Phi Kappa Psi at U of Virginia Voluntarily Suspends Activities

[honorgal]

Originally Posted by LaneSig

"Sorority sisters at the University of Virginia were ordered by their national chapters to avoid fraternity events this weekend — a mandate that many of the women said was irrational, sexist and contrary to the school’s culture."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/g...rothers-party/

This weekend is Bid Night for the fraternities.

From UVA's Daily Cavalier:

http://www.cavalierdaily.com/article...mens-bid-night

Good grief! Well, I guess this shouldn't be surprising...when gripped by a moral panic, communities frequently make irrational decisions.

[33girl]

So if the sororities have "events" at their houses, are they going to be of the overnight variety? Wouldn't that be hazing to subject the new members to such an event with less than a week's notice? For that matter, isn't it considered hazing to require NMs to attend any mandatory event that hasn't been preplanned?

[lake]

I'm very disappointed in how the national chapters at UVA are handling things this upcoming weekend. I totally understand that the safety of their members is what is motivating this decision (edict?), but I think they're going about it all wrong. It completely flies in the face of so many of the values they state that sorority membership promotes, and undermines the relevance of sorority membership in this day and age. Very disappointing.

[33girl]

Also, from what I've read, these boys' bid night parties are not paired functions or mixers - the guys simply invite whom they want to have there. I'm guessing that some of the girls invited won't be GLO members. Have the NPC groups reached out to any of the other women's groups on campus and encouraged them to take the same action, showing concern for those women's safety?

[Sciencewoman]

Usually fraternity bid night, the day after sorority bid night, is the biggest party night of the year at my daughter's campus (also in VA). One of the sororities was told (by HQ or higher level internal advisors) they couldn't participate last January, and this year the event was changed from a progressive party (all fraternities having simultaneous parties) to one supervised band party in a central outdoor location (in January!). In the past, all new members were assigned sober active member escorts for the evening, who made sure all new members were safely in their beds at the end of the night. Seriously...infer what you will from that. There's a lot going on here...member safety and PR for the Greek system. Recent events have heightened awareness, but they've also put Greek organizations on red alert for avoiding anything that will create negative PR. Did anyone else happen to see the extensive on-site news story the Today Show did this morning at UVa?

[ASTalumna06]

UVA Sorority Members Outraged Over Frat Party Ban

http://abcnews.go.com/US/uva-sororit...572703&ts=true

Nicolette Gendron, a fourth-year student in Kappa Alpha Theta at UVA, said she is angered by the situation.

“It takes away choice, and a women’s choice over her own safety and over her own body and I think it codifies women as sex objects. Just completely take the women out of the equation for their own good,” Gendron told ABC News. “How come men still get to have their parties and we have to be locked in our sorority houses? It just doesn’t make sense.”

Lindsey Bond, a former member of a sorority at UVA and a fourth-year student, also finds the mandate upsetting, believing that it is hurting women rather than helping them.

"I think it's an ill-placed attempt to promote something positive. I think that it comes from a place of wanting to help but ultimately it kind of does the opposite because it stigmatizes women and sort of places them once again in a position where they don't have authority," Bond said. "What would have been more apt would have been really to sort of foster a conversation with sororities."

[lake]

What really rankles me is that this is the U.S. (and Canada). This is the West. Since when did it become okay to segregrate the women from the men because of potential or perceived "immorality" by men? For God's sake, they treat women like this in Saudi Arabia!!

And what about "freedom of association"? The NPC sororities are quick to cite this in certain instances, but apparently they feel they have veto power over this freedom without any input or discussion from any of the students

If I was a young (sorority) woman on this campus, I would protest. If I was a non-affiliated woman, I would question the relevance of sorority life, and seriously think twice about affiliating with an organization that would take away my ability to make choices for myself. Even though I'm an (older) sorority woman, I may just protest this myself.

[AnchorAlum]

I agree with those who find these developments disturbing. When do these young women come to the realization that they have to be responsible for control of their bodies and that no one else can take that from them if they remain somewhere this side of blind drunk? I too am one of the "ahem, older" baby boomer sorority members from a southern school where drinking was a routine event on weekends and fraternities could have alcohol in their houses, which at the time were located on the campus!

At the risk of sounding like the classic old fuddy-duddy, everyone in the house KNEW that if you drank to excess and were at a party, you put yourself at risk. There was no thought that you were being stigmatized or put in a position where you didn't have "authority". YOU were responsible for your own body - until you didn't want to be, if you know what I mean.

Men have not changed, will not change, and will always, always think with a part of their anatomy not associated with logic, respect, or restraint. Not a knock, guys; it is what it is. Seriously, who goes to college these days and has NOT been told that by their own Mother? You know, that voice of personal experience who back in the 60's or 70's in all likelihood found that out for herself? It has zero to do with gender equality. It's just bein' regular old homo sapiens, baby.
Rant over.

[pbear19]

This was posted this afternoon on NPC's facebook page:

The National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) and its 26 member national and international sororities have long maintained, by Unanimous Agreement, a policy denouncing the participation of Panhellenic women in the recruitment activities of men’s fraternal organizations. It was for that reason that the presidents of NPC member organizations with chapters at the University of Virginia issued a joint statement directing those chapters and their members to not take part in UVA men’s bid night activities. We know from experience that such events pose risk management and safety issues.

[33girl]

I'm glad that they included the statement from NPC saying this wasn't a conference decision, but one agreed upon by individual chapters, since the university president apparently didn't understand that.

ETA: this isn't a "recruitment activity. " Recruitment is over. That statement was originally against women wearing letters, being rush hostesses, etc. Flipping the script isn't cool.

[lake]

Originally Posted by 33girl

ETA: this isn't a "recruitment activity. " Recruitment is over. That statement was originally against women wearing letters, being rush hostesses, etc. Flipping the script isn't cool.

Exactly!! Bid night isn't technically recruitment. It's a separate celebration at the end of recruitment. And trust me, I stand by the belief that sorority women shouldn't help men with their recruitment activities. I think it puts those women in an undignified position. It disgusts me to think that some fraternities would use these women that way ["Wink, wink...you'll have access to these and women like these if you pledge this fraternity."] But there's a huge difference between actual recruitment and a celebration to come over, meet and congratulate new fraternity members.

[1964Alum]

Originally Posted by AnchorAlum

I agree with those who find these developments disturbing. When do these young women come to the realization that they have to be responsible for control of their bodies and that no one else can take that from them if they remain somewhere this side of blind drunk? I too am one of the "ahem, older" baby boomer sorority members from a southern school where drinking was a routine event on weekends and fraternities could have alcohol in their houses, which at the time were located on the campus!

At the risk of sounding like the classic old fuddy-duddy, everyone in the house KNEW that if you drank to excess and were at a party, you put yourself at risk. There was no thought that you were being stigmatized or put in a position where you didn't have "authority". YOU were responsible for your own body - until you didn't want to be, if you know what I mean.

Men have not changed, will not change, and will always, always think with a part of their anatomy not associated with logic, respect, or restraint. Not a knock, guys; it is what it is. Seriously, who goes to college these days and has NOT been told that by their own Mother? You know, that voice of personal experience who back in the 60's or 70's in all likelihood found that out for herself? It has zero to do with gender equality. It's just bein' regular old homo sapiens, baby.
Rant over.

This "old fuddy duddy" agrees with you!

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by 33girl

I'm glad that they included the statement from NPC saying this wasn't a conference decision, but one agreed upon by individual chapters, since the university president apparently didn't understand that.

ETA: this isn't a "recruitment activity. " Recruitment is over. That statement was originally against women wearing letters, being rush hostesses, etc. Flipping the script isn't cool.

And if they want to flip it, they need to make a blanket statement/restriction across all campuses. Fraternities having bid night parties (and inviting women, sorority or otherwise) was the norm on my campus, and I'm sure it's the same elsewhere. Heck, I've been to ones where they even invited non-fraternity guys, and it was a low key, close friends only kind of thing. How can you restrict your sisters from hanging out with their friends?

And quite frankly, I think this is perpetuating the stereotype that Greek men are drunk rapists. If even the sorority women are banned from hanging out with fraternity men, why would people think they're anything except belligerent sex-crazed animals?

The school has made great strides to ensure that Greek social events are monitored and safe. Over the past couple months, each organization on campus has been cooperative, and they are very aware of the potential dangers in partying/drinking with no oversight. Our national organizations need to trust that they have learned something from all of this. No one is going to be 100% safe from a terrible incident, but if you can't show that you trust your members to use their own judgment and make their own decisions, then you're headed down a slippery slope.

And as far as I know, no other student organization on campus is doing this or has agreed to follow these same rules. So what happens when sisters are told that they can't hang out with the fraternities, but some of them go to a party with the basketball team and they're drugged, or raped, or any other unimaginable thing that could happen? Ironically, it's now probably safer for the sorority women to go to fraternity parties.

[exlurker]

Phi Kappa Psi at UVA released a statement (Washington Post carries it -- below) just after the local police released their statement about their investigation. The police found no evidence to support "Jackie's" story. The police did not (really could not, I think) dismiss the possibility that something may have happened -- just not what "Jackie" said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/...f1c_story.html

For a little more about the police report on their investigation:

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/...raternity-rape

[honorgal]

Originally Posted by exlurker

The police did not (really could not, I think) dismiss the possibility that something may have happened -- just not what "Jackie" said.

Yeah, because...politics. And it's pretty darn impossible to prove the negative.

The WaPost's Eric Wemple had the most accurate and concise headline.

"Charlottesville police make clear that Rolling Stone story is a complete crock"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...omplete-crock/