University of Alabama Alpha Phi Expelled for Racist Video

[OldFLDDD]

I am new to this site and with a daughter heading to college in the fall, so I'm just starting to get a feel for how things work these days WRT recruitment, and the pledge period (whatever that is called now). Back in my day (yes, you see I used the word "old" in my name), pledging was long and difficult. There were study halls, meetings, required pledge events, education, etc. A lot of these activities were fun, mind you, but still required whether you found them fun or not. You kept your grades up because you sure didn't want to have to wait to get initiated the following school year. It was a privilege to finally become a fully initiated sister after months of pledging. It was a very somber, very serious event. It sounds like now the whole process is so watered down that it's more like joining a club and paying your dues. This all makes me very sad to think that members potentially do not feel the same amount of sincerity in their sisterhood as they did years ago.

As far as the original post about this girl...how positively mortifying for her sorority. And I do agree that a longer "getting to know you" period would help to weed out some of the trash before they become initiated members!

[AZTheta]

I do not see this as a reflection on Alpha Phi, which is a stellar organization. It could easily have been your sorority, OldFlDDD, or mine, or honeychile's, or carnation's, or ... you get my drift. As I posted earlier, we all take turns in the hot seat. I actually see it as a reflection on all of Greek Life. We are lumped together, and we all suffer when something like this occurs.

Nor do I see this young woman (or any other troubling members) as trash. People, to me, are not trash. It is clear that "conduct unbecoming" applies here, and membership selection is not a perfect process. We don't have any crystal ball to consult to see who might be problematic (and how I wish we did!). My fellow alumnae who are advisors and have stayed active in their sororities over the years can attest to what I'm about to say. As an advisor for a large chapter, I kept in mind that a certain percentage of the group was going to have some sort of challenge which would impact the group. That might be too much drinking, eating disorders, depression, difficulty with time management, poor scholarship, too much time at the fraternities, and so on. Remember these are still undeveloped brains with questionable maturity. The influences of social media and the speed of life (the information superhighway) on their lives are nothing like what I went through (back when God was a baby). This young woman was extremely reckless (not to mention cruel, heartless, arrogant, foul-mouthed, and racist) and the consequences of her recklessness are going to be with her for a very long time. I'd like to think she feels ashamed, but I'm a pragmatist.

Personally, the shortened new member period is not at all to my liking. What NYCMS wrote expresses many of my thoughts. Direct observation reveals that the new members have little to no understanding of the tenets of membership. Ritual seems to be an odious obligation which is poorly implemented instead of being at the core of the sorority's functioning and purpose. Finally, my respect to Chi Omega for sticking to their guns and not initiating until after their new members have made grades.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by AZTheta

Finally, my respect to Chi Omega for sticking to their guns and not initiating until after their new members have made grades.

I've always found it interesting that there was the one holdout and no other organizations thought, "Hey, it's still working for them." As far as I can tell, Chi Omega doesn't have any more or less risk management issues than the other NPC groups. And considering how many members and active chapters they have, that certainly counts a little extra, in my opinion.

I'd be curious to know what their retention rates look like before and after initiation and how they compare to other NPC orgs.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by Kevin

So here's what I haven't heard--I haven't heard anyone from an NPC org state that the 'ol rule about not being able to require new members to do anything differently from initiates as being something actually written down anywhere. If you're following the FIPG guidelines, there are plenty of activities new members could do which are not hazing. You just have to work within those guidelines.

I would have to track down information from when I was active 10+ years ago to see what was written down. All I know is that we had handed down to us instructions that stated we were not to include anything in our new member program that wasn't outlined by our national organization. They indicated we could get approval for additional activities, but we were told by a nearby chapter who made an attempt that they found the process difficult, and ultimately, they ended up just stepping in line with the new guidelines.

Now, maybe something has changed. But in knowing how a handful of chapters have operated since, I can't see that any of them are including additional programming or required events for only the new members within the six-week program (aside from their weekly new member meetings and an exam).

[NYCMS]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

I've always found it interesting that there was the one holdout and no other organizations thought, "Hey, it's still working for them." As far as I can tell, Chi Omega doesn't have any more or less risk management issues than the other NPC groups. And considering how many members and active chapters they have, that certainly counts a little extra, in my opinion.

I'd be curious to know what their retention rates look like before and after initiation and how they compare to other NPC orgs.

Yes, hear, hear to Chi Omega. I knew there was one national organization that held out for 2nd semester initiation.

My pledgeship - and all the sororities on my campus - went from Bid Day in late August to early/mid-March, almost 7 months. I was in a large chapter but because of that amount of time, I knew every single member by the time I was initiated - not necessarily well, but I did know their name and a bit about them. That's what time enables!

[jolene]

A Chi Omega can correct me, but a friend's daughter went XO this fall and was initiated in the same semester though it was longer than the 6-8 week we normally see.

[celebcj]

Originally Posted by jolene

A Chi Omega can correct me, but a friend's daughter went XO this fall and was initiated in the same semester though it was longer than the 6-8 week we normally see.

I’m not a Chi O, but maybe they were on the quarter system?

[NYCMS]

Originally Posted by jolene

A Chi Omega can correct me, but a friend's daughter went XO this fall and was initiated in the same semester though it was longer than the 6-8 week we normally see.

Maybe it varies by chapter. I'm not a Chi Omega either, but I'm pretty sure the Chi O chapter at Ole Miss waits until second semester to initiate their pledges. Seem to recall a friend's daughter at Ole Miss (in another house) mention this.

[jolene]

Originally Posted by celebcj

I’m not a Chi O, but maybe they were on the quarter system?

No semester, but I could swear she got initiated right before school let out for winter break.

[APhi2KD]

An update:
Alpha Phi has reached out to its members explaining that Harley Barber was referred by a relative (a member at another chapter) who was horrified by her behavior and has personally apologized to the chapter.
It was also confirmed the other girls in the video were not members of AΦ.

[hockeyfan]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Hockeyfan's post kind of proves all our points - she goes straight to hazing as if there were nothing in between that and 6 weeks of gifts.

I don't mean to sound defensive but want to say that I explicitly mentioned how my new member process was educational, informative, and detailed. I don't believe I made a single mention of gifts in my post, because I actually didn't get any besides a bid day tee-shirt and some candy during big/little reveal. My point was that there is absolutely a way to do new member education in 6-8 weeks without sacrificing understanding of your sorority's history.

As far as time commitment goes, again, I had roughly the same time commitment as a new member that I have as an initiate - two hours of required meetings, optional study hall 4 hours a week, and optional participation in social events every weekend. Add that to "dating" 10-15 potential bigs for an hour each over a two week period and I was a busy bee, same as I am now while holding an officer position! If you think my point was "gifts or it's hazing!" then I'm sorry I didn't get my point across better.

[panhelrose]

To bring this back to the original issue, there's now a screenshot of a Snapchat going around from members of Alpha Phi at the George Washington University, in which a member can be seen holding a banana peel and the caption reads "Izzy: I'm 1/16th black." The chapter has already taken down their Instagram page and the university has received multiple complaints/tweets about it.

Honestly, I don't know what surprises me more: that people are still dumb enough to think racist jokes are funny, or that they're dumb enough to post them on the internet with their names, faces, and other easily identifiable information.

[NinjaPoodle]

Originally Posted by panhelrose

To bring this back to the original issue, there's now a screenshot of a Snapchat going around from members of Alpha Phi at the George Washington University, in which a member can be seen holding a banana peel and the caption reads "Izzy: I'm 1/16th black." The chapter has already taken down their Instagram page and the university has received multiple complaints/tweets about it.

Honestly, I don't know what surprises me more: that people are still dumb enough to think racist jokes are funny, or that they're dumb enough to post them on the internet with their names, faces, and other easily identifiable information.

Their insta and FB are both down.

http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/dc/g...ure-/513637697

[NYCMS]

Originally Posted by panhelrose

Honestly, I don't know what surprises me more: that people are still dumb enough to think racist jokes are funny, or that they're dumb enough to post them on the internet with their names, faces, and other easily identifiable information.

What surprises me is that this age generation thinks it's funny. I understand older generations thinking that since race relations were different 30-40 -50 years ago.

What also boggles my mind is that they're dumb post this stuff online - even pictures of them stupid drunk. Even those pics can harm job opportunities.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

I would have to track down information from when I was active 10+ years ago to see what was written down. All I know is that we had handed down to us instructions that stated we were not to include anything in our new member program that wasn't outlined by our national organization. They indicated we could get approval for additional activities, but we were told by a nearby chapter who made an attempt that they found the process difficult, and ultimately, they ended up just stepping in line with the new guidelines.

Now, maybe something has changed. But in knowing how a handful of chapters have operated since, I can't see that any of them are including additional programming or required events for only the new members within the six-week program (aside from their weekly new member meetings and an exam).

So I wouldn't characterize adding material to your new member education program as hazing. I would characterize it as adding new material to your new member program. If that in itself is verboten, then it's not hazing, but it's also not allowed and that's of course just fine and it's probably much smarter than what my organization does.

Sigma Nu does have its LEAD program which has 10 sessions as part of the new member education program. It also has various leadership and interpersonal workshops which happen throughout a member's experience with the fraternity. I think our new member program is great. Most chapters implement it. Most chapters are also given leeway to have their own local traditions

We just can't do things which violate this:

Any action taken or situation created, intentionally, whether on or off fraternity premises, to produce mental or physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment, or ridicule. Such activities may include but are not limited to the following: use of alcohol, paddling in any form, creation of excessive fatigue, physical and psychological shocks, quests, treasure hunts, scavenger hunts, road trips or any other such activities carried on outside or inside of the confines of the chapter house; wearing of public apparel which is conspicuous and not normally in good taste, engaging in public stunts and buffoonery, morally degrading or humiliating games and activities, and any other activities which are not consistent with academic achievement, fraternal law, ritual or policy or the regulations and policies of the educational institution or applicable state law.

http://fipg.org/

So could we require new member class lock ins? Camp outs? Requiring new members to do some house chores? Require them to participate in a ropes course? Yes, absolutely, so long as those things aren't conflicting with their academic obligations and aren't humiliating or degrading.

For instance, we could require a new member to vacuum the dining room twice per week. We could not require them to do it at 3 AM dressed in a French maid's costume.

For us, there is no such rule stating we can't require new members to do things the initiates don't have to do. Hazing is hazing, that does not fit any definition of hazing I've ever worked with.