Industry Update Provided by NPC

Staten Island Live reports a State University of New York at Albany student who was pledging Alpha Xi Delta women's fraternity has filed a lawsuit against the organization. According to the plaintiff and her attorney, the women pledging were told they were participating in a scavenger hunt and the plaintiff states she was subjected to a salacious act that was recorded and shown to other people. The plaintiff also has sued the owner of the off-campus building where the fraternity was housed, two women alleged to be leaders in the fraternity, and an unidentified male student who reputedly performed the act.

The number of institutions facing student lawsuits continues to grow, reports NPR, with cases now in the dozens. The students claim that when campuses shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic, they should have been entitled to more of their money back. Schools named in lawsuits include private institutions and entire public systems in California, Florida, North Carolina, and Arizona. Few universities have commented publicly on the suits. A Pace University spokeswoman told NPR in April: "The faculty, staff and leaders of Pace continue to work tirelessly to support our students during this challenging time." The spokeswoman pointed out that not only have educators continued to teach students all their regular courses, but the university is offering tutoring, counseling, and other services as well. So, the school argues, tuition dollars are not really going to waste.

With students, faculty and staff returning to many campuses, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports this fall will be a COVID-19 liability minefield even under the best of circumstances. Most experts agree that for students, some document—if not a waiver then a disclosure or an acknowledgment of risk—can increase awareness of peril and underscore the communal responsibilities shared in a public-health crisis. What colleges can also do, lawyers said, is update their student and employee handbooks with temporary online COVID-19 supplements that can be revised as new information about the virus comes to light, and can be phased out once the crisis has passed.

In the past week, several instances of racial slurs or racist posts from fraternity/sorority members earned coverage. At North Carolina State University, the Technician reports that a second-year student’s messages containing racial slurs were leaked, resulting in expulsion from the school’s chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi. The University of West Florida condemned racist Snapchat messages from a member of Pi Kappa Alpha, Pensacola News Journal reports. Phi Kappa Alpha also released a statement about the incident, saying that “This was spoken in an unofficial group message that has now since been disbanded and taken under fraternity judicial review. The member in question is facing severe disciplinary action.” 40/29 News reports that Sigma Chi members at the University of Arkansas were recorded mocking the killing of Floyd. The Omega Omega Chapter of Sigma Chi said the incident was not connected to the fraternity, but that it has expelled the people involved in the video from the chapter. A member of Chi Omega at Georgia Southern had her membership revoked following the release of blackface photos, reports The George Anne. And at LSU, The Reveille reports a member of the school’s Tri Delta chapter was removed after a video of her and two other young women using racial slurs was circulated on social media.

With the threat of the coronavirus continuing into the fall and next year, colleges and universities across the country are struggling with whether to reopen their campuses—and if so, how. New York Times Magazine reports that on one side of the ledger are the health risks of density if students return to dorms, classrooms, and facilities, especially to older faculty and staff members and surrounding communities. On the other side are disruption and derailment, as well as concern about the isolation of online learning and economic loss for institutions, college towns, and regions.

In the drive to reopen campuses, college leaders have to consider a dizzying array of challenges: how often to test, how to restructure classrooms and residences, what technology to acquire for hybrid courses, and what kinds of protective gear professors and staff members need, among many others. These challenges—all of which are moving targets—carry big implications for revenues and expenses, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education.

As protests and unrest roil the country following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, more than a dozen colleges have publicly responded to outrage over racist social media posts by incoming students—and several, mostly private institutions, have swiftly rescinded admission offers. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that Marquette University, Xavier University (Ohio), and the University of Denver are among the colleges that quickly kicked out incoming students when they learned the rising freshmen had used racist language in online posts or in videos about Floyd. Each institution released a statement that said, in effect: This student didn't uphold our values and is not welcome on our campus. Inside Higher Ed carried a similar story.

Corey Ealons and Jonathan Coffin of VOX Global, NPC's PR partner, have penned an opinion article for Morning Consult that urges companies to recognize that, in a post-COVID-19 world, a "return to the old normal won't cut it, particularly among diverse employee and customer bases." The major question for brands and employers is not just what they will say about political, social, and economic inequities, but what they will do to address these issues.

Plan of Aspirations Webinar

For those who were not able to join us for the Plan of Aspirations webinar last Wednesday, the 52-minute recording can be found here. 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

Thank you for the tremendous outpouring of support for last week’s statement denouncing racism and calling for Thetas to engage in anti-racism! We promised a lot with those words, and we intend to make good on them. And we know that as leading women, you will hold us accountable every step of the way.

Our new Plan of Aspirations includes diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts as a core component and Theta has supported an inclusion workgroup since 2013. But these efforts simply must advance with more urgency, and we have heard your calls for Theta to do better and make real changes. Here is an update on what you can expect moving forward.

• Our first priority is to conduct a comprehensive review the entire organization for diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts to identify biases, barriers to members with marginalized identities, and ways we are failing to lead and support our members.
• Many of you have written to ask Grand Council to review the college chapter officer structure to allow for a diversity, equity, and inclusion officer position. We are creating a proposal to add to Council’s next meeting agenda.
• We are evaluating key operations areas like recruitment and the cost of membership. We are actively researching solutions.
• We will increase education, awareness, and training on topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• You can expect to hear from us regularly updating you on our progress.

Here are helpful resources that include articles, books, films, podcasts, and more. Please review and share with others who may be interested.

• RacialEquityTools.org
• Anti-Racism Resources 
• Association of Fraternal Leadership & Values’ AFLV The List
• Resource List lists activities and resources scaffolded using the White Racial Identity Development Model, by Janet Helms

Workforce Updates

• Please join Compliance Committee Chairman April Brown in welcoming Carley Stone, Alpha Nu/Montana, to the compliance committee.
• Mary Howard Leppo is resigning from the risk prevention committee. 
• The risk prevention committee is looking for alumnae who will provide additional risk prevention support to college chapters, assist in the creation of resources, and work in partnership with officers, advisors, and workforce volunteers. If you are interested in this role, please submit the Volunteer Interest Indicator. Contact Assistant Director of Collegiate Services Emma Silvers with any questions.

2020-2021 Foundation Chapter & Individual Grants

The applications and application guides for 2020-2021 Chapter & Individual Grants are posted on Theta’s Apply for Scholarships & Grants webpage. The Quarter 1 deadline is July 15 for programs beginning on or after September 1. Please direct any questions to Theta Foundation Programs Manager Mary Kate Smith.

Recent Theta Blogs

• June 2020 Heritage News: Our College Chapters
• Our Spring 2020 Issue: A Milestone Anniversary

Helpful Links

• Upcoming Important Dates and Visits
• Workforce Contact Information
• New Volunteers
• Previous Updates
• Coronavirus Update