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

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...66a_story.html

:rolleyes:

OK, kid, quit if you want to but stop trying to gain glory by doing it.

I'm not understanding the need to disband chapters or greek organizations, instead of working to improve them.

Meaningful Change comes from within.

What honeychile said!

Maybe I’m just a big ol cynic...but I have to wonder if everyone would be voluntarily quitting if it wasn’t for COVID. I’m sure the fact that they can’t really DO anything with their GLOs plays a role here as well...only this way, they can act like they’re doing something for society.

So if their chapter is not as diverse as they think it should be, what is stopping THEM from pledging the people that they think will make the chapter more representative? Their membership is totally in their hands, isn't it? I am clearly missing something....

Whew

THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS

It’s kind of the opposite of businesses closing and blaming it on covid when they were already circling the drain on New Years Eve - before any of this started.

Because they haven’t been properly taught how to open rush or think outside formalized rush parties as a way to find new members. The five steps every Greek should know:
1 Meet someone
2 Make friends with them
3 Introduce them to your friends
4 Introduce them to your GLO
5 Ask them to join!

I think this generation is so backward socially sometimes that the thought of doing something that doesn’t have a time slot or a power point is akin to asking them to get in a covered wagon and cross the prairie. They think the people who show up for formal rush are their only options for new members.

I agree that far reaching impact of COVID 19 ie personal financial instability is very likely influencing some of these votes to leave and or disband. I do not understand the need to completely abolish the Greek System. It would be interesting to do a follow up with some of those who leave and see if they regret their decision in the future.

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?

Right? They met for two hours over Zoom and decided to disband their chapter. It looks like this chapter has existed since 1990. So over the course of two hours they figured they had no problem throwing away what three decades had helped build. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in that Zoom call to hear why they all thought to give up so quickly.

Well exactly. They just figure "Eh, we'll shut this down," as if the national organization isn't going to have something to say about it. And where are all the angry alumni of their chapter, because I'm sure they're out there!

What's strangest to me is that many of these chapters - including the example in the article - are collectively deciding to disband. It's not just one or two members but essentially the whole chapter. So if the whole chapter feels that way, isn't there strength in numbers? Couldn't you work together to build a chapter you're proud of and to try and enact change above?

It's especially strange because this is considered to be the most activism-focused generation in decades, but they don't want to take the time to make change to their chapter or organization. Perhaps it's because they truly don't know what membership means yet? If we all really think back to being a college student, how much did we truly understand our organizations and all they had to offer? Knowledge and perspective comes with years and experience. These students don't have it. And as has been mentioned, they probably have it even less so because of COVID and how relatively little they're interacting with their brothers, sisters, and national organizations.

Take convention for example. I attended AST's this year - over Zoom, of course - and it was clearly different and disappointing that we couldn't all be together in person. What disappointed me most, though, was that there were hundreds of collegiate women who were experiencing convention for the first time, and that's what they saw and experienced. Did they learn much? Did they sign off their computers feeling inspired? Probably not. There were no stories to take back to their chapters or new friends made. There were no hugs and handshakes. There were no fun activities or late nights talking to newly-met sisters in hotel rooms. They didn't get to truly see a formal business meeting of the national organization take place. They didn't see chapters go up on stage to receive awards. Will they ever feel inclined to attend convention again? Do they see the larger benefits of membership? Do they feel a new connectedness to the organization? They should, but I doubt many of them do.

All I know is that this year is truly a challenging one for Greek life.

In most cases, or at least with my organization, the undergrads do not determine whether their chapter remains open--and it definitely shouldn't be done by majority vote. If you want to resign, then resign. If the anti-segregationist members of Sigma Nu didn't stand up and fight in the late 60s, who knows where we'd be as an organization today?

The chapter had 26 men, so it's probably at the bottom of the social pecking order anyhow and maybe these guys were just looking for an excuse to get out?

^^^yep, and even more cynical me thinks they probably think this will get them some whomp whomp.

I guess this trend is now spreading out to non-Greek orgs as well? At least one I have heard of:

Columbia Marching Band Shuts Itself Down Over ‘Offensive Behavior’
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/15/n...-shutdown.html

This dissolution appears to based on, not attitudes and behaviors of current members, but of things that have happened over the past 100+ year history of the band. So, like others have commented on fraternities and sororities, rather than make sure these things are no longer happening, and be a model of change going forward, they would rather just end the whole thing completely.