[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Chapters closing left and right, people saying Greek life was over and outdated.

But is what happened then an apples and apples comparison to present day and what's occurring now? I wouldn't know, as this statement is very vague, but as others have pointed out, probably not.

Originally Posted by Sen's Revenge

I find it pretty hard to rationalize why organizations with intangible selective membership criteria and practices that are not open to public inspection need university recognition.

I love Greek life. Adore it. I find myself always asking professionals whether they pledged in college (or later).

But what many organizations seem to be seem to be only tangentially related to the education of values or service to the community.

I am totally fine with anybody joining anything they want off-campus.

I think organizations seeking recognition, or (as my college called it) access to benefits, it should prioritize significant community service, prioritize pathways to academic excellence, be committed to anti-racism, and in the case of men's organizations, demonstrate a commitment to ending rape.

All of this. If that's what we preach, we should be committed to it when associated with a college or university.

I also think back to the thread regarding the NPC creating a community college task force, and there were very mixed reactions to the thought of gaining members at those institutions. I've always been of the mindset: why not? Why not create chapters that can function within parameters outside of a four-year institution? We do so with our alumni chapters, so what's stopping us? And perhaps there's another alternative where those members could be part of an alumni/citywide chapter, merging both alumni and non-traditional college students?

But I digress.

Originally Posted by Kevin

As a whole, I think Greek orgs may be stumbling, but I think they'll regain their footing. I think we need to be diverse and inclusive, but at the same time, not cave or cower to these external forces asking for changes against our best interests or demanding that we disband. Our groups need to be more vocal about our right to exist, our years of tradition, the services we provide, etc. We need to be much more vocal.

We need to do a much better job holding members accountable, owning our bad actions and cooperating with schools in ensuring the bad choices of members are not the bad choices of our organizations, i.e., let's collectively avoid responding to RM infractions as the UTenn Pikes responded to that whole butt chugging incident--years ago, but what a literal shitshow. We should look at that incident as a case study of exactly how not to respond to an incident.

We have to walk the tightrope of not giving up what we are while remaining relevant.

We can't do what you suggest (in bold) in your first paragraph - and expect to stay relevant - if we don't do what you suggest in your second paragraph. We can scream from the rooftops all we want, but if we're not living those same values we preach, no one will believe what we're saying. As the old saying goes, actions speak louder than words.

Originally Posted by carnation

Okay, I want someone to tell me exactly what they mean by diversity and inclusiveness. I know racial diversity, but what else? And I feel like some people think it means we should pledge anyone who wanders up even if they're seriously disturbed or a total social media risk or they have a 1.2 GPA.

Race, homosexuality, identity, disability, etc. There are so many directions to go with this.

And I have yet to see or hear anyone arguing we should accept members who have severe mental issues that would put members' health in jeopardy, nor have I seen a push for us to accept students with a GPA so low that even the university would kick them out of the school entirely. Are there articles about this? Social media posts? Widespread protests? If so, I missed them entirely.

Also, what about "diversity" by looks/attractiveness? This alone makes people think that the system, and especially certain chapters, are judging potential members on looks alone. It seems this is particularly emphasized in sororities. Heck, one only needs to look as far as other recent threads on Greekchat discussing one NPC sorority in particular to know that this is still a huge issue that can play a major part in membership selection.

Originally Posted by NoID

I believe some organizations are catering to a vocal minority who joined an organization for one reason and then want to change it because it's not what they were actually looking for.

MANY of the recalcitrant alumnae of NPC sororities say something like "Yeah, when the D9 includes whites ....". Makes me cringe. But we look at their purpose. Those organizations were formed with the intent of furthering non-white acceptance and networking. In other words, they have a racial component that the IFC and the NPC has only in tradition, not in purpose. We can change tradition without changing the purpose of the organization.

When an organization publicizes its desire to change its focus based on the calls from collegians to change tradition, they'll fail. When they change tradition to inclusivity - of all *viewpoints*, not all races, they'll find their footing again.

*snaps*

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

IMO, the "institution" of Greek Life isn't really necessary anymore. All of the perks that (general) we promote are no longer exclusive to Greek Life (not that they were before, but there was the perception). And rather than update for the times, there appears to be a ton of resistance.

I often read a lot of "well why do we have to do this and that change" for things that (to me) don't seem to be huge deals. To me, the core of my Greek experience was the *living* of the experience, not the minutia. So if (for example) my organization stopped a legacy requirement, to me that's not a big deal because my experience isn't tied to that. I suspect many outsiders or newbies see "the establishment" as being immovable and it's a turn off.

I liken it to the music industry shift. For a while, the only way to "make it" was to go through a label and that whole process. Now you can forge your own path independently or within small collectives without the backing of a huge label.

I think many newer members are aware of this and if GLOs want to appeal to those people, they'll need to meet them where they're at.

Again, *snaps*. As you say, people are finding other ways in college to obtain the same benefits we advertise. And if they can do that with a - real or perceived - absence of sexual assault, discrimination, hazing, unfair judgment by their peers, etc., then they may just steer clear of Greek life altogether and tell others to do the same.