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Having read this, here are some thoughts on how to "get involved," because I think most of us are caught up in this outdated presumption that we need permission from that small group of leaders or fraternity/sorority professionals to be involved.
1) Consider writing on Medium or encouraging students to set up accounts on GreekChat etc. Too much of the communication around fraternities/sororities is dominated by special interests (leadership, campus professionals, vendor companies) or the news media. Vocalizing problems AND solutions will help students feel confident.
2) Work with a local chapter or volunteer to understand and create cheat sheets regarding your organizations governing processes. - For example - In my fraternity, any chapter can submit a constitutional amendment at any time and the organization must distribute it to all chapters for a vote within 60 days. That is basically an unknown concept among our members, but beats the heck out of hoping a committee will approve an amendment to be voted on at Convention.
3) Advocate for free association - The best way to do this is to encourage chapters to identify a real niche. In my professional fraternity experience and time as an adviser, I can say that I've turned around 2-3 chapters just by getting their minds off of the 50-60-point checklists o' leadership they need to complete for their campus and by encouraging them to find 1-2 things which make them truly unique and to pursue those entirely. They actually start paying attention to why they are recruiting people.
4) Voice opposition to "general" statements. Almost every time the NIC says that "we" support something, I am the little bugger that asks when they polled the membership. My fraternity has reversed its policy of endorsing legislation and our Grand Council changed an ageist bylaw in part because I and a few other members sent emails and tweets at the right time. Our leaders are obsessed with their public image - I promise you that something as simple as a tweet from a knowledgeable member has exceptional power.
Just some thoughts. They may sound stupid, but the gist is Help students understand where they do have power to teach them to become leaders. We don't become leaders by marking good deeds off of a checklist and talking trash behind "nationals" back.
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