News from the Industry

Police announced hazing charges against nine men in the November death of Florida State University fraternity pledge Andrew Coffey. Coffey, 20, died on Nov. 3 after a Pi Kappa Phi “big brother” ritual where he passed out after drinking, according to a Leon County grand jury report released in December. Coffey was found unresponsive the morning after the party, and he had a blood alcohol level of .447 at the time of the autopsy. The grand jury concluded that there was sufficient evidence to support criminal charges in Coffey’s death, describing “alarming” alcohol abuse within the fraternity chapter and accusing fraternity members of fostering an “environment of hazing.” The charges have been covered by TIME, CNN, Fox News, US News and others.

Florida State University has also been at the center of coverage in USA Today and WCTV (among others) after a separate fraternity was kicked off campus for four years and another suspended for two years. Both were found responsible for repeated student organization conduct violations last semester, including hazing.

UCLA students have placed an indefinite ban on fraternity events involving alcohol, citing an effort to better follow the school's ethical standards. The UCLA Interfraternity Council (IFC), which includes 22 fraternities, unanimously adopted the self-proposed restriction on Tuesday. In a statement, the organization did not provide specifics on why the decision was made. However, it attributed the ban to "a collective effort" on behalf of IFC leadership to "provide an environment where UCLA's True Bruin Values are upheld." The ban has been covered by US News, USA Today, The Daily Mail, and The Daily Bruin.

Inclusion Policy Reminder for the New Year

As some of the earliest women to attend college, Kappa Alpha Theta’s founders fought for inclusion in a frequently hostile educational and social environment. Today, we strive to provide an inclusive environment throughout the membership experience. Our mission is to offer women lifelong opportunities for social, intellectual, and moral growth. This organization cannot grow, thrive, and fulfill that mission without new members. The future of our Fraternity depends on our ability to remain relevant to current and potential college women.

Today’s world includes an ongoing dialogue about gender identity, and if Kappa Alpha Theta is to remain relevant, and to identify members according to gender, we must find our place in that discussion. Our college chapters are regularly confronted with the issue of what gender identity means. Accordingly, in 2016, Grand Council clarified that all who identify as women are eligible for membership.

The value of single-gender education and co-curricular experiences is well documented. We are exclusive in that we are a women’s organization. Membership is open to all women, as Council has defined, provided, of course, that they demonstrate the attributes and aptitude of leading women, the ideals and values embodied in our ritual.

Kappa Alpha Theta is diverse in every way, but uncompromising in her standards. That means a woman’s ancestry, cultural background, skin and hair color, religion, and sexual orientation are all equally irrelevant to membership. We are a richer organization when we attract a broad variety of members.

To learn more about gender identity, check out these linked resources. If a college or alumnae chapter would like to engage in further conversation about gender identity, encourage them to reach out to those with expertise in this area on their campus. Those professionals are often a part of an LGBTQ resource center, diversity and inclusion office, or multicultural center. A campus fraternity/sorority advisor may also be able to help direct you to the best campus resources. Questions? Email inclusion@KappaAlphaTheta.org

Workforce Updates

Join Recruitment Committee Chairman Kara Van Duzee and recruitment committee members in welcoming three new recruitment and Panhellenic district directors (RPDDs).

• Emily Hill, Beta Zeta/Oklahoma State - College District VIII RPDD
• Alyssa Trumbull, Rho/Nebraska - College District XII RPDD
• Bekah Hazen, Zeta Nu/UC Davis - College District XV RPDD

Madison Nash is transitioning from RPDD in College District VIII to College District IX.

Thanks to outgoing RPDDs Stacia Roosevelt and Julie Murphy for their service as they complete their roles following deferred recruitment.

Social Media Snapshot 

#HearHerHarvard Day of Action is today! It was pushed back from Monday to Tuesday to allow Delta Gamma and Alpha Phi more time to plan their social media efforts. Today, we ask that you send our sisters at Harvard some love by wearing your badge or letters and flooding the hashtag #HearHerHarvard with memories of the most influential moments of your Theta story. If you don’t have a chance to wear your badge or letters today, photos from your Theta experience work quite well. Let’s show potential new members at Harvard why they should take the plunge and register for sorority recruitment!

Theta will also be using the hashtag #WithoutMySorority as a secondary touch-point for this campaign, encouraging sorority women to reflect on how their lives have been positively influenced by their sisters. Here are a couple of tips for sharing your stories and photos:

• If you have an account on Instagram, that’s probably the best channel to reach college women on the #HearHerHarvard hashtag;
• For Facebook posts, remember to change the audience setting to “public” in order to bypass any privacy restrictions you’ve set that could keep Harvard women from seeing your post. (Hat-tip to College District Director Yianna Kappas for this important reminder.)

Reach out to Digital Media Manager Lauren Palmer with any questions!

Theta’s 148^th Founders Day is this Saturday, Jan. 27! Look for social media content on Friday of this week, including a special video celebrating our heritage. Please remember to use #Theta1870 in your posts and send high-quality images from Founders Day events to socialmedia@kappaalphatheta.org.

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