Fall of the frat house: Students target Greek life amid America’s racial reckoning

[Cheerio]

Originally Posted by carnation

I don't get why some of these students try to turn in their charters and I think it's hilarious that some of their IHQs are refusing to accept them and instead, planning to re-rush for new members. How dare they attempt to throw away years of history and tradition?

I read an article by one group whose IHQ did this and it was titled something like "Forced to Exist". Remember when we used to talk about the wahhmbulance here?

I read the same article. The NPC group in question does appear rather bright in its refusal to allow chapters to vote to resign, since a majority voting to disaffiliate would mean ALL chapter members would be required to disaffiliate INCLUDING those who desire to remain affiliated. This method forces those desiring to leave the opportunity to think about other chapter sisters before themselves.

[33girl]

I feel bad for the members who really don’t want to do this and whose voices are being overrode- or who are afraid to speak up at all, for fear of being called racist/misogynist/whateverist.

[carnation]

For sure!

[Sen's Revenge]

Originally Posted by 33girl

I feel bad for the members who really don’t want to do this and whose voices are being overrode- or who are afraid to speak up at all, for fear of being called racist/misogynist/whateverist.

I don't.

They're adults.

[33girl]

They are, but there are a lot of shy/unsure adults.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by 33girl

They are, but there are a lot of shy/unsure adults.

And if you're sitting in a business meeting and 75% of the members are up in arms and calling to disband, it takes a really strong person to stand up and fight back against that. And let's pretend you're the freshman who was just initiated and you're trying to stand up to juniors and seniors who have been members of the organization for years and may be holding executive positions. Do you say something?

I can honestly look at myself at that time in my life and acknowledge that I very well could have been the quiet one in the corner that didn't want to make any waves. I could have been fuming inside, but the thought of speaking out like that would have terrified me. That gradually changed and was not the case anymore by the time I hit my senior year

However, I also never had to face such a situation, so I can't really say what I would or wouldn't do. But I won't judge anyone for staying quiet.

[content.camille]

Originally Posted by 33girl

They are, but there are a lot of shy/unsure adults.

I'd also say that while it takes a lot of strength to stand up to one's enemies, it takes even more to stand up to one's friends.

When I was in university, my greatest fear was having no friends or having all of my friends leave me, I joined my sisterhood so I'd always have friends and sisters to depend on, especially because I was so far from home. When my eldest rushed, she was terrified that if she didn't rush and her friends did, they'd stop talking to her because she hadn't gone Greek or her friends that had decided to forgo rush would stop talking to her because she HAD gone Greek. When she did rush, she did lose friends. I think this is precisely the same thing, these children (and I say that because I wasn't an adult until nearly 25 and didn't know what I wanted until near 30) are faced with a decision of disaffiliating and "rising up" against their nationals to seem woke/progressive and "on the right side of history" or keeping membership in a chapter that they love and cherish.

I've come to a point where I honestly think that in a situation like this, there's truly no winning. You either disaffiliate and run the risk of losing your Greek friends or you stay affiliated and run the risk of losing your friends that have chosen to disaffiliate.

[Sen's Revenge]

Originally Posted by 33girl

They are, but there are a lot of shy/unsure adults.

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

And if you're sitting in a business meeting and 75% of the members are up in arms and calling to disband, it takes a really strong person to stand up and fight back against that.

Originally Posted by content.camille

I'd also say that while it takes a lot of strength to stand up to one's enemies, it takes even more to stand up to one's friends.

This language is utterly foreign to me.

Being established on principles of democracy in the first place, it fascinates me to hear that organizations would have members who are afraid to dissent.

C'est la vie, I guess.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by Sen's Revenge

This language is utterly foreign to me.

Being established on principles of democracy in the first place, it fascinates me to hear that organizations would have members who are afraid to dissent.

C'est la vie, I guess.

You think that every member of every organization is a strong-willed person who's willing to buck the system and move forward on their own without the support of their friends? Hm...

This isn't a situation where most chapter members want to hold a mixer and there are a handful who are against it. This is a larger and much more complicated situation.

We keep reading the stories about the members who are wanting to shut the whole thing down. I'd be interested in reading articles about the members from those same chapters who want to stick it out and make positive change. I wonder if the national organizations are hearing from them.

[content.camille]

Originally Posted by Sen's Revenge

This language is utterly foreign to me.

Being established on principles of democracy in the first place, it fascinates me to hear that organizations would have members who are afraid to dissent.

C'est la vie, I guess.

I quoted Dumbledore, there's no reason to read into it.