Abolish Greek Life started this petition to The United States of America and This petition is a call to abolish Greek life (fraternities and sororities). Reiss Becker is a Trinity senior. All rights reserved. Maybe they are but dull, sober incrementalists, slowly tinkering away and marginally improving a greater system that they canât afford to dispense with. During my short three years at Duke the resident radicals have gotten hot and bothered about President Price, about various speakers on campus, about âfascismâ in the Duke administration, about Dukeâs failure to censor its own students, et cetera, et cetera, ad nauseam. What We Do. 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Updated: 2020-08-30 21:41:13, Posted August 30, 2020 5:25 p.m. EDTUpdated August 30, 2020 9:41 p.m. EDT, By Mikaya Thurmond, WRAL anchor/reporter. Dukeâs past and present is rife with classism: the institution was founded by the patronage of a southern aristocrat and today roughly 70% of the student body comes from an income bracket in the top 20%. NM: What, in your opinion, are some of the most pressing issues within white Greek life? Fraternities and sororities are built on systems of exclusion, oppression, and violence. After all, silence is violence. His column âroused rabbleâ usually runs on alternate Wednesdays. But Duke and its Greek organizations have successfully reformed before, and I am confident they will again. In early July, an instagram page entitled âAbolish Duke IFC and Panhellenicâ was created for the purpose of â[providing] an anonymous platform for Duke students to share how Greek life has perpetuated a culture of oppression and discrimination on campus.â. ©2021 Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc. From cooking to crafts, we’re at home with you ›, Tips to get discounts when you're in college. Greek life has always threatened public health and safety on campuses – and now the COVID-19 pandemic is showing it. What We Do Current Page: Chapters Projects Contact News Read Me Take Action Chapters. Only 5 signatures came from the class of 2024, who presumably have the most at stake. It's past time to abolish Greek life. Other students hope to avoid Greek life altogether, as they feel that fraternities and sororities create a divide on campus. Join Us. Yet consider this: Maybe they arenât as righteous or as pure as they may seem. About. New Year's babies: Welcome to our first babies of 2021! He said he saw firsthand that Greek student organizations perpetuated white supremacy. Vanderbilt’s Greek rush process, in which potential new members are sorted into fraternities and sororities, will conclude at the beginning of the upcoming spring semester. In the open letter, the activists implicitly paint themselves as uncompromising arbiters of ethics and truth, and they take great pains to explain why Greek life is guilty of a litany of mortal sins, therefore making complete abolition the only recourse. The laundry list of accusations against Greek organizations ranges, as the open letter states, from âwhite supremacy, misogyny, classism, homophobia, and transphobiaâ to whatever else will stick against the wall, but the gist, clearly, is that more than one-third of Duke undergraduates have joined social organizations that are Terrible, Horrible, No Good and Very Bad. Questions for Us. If it's possible to see the good and the bad in Duke, to acknowledge the universityâs failings while appreciating its many incredible virtues and accomplishments, then it is possible to do the same for Greek life. Abolish Greek Life. Which is to say that, while we likely disagree on the extent of the problems with Greek life, the activists behind the abolition movement and I do fundamentally agree that there is a problem and that those responsible must be held accountable. Abolish Duke IFC & Panhel. Gupta is a former member of a fraternity at Duke. Even one instance of sexual misconduct or racial insensitivity within an organization is too many, and such problems should be handled with moral clarity and a proportional response. Contact. At Northwestern, the Greek system is the absolute authority on social life. Mr. Whitney … On Dukeâs abolition, the question is why are they silent? But there's a growing debate about whether more than half of the Greek organizations should exist on campus. But both Duke and Greek life have a historical track record of reform and self-improvement that is both admirable and undeniable. Admittedly, Greek life often falls short in areas such as sexual assault and racial and socioeconomic diversity. More than 2,000 students currently participate in Duke's Greek community. Who are we? This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. If you assume they mean what they say, that they truly believe Greek organizations are irredeemably racist, sexist, classist and elitist by dint of their historical legacies and their modern structures and consequently must be abolished, then what element of that argument doesnât apply to Duke itself? Print. During the panel, Wild said that even if the University eventually chooses to abolish Greek life, it would happen after continuous dialogue within the community, and likely not right away. Northwestern Greek Life Is Imploding Citing histories of racism and classism, multiple sororities at the university are threatening to go dark — and one has already done so. This is a great essay that happens to contain some good information on problems with fraternities at UNC including drugging girls to assault them. View all, Published: 2020-08-30 17:25:00 University leaders have not commented on the petition. Of course, that does not strictly disqualify the overall argument, but these facts do reveal that a supermajority of abolitionists wonât have to confront the fallout of their advocacy and they also explain why seemingly little time or effort has been invested in describing an alternative social system. Greek life is a fundamentally broken system, made for white people and designed to propagate white Supremacy. Share via Email . We are college students, alumni, and activists who reject the continuation of fraternity and sorority life. Then, send us your story. Calls for restructuring White Greek life are not new, but cries to abolish them have sharpened in recent months. This time the spotlight is on Greek life and its discontents. While reforms have been enacted to improve inclusivity and tolerance, Greek life … facebook Ellie Lowe, Senior Writer September 16, 2020. Business or Organization. These organizations are not perfect, and their failings must be dealt with urgently and deliberately. Chapters [10]: Chapman University (@abolishgreeklifechapman) Denison University (@abolishdukeifcandpanhellenic) Duke University (@du_abolishgreek) Emory University (@abolishemorygreeklife) University of Richmond (@abolishrichmondgreeklife) After scrutinizing the names on the open letter, I realized that roughly two-thirds of the signatures (217 of the total 337) came from people who were either graduating this year, had already graduated or had never attended Duke as an undergraduate at all. In the last few years, Duke has put forth effort to foster more inclusion in Greek life, including removing their individual housing. They argued the fraternities and sororities perpetuate systemic racism. This time the spotlight is on Greek life and its discontents. To abolish Greek life, the University must first give students a strong sense of belonging and community without subjecting themselves to stressful rush processes. Triangle Area Only, When, where, how much: Snow predictions for Friday and Saturday, Photos from multi-vehicle crashes at I-40, I-85 interchange near Mebane, PHOTOS: Protesters storm U.S. Capitol during Electoral College vote certification, Lawyer: Med First had right to fire woman for social media video that suggested Biden be shot, Shots fired outside Garner restaurant during fight, Secret Service investigates Johnston County woman's video post, Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots increase to over $450 million, Here's why DISH subscribers can't see the NFL playoff games this weekend. Another sophomore member of PHA, who wished to remain anonymous, said she supports abolition but has not yet deactivated because she wants her vote to count for abolition if her sorority ultimately … We are a group of non-affiliated and formerly affiliated Duke Students working with our peers, alumni, and administrators to abolish the Duke Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council. Pretty self-explanatory. Chapters. Members include students from Duke University, Emory University, … AGL: There’s a list of them that I have. So, using the activistâs own standards and principles, the question isnât whether Duke should be abolished because it clearly should be. What We Do Chapters Projects Contact News Current Page: Read Me Take Action Bailard Is Ideal For Your. About. Cancel at any time. We must abolish it,” states a Change.org petition created by the Abolish Greek Life movement, which is made up largely of former fraternity and sorority members who have left their organizations in protest of what they say is the toxic and bigoted nature of historically White fraternities and sororities (HWFS). Around the country, parties and gatherings hosted by Greek organizations have shown a trend we know to be true – a reckless disregard for others and ignorance of public health and safety guidelines is inherent in Greek life. Although they have made a strong effort to portray Greek organizations as campus klaverns, the truth is that they are just social organizations which offer friendship, community, personal development and maybe even some Budweiser. Abolish Greek Life. "I think that IFC [Interfraternity Council] fraternities, and the presence of them, as well as Panhellenic sororities have effectively created de facto segregation on Duke's campus, and they've done that for years," said Shreyas Gupta, with Abolish Duke IFC. Most central NC schools keep students learning at home through January, WRAL-TV and FOX50 removed from DISH satellite service, Scam alert: How to avoid criminals coming after your stimulus checks, Meteor Showers in 2021 That Will Light Up Night Skies, UNC physicians dance in thank-you video to staff, Field hospital opens in western NC to help with COVID patients. We must abolish it. We cannot adequately reform Greek life. They are not totally wrong. 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