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A bit off topic but I'll say it nonetheless. This is my own personal experience and opinion, my mother is African-American and I easily pass for Caucasian but the fact of the matter is that I'm biracial, one would not think I have African-American heritage if one were to meet me. I'm only speaking on my personal experiences.
The accounts on Instagram @stripyourletters and a majority of the abolishgreeklife at (insert school name here) accounts are run by students who are Caucasian, the majority of women who have been dropping their sororities at Northwestern are also Caucasian, I've been thinking about this a lot and I've been speaking about it at length with my fellow Panhellenic friends. There's this movement that's sprung up and are some things valid? Yes, I do believe that the stories of attacks at fraternity parties do need to be told and I believe that if racist behavior is exhibited, it needs to be taken care of, but the majority of these pages are happy to ignore the fact that Greek Life isn't for everyone, those who make an effort to join a chapter and continue making an effort usually thrive and flourish and that those who don't make an effort usually don't reap the benefits of being in PHC/IFC and are the ones who drop and make a fuss. Going Greek is not for all.
I know quite a large number of women who've rushed NPC sororities who are African-American and they've never even considered leaving, I had a daughter and a stepdaughter go through recruitment this autumn who would never think of leaving their new chapters, and I have friends who had daughters go through recruitment this year and years ago who also would never leave the chapters they joined. From what I've seen and what I've heard, it's not the African American women in sororities who are demanding this change and who are demanding that Greek life be abolished, it's the Caucasian women within these chapters who are leading the charge and I think that it's to make themselves look and feel better. I have no qualms with this because I'm sure that they're sure that they're making a difference but the fact of the matter is that they think that they're being progressive and woke but they're really speaking over the women in their chapters who are perfectly happy to be a part of the organization they've chosen to be a part of.
I find it to be quite disheartening that instead of going out and tabling, recruiting, and making their chapters into the image that they desire, they choose to take the easy way out and shut down their chapter against the advice and without the permission of Nationals. I understand that they feel like there's a pressure on them to diversify from various voices on their campus but instead of being the sorority that capitulates, why would they not work to become the chapter they desire? I think it's quite lazy to just close doors instead of working through the issues the chapter faces and it's not like Nationals won't go in and reestablish the chapter after each girl has graduated, it's all for naught in the end.
I'll end with this, I wish it was like the old days when people understood that if they didn't want to be a part of Greek life they could simply drop and go, they didn't need to announce their departure or make movements to try and convince others to leave the chapter, they would just leave their badge on the mantle and get out. There's no need for them to attempt to ruin the experience that other people are having and that they're enjoying.
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