Chapter was just closed - now what?

[Kevin]

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)

[naraht]

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.

[BossLadyAKA]

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.

[navane]

Originally Posted by TheresaM

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.

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.

[clemsongirl]

Originally Posted by BossLadyAKA

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.

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.

[MaggieXi]

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.

[33girl]

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

[Sororitysock]

Originally Posted by TheresaM

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.

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

[33girl]

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

[KDCat]

Originally Posted by TheresaM

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.

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...

[Just interested]

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.

[Sciencewoman]

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

[clemsongirl]

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.

[Alumna2]

Originally Posted by Just interested

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.

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.