Should Greek Orgs Speak Up or Stay Silent?
 

Currently, the issue in this country is Roe v. Wade being overturned. In visiting many of the NPC sororities' Instagram pages in particular - on innocuous and irrelevant posts - the comments are abundant, asking why an organization for women isn't condemning what occurred this past week.

The most extreme post that I saw (with ABC replacing the org's name) reads:

"3rd generation ABC, 2x chapter president, volunteer for four years - I submitted my ABC resignation yesterday due to the abysmal response from ABC I received about the pending decision. I absolutely refuse to [be] a member of a women's organization that refuses to fiercely protect women's rights."

Regardless of the issue, it seems that Greek orgs can't win. If they say nothing, it's determined that they don't care. And if they say something, some people agree and others disagree (causing social media battles, and potentially turning members away from the org for taking a stance opposite their own views), and/or what the org has said is determined to not be adequate by members who ultimately agree with the org's stance.

Do you all believe it's better for our orgs to speak up or stay silent?

I think the Greek orgs should keep their damn mouths shut on all political issues. People have widely varying opinions and there is no way a GLO will benefit from making a grand pronouncement like, as one did: "we recognize that all members will have a different stand, however, here is ours" (insert a big mistake).

How DARE an organization speak for all its members?

It seems you are damned if you do and damned if you don't unfortunately. I've seen backlash for one GLO that did come out with a "pro-choice" leaning statement, and I've seen members in my own organization criticize them for not making a pro-choice statement. Personally, I thought the email our IHQ sent out was perfect and what they needed to do. I agree with Carnation...I think they should avoid taking sides in any political debate. After all, our organizations tend to be varied, with conservatives, liberals, Christians, Muslims, Jews, Atheists and etc, etc, etc,.

I agree with Carnation especially on this issue. If you're on one side or the other, what it comes down to is it impacts people who can get pregnant. I generally don't get super passionate about political issues but this is one that I do have strong feelings about which I will keep to myself, because honestly I am not one to debate or try and convince people to see my side.

I think for GLOs, they are in sort of a no win situation. Especially with those members that think the GLO should take a particular position.

I think in some instances GLOs should make a statement, supporting their sisters (i.e. condemning hate crimes) but I do feel like that is a completely separate issue from people's reproductive matters.

Agree 100%

I think you'd find a pretty large divergence between the NPC and the NPHC sororities. While Abortion may be out of bounds, the NPHC sororities have lived in the middle of that sort of political statements since the beginning (one of the differences in what AKA and DST state about their mutual history has to do with the participation in the early suffragette marches (and whether blacks should have been placed at the back)

Also, from the positions of the religions that they were founded by, Theta Phi Alpha on one side and Alpha Epsilon Pi and Sigma Delta Tau on the other *might* be more likely to make a comment.

Carnation hit the nail on the head. For my money, the last thing Greek orgs could opine on where all members would agree was saying 9/11 was awful.

You can’t one minute say you’re championing diversity and love and value all your members, and the next minute release a statement that would alienate or anger many of them. That’s classic white feminism. “Women should be free to do what they want and make their own choices. Oh crap, no!!! We didn’t mean like THAT.”

The difference is that the HBGLOs were specifically founded to (paraphrasing big time here) further and support the Black community.

True. But the same can be said I *think* in regard to a particular community, for the NPC sororities that I mentioned. (I agree that they are not *significantly* more likely, just somewhat)

Did NPC initiates join their group HOPING it would, or KNOWING it did, work toward one or another political point of view? I know fifty years ago I certainly did not join LMNPC group because it worked toward keeping men away from birth control methods.

NPC groups individually and as a whole are wise to both patiently observe the world and work quietly toward any necessary goals regarding their desired world. Look where quiet work, patience and perseverance got those who desired Roe v. Wade be overturned.

I’m fine with my group making no statement. Reproductive rights is a VERY emotional issue for women. People on both sides of the issue often have strong feelings for personal reasons.

I knew a restaurant owner who refused to put the news stations on in his bar section because either way, you’re alienating an estimated half of your customer base. As a service sorority, I think it’s best to focus on what services one can provide to the community with respect toward the fact that displaying strong opinions is potentially alienating to people we could serve.

While I agree that I don't want my sorority to tell what to think or how to think on any issue, I'm so proud that at least my sorority TAKES A STAND on an issue. Whether it's abortion, pride month, mental health awareness or something else, our instagram feed has substance. The vapidness of some of the NPC sororities' Instagram feeds is absolutely atrocious.

I don't believe that any of us elected our national officers to decide what side of a political issue our orgs were going to back. It seems to me that should a sorority take a political stand, it should be after polling ALL their members and voicing the side of the majority.

Hear hear!

Ours was one of supporting all our members - those celebrating this decision and those hurting from it. I think that's the approprite response.

I agree with all of these opinions. I also didn't join my sorority based on a potential political leaning, and do not appreciate being told that I should think one way or another - especially on such a hot button issue.

THIS is what women need to hear!
 

Just because I feel like no one has said it….

To the woman who is pro-life,
You are loved beyond measure

To the woman who is pro-choice,
You are loved beyond measure.

To the woman who is on the fence,
You are loved beyond measure.

To the woman who is heart broken from being told she is unable to have children.
You are loved and created for a purpose.

To the woman who is excitingly pregnant with her fifth child even though her family says it’s “irresponsible”
You are loved and created for a purpose.

To the woman who found out the child inside of her would cost her her life and chose to abort,
You are loved and created for a purpose

To the woman who’s world has been turned upside down when her child’s heart stopped beating inside her womb,
There is endless unconditioned love for you

To the woman who is on the bathroom floor looking at two pink lines after running from their abusive partner.
There is endless unconditional love for you.

To the woman who has to make an impossible decision when she was told her child was not forming properly and was in extreme pain.
There is endless unconditional love for you.

To the woman who’s abortion haunts her everyday,
There is grace and incredible love for you.

To the woman who was raped and found out she was pregnant and decided to not carry the child.
There is grace and incredible love for you.

To all of the woman who had to make a choice to bring life into the world or to end it and to the ones who were not given a choice. I hope you know that His grace and love is endless for you.

Regardless if people say your choice was “right” or “wrong” and with all the hatefulness on both sides. I hope you know that you are loved by the Savior of the world. HE understands your pain/grief/worry/doubt/ and every other thing you had to go through. And you are priceless and endlessly loved in his eyes. And mine. (I apologize for those who told you different)
You are loved beyond measure‼️

-Letitia
A woman who is imperfect, a sinner who is loved by God ❣️
#prolove

Thank you, honeychile.

It bears repeating: Thank you, honeychile.

honeychile, thank you!

I’m of the belief we should follow our own unspoken recruitment rules of the 5Bs and not talk about politics as national organizations.

I’ll venture to take it a step further that political discussion should be made taboo again among acquaintances.

On the other hand, I think sororities would be remiss not to educate members on how to have civil and respectful discussion with each other. We’ve seemingly let the treasured values of tolerance and “agreeing to disagree” fall by the wayside.

^^^^ YES!

I agree, and some just assume that their views are the same as their membership. My guess would be that even if they did a poll and a majority went one way, those on the other side would still be upset that they made a political statement.

I found this statement by AOPi to be something of value: https://www.alphaomicronpi.org/news/...ha-omicron-pi/

I agree, and some just assume that their views are the same as their membership. My guess would be that even if they did a poll and a majority went one way, those on the other side would still be upset that they made a political statement.

I like the statement they put out, they also had a PP within their statement just sort of providing some information on how to have difficult conversations. As was previously mentioned, we should be teaching members those skills. We've become so polarized as a society in general where one side absolutely thinks they are right and the other side is wrong.

I like it too! No group should presume to speak for its members. EVER.

THIS!

I just think both sides want us to hate/demonize the other at this point, and it’s driving everyone apart. We are all more alike than we know.

I like it because I have absolutely zero idea which side the person who wrote it is on.

We share letters shadokat, and I'm totally in agreement. To my fellow NPC sisters in this thread who want their organizations to take milquetoast stances on this issue and others - did you or did you not join sororities that actively seek to empower and uplift young women? As young women's rights are systematically destroyed, wouldn't it be extremely hypocritical of those organizations to stay silent? I would be disgusted if my country's Supreme Court rescinded R v. Morgentaler (our version of Roe v. Wade) and my sorority didn't make a statement about it in support of our Canadian sisters.

Joining a political group did not interest me, and not one of the 18 sororities made any political statements or in any other way indicated a collective viewpoint when I rushed. When I joined my sorority I joined for potential friendships, leadership opportunities, and potential connections later in life. I joined to make a large campus feel smaller.

Furthermore, where was the outcry when Lea Thomas was allowed to compete in the NCAA womens swim finals?

I can see where KD advocates for each sister to use their voice, but does not say how to use that voice. Southern chapters have different views than northern chapters. Christine Blasey Ford and Amy Coney Barrett are both KDs. To tell sisters which side of the line they need to stand is as restricting as if we had no voice. I know where I stand, I advocate for my view, I advocate on behalf of my daughter, nieces, and other women including the young ladies of the sorority to whom I am the House Director. I remind them all they have a voice, they have a vote--USE THEM! STAND BY THEM!

DaffyKD

I feel exactly like FSUZeta on this.

I was intrigued to see that one of the angriest people about Lea Thomas competing was my lesbian former high school gym teacher and her wife.

I will say this -- as a regional alumnae supervisor, I received an onslaught of angry phone calls, emails and texts after our statement was released. The members were downright incensed that the org made a statement. I, too, have a couple of members who are considering resignation over it.

As andthen pointed out, it's a no win situation. As *winter* said, "Reproductive rights is a VERY emotional issue for women. People on both sides of the issue often have strong feelings for personal reasons." This is one of the topics that is deeply personal and adherents on either side are highly unlikely to budge as both believe they are morally right. If your org wasn't expressly formed to be a political vehicle, then tread carefully. Picking a side will lose half of your audience and create a lot of damage, as I am now seeing myself. :(

So what you’re basically saying is all your sisters who don’t agree with abortion being legal can go shit in their hat? Not everyone agrees that it is “empowering” or “uplifting.”

There was a discussion on Reddit that women should go on strike the way they did in Iceland over unequal pay. The difference with that is I don’t know of any women who are in favor of being paid less than a man for the same job, but I know plenty of women who are in favor of Roe being overturned. This whole thing is turning into a men vs women thing and that’s SO far off the mark. There are lots and lots of pro-Roe men and lots and lots of anti-Roe women.

Absolutely! YITS <3

Wow, I don’t know if you’re trying to be funny, but that kind of isn’t.

I don't find it funny that while so many women are going to die because they're not able to have a lifesaving medical procedure, the overwhelming sentiment in this thread is "let's just play nice".

I have to respectfully disagree with your interpretation. Both women and men are upset and concerned over the recent supreme court ruling, where others are celebrating this "victory" that SCOTUS has given them. There are many people on both sides out there protesting some of them are my sorority sisters who work in the reproductive space. The main difference is people aren't out there carrying posters saying ABC is pro-life or XYZ is pro-choice.

As Navane even mentioned there's been a lot of backlash she's encountered because her org sort of "dipped their toe in this space"

Unfortunately there's just been a lot of polarizing political issues that other orgs had inadvertently stepped into which caused a lot of hurt feelings within other GLOs as well.

If you want to support a political cause then donate or join a PAC not a sorority.

Agreed. This was the right message to send to our members.

I saw this posted in another forum. I don't feel that I can rightfully quote it directly, but I'll try to paraphrase. Due to fraternal organizations each having a 501c7 social clubs designation, they stand to lose this status - and their non-profit status - should they wander into the political agenda arena.

Those GLOs who are keeping quiet may be doing so to protect their organizations' status.

The fact that each of the three NPHC groups that I checked (AKA, DST, & APhiA) are all 501(c)7 seems to indicate that this has been worked around.