparaging remarks about other ethnicities. Again, to me, it looks like she tried to make a stupid joke and it failed. Now, she's getting pulled through the ringer, the Kappa chapter is getting spotlighted, and it's not like she burned a cross on the front lawn.

People are entitled to their feelings about these things. I'm not sure those feelings should translate into schools and organizations being so defensive that they overcorrect.

Yes, I agree Kevin, there is no real solution to completely end it... that's what I was telling someone else above, I wish there was a way to end it altogether, but at the same time, this is a trait that is learned, and like you mentioned, doesn't often come out through the common conversation during recruitment. It's just frustrating the entire organization has to suffer by the comments of a member who, let's be honest, whether they are 18 or not, should truly know better by this point. Even if it was meant to be a joke, it was done completely in poor taste.

That’s kind of what I thought too. Just because you mention the KKK doesn’t make you a racist. But the fact that her brain would automatically “go there” just because a group of any kind is dressed in all white is a little off.

Oh yes, it's hilarious and not racist at all to make a joke comparing your organization with one that has oppressed and murdered people of the "wrong" color, background or religion for over 150 years. Wearing white does not compare to membership in the KU Klux Klan, even in a joking manner, in a normal non-racist's brain. This is exactly the kind of aggression that makes us appear unwelcoming and non-inclusive.

At least Kappa did address it right away, so they have one up on Alpha Phi.

Let's not confuse aggression with microaggression. I very much doubt the [former?] sorority member woke up that day with the intent of publishing something on her Instagram which would prompt an apology from her national office.

I do not understand this need to completely destroy a kid for making a dumb joke--even if the joke hurts some folks' feelings.

These kids are 18-19 years old. Their brains aren't fully developed yet. I would hope that the community practice would be to educate these kids rather than wishing death, pain, and misery upon them. In your lane, maybe you knew that joking about looking like Klansmen was not okay. You don't know where she comes from, and at that young an age, she's not fully responsible for what she thinks and says yet.

I'm not saying an 18/19 YO lacks agency, but I am saying they are very new to exercising it and we ought to give them a mulligan or two.

No, Kevin, aggression. You as a white male don't get to define the way the oppressed feel about an action. You have no idea what it's like to be on the receiving end of this kind of behavior.

It's up to us to provide organizations where our members feel safe, protected and respected. We don't exist to change the racist inclinations young adults bring with them to college. Those have been years in the making - and whether subtle or overt - there is no room for that behavior in our organizations.

Where do you draw the line? SAEs singing "there will never be a n* SAE"? Banana eating Snap Chats comparing races with monkeys? Hanging a noose around the neck of a statue of a notable African American? Drunken Finstas declaring how you don't care about the plights of certain groups of people? Naming your team a racial pejorative? They're all kids. Their brains aren't fully formed. Let's give them a pass while telling them how naughty they are. That will make the rest of our members feel safe.

But boys will be boys, right?

We can all skip church on Sunday because SororitySock just delivered a full on sermon! Amen, HALLELUJAH. YES! PREACH.

Kevin you should have known that being a white male means you are not allowed to have an opinion on anything ever unless you want to be crucified
for simply being a white male.


The KKG's comment was a really bad joke and in this climate she should have known better. I don't feel she was being blatantly racist but blatantly stupid.

While we are calling out all things KKK let's not forget that there was a card carrying member who was an elected senator for many years and when he died was eulogized by several prominent politicians (one who was a former POTUS and one who ran for POTUS from his party). I will give you a heads up he and they weren't registered republicans. I hope some of you were
as equally outraged by that as well as this comment.



Hopefully this woman learns her lesson and that KKG nationally or this particular chapter are not harmed in terms of numbers from this really dumb mistake.


By the way I am glad some of you were so mature and so woke in your early college years that you never made dumb decisions that you would regret!

DP is that you?

Ah. So white males don't get to have opinions? Or we are not allowed to make a distinction between aggression and microaggression when the distinction is a dictionary issue? And there you have my actual name, my real badge number, while you tut tut folks hiding behind a name like sororitysock.

It's not for you to tell any organization what it is supposed to do. I'm not really comfortable with you saying "we" when there's no verification you're even a member of a sorority. You're just an anonymous virtue signaler as far as I can tell.

Actually yeah, the noose aside, I'd probably give every single one of those kids a pass. It's biology. Their brains are not fully formed. Kids in college do stupid stuff and no matter how much virtue signaling you do behind an anonymous name, that's always going to be the case. Maybe you were perfect in your undergrad career and never did or said a single questionable thing by today's standards, that's likely not the case for many. And many who are guilty of things in their past have learned and moved on.

If you feel "unsafe" because some 18 year old doesn't care about the plight of certain group or named their team a racial pejorative, that's more on you than the kids. There is nothing in that team name or opinion about certain groups that threatens anyone's safety.

Maybe those kids make convenient targets for reprisal for the actual acts of real racists who are beyond your reach or members of the law enforcement community which actually do threaten minorities' safety. But that's what it is. These kids are convenient targets. They're just dumbass kids who should be afforded the opportunity to learn from their mistakes.

And eff that. I don't believe I'm stating opinions either. It's a fact that the brain is still developing and that most of our new members don't have fully developed prefrontal cortexes--the part of the brain which is responsible for inhibition.

Right. She made a comment which was funny to her and failed to consider the impact on others. She likely has very little, if any, actual knowledge about what that particular group has been responsible for over the years.

You're talking about Robert Byrd--and so there's an individual who demonstrates the ability to grow and learn from your mistakes.

That's why these things still continue to happen. Everyone who doesn't live under a rock "knows better." But with young adults, you can tell them "don't do that" and they'll say "hold my beer" and do it.

And we wonder why high school and college kids are so stressed out, depressed, hurting themselves, abusing drugs, etc. today? They make one stupid mistake and everyone is ready to ruin their lives and the lives of everyone they associate with.

I do not understand why when one person makes a stupid comment or does something stupid the current standard is now to condemn or eliminate the entire chapter or organization. Somehow I missed the memo that went out where we went from thinking college was a time for young adults to grow up and learn how to be mature adults to expecting perfection in everything they say or do from the minute their feet hit the campus.

I'm thankful my sisters and advisors operated in a kinder world where we were allowed to try, fail, and learn. We admonished plenty of sisters to grow up in different ways, sometimes in serious ways, but we never thought that the answer was to destroy them. That's not love. That's abuse.

It's a sick world the virtue signaling left wants us to live in.

This! I do NOT get it. I've been a member of several organizations through the years and many of them had stupid/clueless/horrible people with whom most of the members did not even deal with. The sh#! would have flown if we had been blamed for their actions. Why is it okay (PC?) to condemn the whole group now?

Because there is too much constant stimulation and things to think about nowadays, and people are either not built to take it all or lazy. If you write off a whole group because of something one person did that gives you one less thing to think about. Side note: this applies to all sides of the political spectrum.

I was with you until you made it political.

Then where else is this coming from? There is only one small but vocal portion of America that sees racism in everything that happens and tells white men they aren't allowed to speak or have an opinion.

I'd call it its own thing. Saying this is left vs. right is a false dichotomy. There are many on "the left" who do believe teenagers should be expelled from their schools, physically intimidated, harassed, etc., for expressing something inappropriate. There are others who strongly err on the side of speech--even heinous and shocking speech, should be free, that schools should lack the power to expel or penalize individuals for PC crimes.

And people who say that I can't have an opinion for being a white male are just as bad as the white men who believe others have no voice. It's exactly the same sort of oppression.

Its coming from people who want to say and do what they want.

Its coming from the fact that the internet is forever.

Its coming from people who think that every little thing they do needs to be posted on the internet.

Its coming from organizations who don't want to get sued out of existence.


Even in my own organization, a NPHC org, just the slightest hint of hazing or misbehavior would get a chapter and chapter members disciplined.

And I echo the comment that this does not have to get political. This is not a left vs. right issue. This is an issue that impacts all orgs in Greek Life.

But where does the destroy everyone for something they said, come from? People have listed the symptoms of it, but not the cause.

We have people losing their jobs and livelihoods over stupid things they did or said ten, twenty, and thirty years ago.

A guy raises a million dollars for a worthy charity and he's destroyed because of a tweet he put out when he was a young teenager? Is that really the kind of country we want to live in where we hold every person's thought and word from the time they are a tween over them for the rest of their life?

I don't care which side of the political spectrum you are on. If you did something stupid or that would now be considered horrific by the social justice police, I don't think you should lose your job or be destroyed by the Twitter mob and the people who live and die with them.

This destroy at all costs mentality did not exist in our culture until the past six or seven years. Where is it coming from? It's not coming from both sides.

I don't want my organization or the NPC to be racists or even seen as racist. I also don't want them destroying young women in college because they said something stupid. But we have been trained to be terrified of a small, vocal minority in this country to the point that we're making stupid decisions as organizations.

Which goes back to my original point. We wonder why kids and young adults are so physically and mentally ill when this is the world they are living in? How can they not be? It's not healthy.

It's absolutely coming from both sides.

I didn't want to contribute to the hijacking of this thread, as I know we're not here to discuss politics. But to think that the vitriol in this country is coming only from the left is myopic. The "us vs. them" mentality is strong in America, and it's definitely not limited to one side of the political aisle.

As to your last comment, I suspect the physical and mental woes of our young people will continue until the adults in the room can treat others with respect, regardless of their political stance. And this needs to happen on both sides.

But I totally agree with you that college should be an ideal/safe place to make mistakes, correct them/learn from them, and grow. I remember when it used to be, and wish it still were. I assure you that people across the political spectrum have contributed to the change.

I think there are some deeper social and cultural issues that have an impact, but simply put, I think that the need to sue at the slightest inkling that you've been wronged is a cause. I think it comes from the past 25 / 30 years where you had to pick a side (Rush Limbaugh). Some of the current news is being blown out of proportion to fill a 24/7 news cycle. As I said too, the internet is forever.

Growing up I was taught to not do anything you don't want to see on the front page of a news paper.

The internet will take some 'ho-hum' not so exciting events and will just amplify these events out of proportion.

The cause is just the advance of technology.

I was an undergrad Greek back in the late 80's / early 90's and I'm sure worse things were said and done by all Greeks at that time. Did we have facebook, twitter, snapchat, tik tok? No. So yeah, people behaved just as badly back then, but what they did was not captured in a way that it would last forever.

I think both sides need to realize there is a spectrum of activity and that it is not either / or.

The reason kids and young adults are so physically and mentally ill is because the internet is on all the time. They won't give themselves a break from it because of FOMO. :(

Should people loose their jobs because of what they said / did years ago, again, it depends.

I feel like I say this over and over on this forum...but it's only in privileged places that the brain isn't fully formed at 18. Tell that to an 18 year old in Afghanistan who is already married and a parent and has to follow the rules of engagement, or else he is going to prison. Or an 18 year old in an urban neighborhood who doesn't have the ability to go to college. They mess up, they answer for it. What's fair is fair. 18 is old enough to not have your head in your ass and joke about the KKK.

Whether it's right, wrong or overly PC...we live in a world where what you post on social media, to quote one wise ADPi, is your resume. It's going to be with us for the rest of our lives. Jobs will search your social media- mine does. If parents aren't educating their kids about this, they're doing them a huge disservice.

You have any scientific evidence of this. All the studies seem to say the opposite.