With fraternity and sorority recruitment season recently concluded (albeit virtually), it is clear that there are still many students who see tangible benefits to Greek life. “I think this movement is on the right side of history,” said Roy, the anonymous student behind the national Abolish Greek Life movement and Instagram account. Students involved in Greek life believe there is room for reform, while those involved in the movement disagree because of Greek life’s long history of alleged racism, classism, and sexism. In recent years, a number of high-profile incidents tied to Greek life have occurred at colleges around the country, including a racist chant at the University of Oklahoma and a … This account is a reflection of a growing movement calling for the abolition of white Greek life. It is time to say enough is enough: it’s time to #AbolishGreekLife. "If you focus on every little detail of these posts and you know, what's exactly true and what's not, you're missing the point because generally, there's truth," Libo said. “I joined Greek Life to meet people and make more friends,” Haley Scopelliti ’23, a member of the sorority Kappa Alpha Theta, said. The system is broken. 3,719 Followers, 1,786 Following, 31 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Abolish Greek Life (@abolish_greeklife) Out of 141 responses, 66% of those surveyed thought that Greek life should be abolished. Together, we fight for campus communities rooted in inclusion. It focused on those fraternities and sororities that have historically catered to white students. Abolish Stanford Greek is a growing coalition of Stanford students and alumni committed to ending the presence of Interfraternity and Inter-Sorority Council Greek … This petition is a call to abolish Greek life (fraternities and sororities). While there are students who support the abolition of Greek life, there are many who are more skeptical about such unconditional demands. Abolish Greek Life Movement. Our Mission. The Abolish Greek Life movement extends beyond just Nashville, with campuses like University of Richmond and Washington University creating similar Instagram accounts. The ‘Abolish Greek Life’ Movement Calls for an End to Toxic Fraternity, Sorority Culture. “[Sigma Alpha Epsilon] has helped me make better connections with the guys, helped me get more involved at Bucknell by hearing about opportunities around campus, and has helped me feel more connected to the Bucknell community,” David Lundy ’21 said. This conversation is set against the backdrop of the Abolish Greek Life movement and the need to openly acknowledge and address some of the more problematic aspects of the history of historically white fraternities and sororities. Greek Row is home to the ten IFC and ten Panhellenic fraternity and sorority houses. Through research and collaboration, we are taking on a violent and oppressive system of Greek Life together. Other Greek members have contemplated, and even actually followed through with disaffiliation from their GLO. Advocate. Chapters [10]: Chapman University (@abolishgreeklifechapman) Denison University (@abolishdukeifcandpanhellenic) Duke University (@du_abolishgreek) Emory University (@abolishemorygreeklife) University of Richmond (@abolishrichmondgreeklife) Someone made an Instagram page for my school and held a zoom meeting about mass disaffiliation and eventually disbanding all Greek life at my school. Through research and collaboration, we are taking on a violent and oppressive system of Greek Life together. Both formerly Greek and non-Greek students have taken to social media calling for Vanderbilt to abolish IFC and Panhellenic Greek life on campus. @abolish_greeklife on Instagram | greeklifeabolition@gmail.com. Calls for restructuring White Greek life are not new, but cries to abolish them have sharpened in recent months. “Our organization was a mess. Within a few months, the account has gained 1,500 followers. Our University has acquired a particular reputation for its Greek-dominated social scene, consistently ranking in the top 10 of U.S. News and Princeton Review’s annual reports of the nation’s most Greek-heavy schools. The account’s purpose is to highlight issues within predominantly white Greek life. From what I've seen, the abolish greek life movement isn't really offering any type of better replacement for current greek life, so I just see it moving underground as others have stated. In this episode, Gentry talks with Nicholas Syrett, author of "The Company He Keeps: A History of White College Fraternities." It was a scary decision to make, but one that I am so grateful that I made because I am learning more and more about what Lewisburg and Bucknell have to offer every day.”. As the nation continues to wrestle with the inequalities exposed by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, as well as the mass police protests sparked by the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the “Abolish Greek Life” movement gained purchase at universities across the country. Then, send us your story. Kerry Shamnoski, ‘22, recently disaffiliated from her Lehigh sorority after reflecting on her own values and how they align with the Greek system. How do campus based fraternity and sorority advisors support and engage our student leaders and organizations in important conversations around reform? The current movement to abolish the Greek life system at Duke fails to consider people like me: people who are welcomed into a community with … The Nubian Message was able to sit down with the creator of the account to learn more about the movement. The abolish Greek Life movement on social media, sparked by the Instagram account “@abolishrichmondgreeklife” and the subsequent petition [to disband IFCPH organizations at UR,] has highlighted the continued existence of racism, classism, homophobia, sexual misconduct and ableism embedded in these systems. We are college students, alumni, and activists who reject the continuation of fraternity and sorority life. At Northwestern, the Greek system is the absolute authority on social life. Greg Griffin, director of Student Activities and Greek life, states that since the beginning of the term, about 15 to 20 women have formally deactivated from their sororities. Has anyone else’s school have an abolish Greek life movement going on? “The past few weeks I have found some of the most amazing people and communities on campus that I never would have been exposed to if I had stayed in my sorority. For a better tomorrow, we must #AbolishGreekLife. Some local chapters disbanded. The Abolish Greek Life Movement has become a topic of conversation at institutions across the country. share. After Floyd’s killing in police custody and … The article calls for the abolition of predominately white Greek life — specifically sororities and fraternities under Panhellenic Association and The Interfraternity Council. The dismantling of fraternity and sorority life is in pursuit of more inclusive campuses built on the foundations of community and service, not on exclusivity and privilege. Some describe the stress of recruitment, while others talk about how students felt as a person of color in a sorority or fraternity. During the civil rights movement in the 1960s, students rejected Greek life as a bastion of reactionary politics and racism, and dropped their affiliation en masse. In the wake of our nation’s moral reckoning with racism, a movement to Abolish Greek Life was born. Question. Fraternities and sororities have long faced criticism for perpetuating a culture of exclusion, sexism, hazing, and substance abuse. At colleges and universities across the country, hundreds of students have decided to abandon their ties with fraternities and sororities in a movement called "Abolish Greek Life." In recent months, movements to abolish Greek Life organizations on college campuses have sprung up across the country. ‘We all share responsibility’: Campus Life dismisses movement to abolish Greek Life for its role in systemic racism Jayla Butler | Managing Editor July 25, 2020 Following a July 14 Zoom panel hosted by Student Union, Washington University has made its position clear: Campus Life has no immediate plans to scrap Greek life. Racism, sexual assault, and breaking and entering was just the tip of the [iceberg],” noted one anonymous critic. Greek life also fosters relationships with students in different class years, and even provides a substantial career network to those recent graduates, who may find themselves in particularly dire economic straits in the face of a galloping recession. We must abolish it. More specifically, students at colleges like Vanderbilt, Northwestern, North Carolina, and others are requesting the abolition of all historically-white fraternities and sororities. The University of Wisconsin Bell Magazine posted an article Oct. 29, 2020, calling on UW to abolish predominately white Greek life for allegations of racism, classism, heteronormativity and sexual assault.. Students at Vanderbilt University are dropping out of their Greek organizations by the hundreds and demanding chapters disaffiliate from their national offices. Other posts touch upon such sensitive topics as sexual assault and other serious emotional hardships, which the account argues is part and parcel with a cardinally Greek social culture. Abolish Greek Life is a national movement sweeping college campuses, and Lawrence is no exception. The culture of sexual assault and the emphasis on conforming to fit into this system was unappealing to me from the start, but recently, as the Abolish Greek Life movement … We cannot adequately reform Greek life. To start, let's do a simple thought experiment and imagine a world in which fraternities were not a part of higher educat While the results may not be representative of the opinions of all students at the University — considering the small sample size and the possible risk of self-selection bias — this result does speak to an incipient call for the total abolition of the Greek system at the University. Due to Greek life’s considerable presence on our campus, the University could hardly stave off such a movement long. Through producing content, distributing reading, and having conversations with students on campus, we educate our community on the harm caused by fraternities and sororities. We write in solidarity with the [Abolish Richmond Greek life] account, to … I was also eager to discover a new side of Bucknell,” Megan Waldron ’22 said. It will be a test for Greek life and the Abolish Greek Life movement alike. Regardless of how many students choose to reject or join the system, the conversation on campus is … 1 comment. These systems, their whole purpose is … Being in Greek Life, knowing what I know, experiencing what I experienced – I have had my fill of exhaustion and pain to keep me tired and outraged for a lifetime. Efforts to abolish Greek life are not new. It's past time to abolish Greek life. Ellie Lowe, Senior WriterSeptember 16, 2020. An Instagram account under the handle @abolishgreeklifebucknell was created over the summer, sharing submitted anecdotes that detail unique student experiences with the Greek system. The Abolish Richmond Greek life movement has made Libo re-examine his role as a member of Greek life on UR's campus. Start by signing the petition. We Must Abolish WashU Greek Life By Savannah Henderson on 12 August 2020 But recently, with the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, my social media has taken on a new aura—one full of tension with an underlying desire for justice. In a new video for TIME, students at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, one of the first schools to see the ‘Abolish Greek Life’ movement take hold, speak out as they grapple with whether abolishing longstanding fraternities and sororities would be an important step toward equality—or not. Even if you aren’t in the roughly 40 percent of undergraduates who join a fraternity or sorority, their influence can be hard to escape, since they often dictate when the parties are, where the parties are, and exactly who’s invited. A total of 1,352 University undergraduate students, or approximately 37% of the University’s undergraduate population, are members of a Greek letter organization (GLO). The movement argues that Greek life is exclusionary, racist and misogynist, and structurally resistant to important reforms due to the hierarchical nature of national Greek organizations. An Abolish Greek Life movement began to form, and it took root at Vanderbilt University where nearly a third of students participate in the Greek system. (the rest of this petition currently refers to frats only, but we are currently updating it to address sororities too!) The majority of the account’s submissions seem to delineate a Greek experience that is predominantly white, straight, physically-fit, and heteronormative. ... supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. GLOs remain powerful arbiters of social interaction on campus, and philanthropic work performed by the fraternity serves as both an important personal and career experience to many. To dismantle the fraternity and sorority system on every campus, expelling the exclusivity, discrimination, and violence Greek Life brings with it. From working with university administrators to leading protests and rallies, we follow the tradition of campus activism to galvanize our universities to support the Greek Life abolition movement. From working with university administrators to leading protests and rallies, we follow the tradition of campus activism to galvanize our universities to support the Greek Life abolition movement. On July 17, several Penn students created an anonymous Instagram account called Greek Free Penn to bring the “Abolish Greek Life” movement to the University's campus. Behind the movement to abolish IFC and Panhellenic chapters. The deliberations follow a number of member deactivations in PHA sororities and calls to abolish NU Greek life. “Deciding to disaffiliate was a very tough decision because of how prevalent Greek life is on Bucknell’s campus; however, I ultimately made the decision because my values no longer aligned with what Greek life perpetuated and I was no longer interested in the party culture. Students also organized a petition urging their administration to abolish Greek life on the school’s campus, thus sparking the larger Abolish Greek Life movement. Reaping what we’ve sowed: COVID cases spike on campus, Students and faculty share talents on Weis Center Blog, Nation awaits presidential election results, Lewisburg residents hold Count Every Vote rally, Professors discuss implications of presidential election, Bison Votes encourages political participation, Revised COVID-19 protocols for the final weeks on campus, Athletics Department launches newly designed “Bison Nation” app, Theatre and dance department presents: Festival of One Person Performances, The weekly student newspaper of Bucknell University, © 2020 • Advertise • FLEX WordPress Theme by SNO • Log in, Editorial: An aggravating election and an uncertain future, Amazing: Biden wears rainbow pin while allowing conversion therapy. If you want a picture to show with your comment, go get a gravatar. The @abolishgreeklifebucknell page also conducted their own research, distributing a survey about GLO abolition to the account’s followers. As the nation continues to wrestle with the inequalities exposed by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, as well as the mass police protests sparked by the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the “Abolish Greek Life” movement gained purchase at universities across the country. There have been movements to dismantle the pay-to-play organizations at many campuses, but the efforts typically have … However, just as abolish police movements believe that law enforcement is still necessary in some form, so are communities for women like sororities. Most are less than flattering, and many spark grave concerns about the continued preeminence of GLOs on campus. There is an increasing call from former members of college fraternities and sororities to “Abolish Greek Life” (AGL). 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