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Originally Posted by stormi

Hi Fellow Greeks and Spectators
My name is Stormi and I am a sister of Alpha Lambda Sigma Sorority, a local organization recently banned from Pace University Pleasantville. I have pasted an email I have sent to NPC and IFC in regads to situation ALS is in at Pace. If anyone has any knowledge and could help us, we would greatly appreciate it.

Hi Stormi,

It sounds as if your organization has found itself at a crossroads. I can understand why the situation would be unsettling for you. I noted a few of the things you mentioned in your statement that I would like to look at more closely.

I am an executive board member of Pace's University Panhellenic Council, comprised of both local and national sororities in which we uphold the constitution of the National Panhellenic Council. As members of NPC I believe it is unfair for local sororities to be treated differently than national sororities when we uphold and respect the same constitution of NPC and UPC.

It may just be semantics; but, I do need to clarify something. At the risk of sounding impolite, Alpha Lambda Sigma is not an NPC organization. You are a local organization with "associate" or "guest" status on the NPC-sponsored University Panhellenic Council. This does not give you full benefits and protections of the NPC and, yes, you are treated differently. As an exec board member of UPC, you know this already. ALS does have voice and a vote, but cannot hold the office of President, recruitment chairperson, or vote on extension. If ALS wanted the benefits of a national organization, you would have to relinquish your local status and be national. ALS can't have it's cake and eat it too.

As of April 2019, false allegations have been brought forth against ALS with a lack of evidence to prove us guilty, yet we were suspended from campus. In 2018, another local sorority, Nu Zeta Phi was suspended from our campus. We believe their situation was different than ALS' but nontheless we believe they were treated unfairly in the same manner that ALS is being treated by Pace's Center for Student Development and Campus Activities (SDCA).

To be fair, you've only presented one side of the story. What, specifically, was ALS accused of doing?

Our santions are: Chapter Suspension for 4 calendar years. Pace has a policy that says, any local sorority suspended from campus for any length of time can not be reinstated unless they come back with new Greek letters or as a National sorority. This policy affects only local sororities and not national sororities, thus being unfair. Although we can not change the University's policies, we can speak out against the unjustice.

I can completely understand the chapter feeling upset; but, this policy is not unfair. Reading between the lines, it seems that the university would like all of it's GLOs to be nationally affiliated. Some colleges, like the one where carnation taught, simply mandated that all locals convert to nationals or be disbanded. However, Pace appears to have grandfathered-in the local GLOs under the stipulation that, if you mess up, you can only come back as a national. Reading the Pace University Fraternity & Sorority Life webpage, the Relationship Statement clearly spells that out in section 1Ad. Further, there is a separate Reinstatement Procedures document which is even more specific about the expectations to return only as a nationally-affiliated chapter. That document is from 2013; so, ALS can't say that they weren't aware of the potential for this to happen.

See here: https://www.pace.edu/student-develop...life-resources

We have reasons to believe the Senior Associate Director of Pace's SDCA is on a mission to completely get rid of Greek Life on Pace's Pleasantville Campus because he disliked the fraternity in which he pledged. This man has even said to our President of Alpha Lambda Sigma that he "would not lose sleep if we were kicked off campus".

Making an unfounded personal statement against a university administrator isn't a wise idea.

After talking to the President of UPC, a sister of Delta Phi Epsilon, she agrees the rules and policies Pace has set forth against Greek Life is extremely unfair. For example, there is a rule that states the President of UPC can only be a sister of a national sorority. Pace's Pleasantville Campus only has two national sororities: Delta Phi Epsilon and Phi Sigma Sigma, therefore being unjust towards the two locals on our campus: Alpha Lambda Sigma and Sigma Iota Chi.

No, no, no and no. Once again, ALS is NOT an NPC sorority. You are a guest member of the campus council only. This rule about the President can only be from an NPC chapter comes from the NPC national body. The university did not come up with that rule. Also, the young ladies from DPhiE and PSS have no say in that because, again, the NPC governing body said that rule is mandatory for all UPCs at every campus.

Read the NPC Manual of Information (pgs 68-69): https://tinyurl.com/yydleknt

At the moment, ALS is trying to appeal our suspension, but if our appeal gets denied we will no longer exist. If we cannot be reinstated, we will do whatever it takes to come back to campus, that being said, I would like to know how can a local sorority like ALS, come back as a national organization? If becoming a national is our only hope, we will go through whatever it takes to allow our sisterhood to live on.
Is there anyone we can speak to who can either help us in this unfair treatment or is there anyone who can advise us and lead us in the right direction to become a national sorority?

As 33girl pointed out, it's not as easy as having a national sorority come and take over. There is no guarantee that any of your members will be absorbed into the new sorority. If you choose to go the NPC route, there is a rather complicated process that one must go through. You can read about it here: https://www.npcwomen.org/login/colle...ics/extension/ If Pace University is ok with other national, but non-NPC, sororities that may be another option. I don't have a list of those handy for you - you can maybe Google around a bit for other GLOs. In any case, you have to be honest with yourself here - will a national GLO want to come in and absorb a local GLO that has just been suspended for four years?

So now we come back around to this - what happened? You're saying that Pace University literally made up a completely false accusation due to an administrator not liking his fraternity. Then they handed down a 4-year suspension and you all swear that you did absolutely nothing wrong? That sounds odd to me. I suppose it's possible, but maybe not probable.

I wish I had better news for you.