The Update | October 25, 2022

The Update

Published

October 25, 2022

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Published

October 25, 2022

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Lorie Land

Industry Update Provided by NPC

This week

The PhillyVoice reports that the hazing death of Penn State University fraternity pledge Tim Piazza will be the subject of an upcoming limited series currently in development at Hulu. Death at Penn State is an adaptation of Caitlin Flanagan's 2017 feature in The Atlantic, "Death at a Penn State Fraternity ." The story explores fraternity culture and details the 12 hours Piazza was left to fight for his life after a fall at the Beta Theta Pi house on the University Park campus before his fraternity brothers contacted 911. A premiere date for the series has not yet been announced.

CBS Miami reports that the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity has closed its University of Miami chapter after allegations of misogyny and spiking drinks. A leaked video of an off-campus party on Oct. 1 shows male students participating in disturbing chanting about raping women and what they would do to their corpses. A representative for the national headquarters of Sigma Phi Epsilon told CBS4 the following statement: "On Friday, the Sigma Phi Epsilon's National Board of Directors unanimously decided to revoke the charter of the chapter at the University of Miami. The National Headquarters received admissible information that SigEp members violated policy and engaged in actions that are not aligned with the values of this fraternity." As of right now, no charges have been filed, and it's unclear if there will be any disciplinary action.

Last week

NPR’s Planet Money podcast highlighted sorority recruitment as an example of matching markets, an economic concept marked by a beneficial relationship between two stable pairs. Though other examples include the labor market, online dating, and the residency matching process for medical students and hospitals, the podcast positions sorority recruitment as a particularly prime example of the concept of a matching market.

Inside Higher Ed reports that members of the Kappa Sigma fraternity at Illinois State University (ISU) vandalized three other fraternity houses with anti-LGBTQ slurs as part of a hazing ritual. Associate Dean Michelle Whited said the dean’s office is investigating possible code of conduct violations and looking into discipline for individual members involved in the graffiti. ISU Pride, an LGBTQ campus group, also condemned the graffiti and called on the university and its Interfraternity Council to “take sufficient disciplinary action” that would prevent it from happening again.

Theta Language Shift

At its October meeting, Grand Council voted to amend the Fraternity Bylaws to change every mention from "chairman" to "chair" in reference to committee and advisory board leaders. This change is not only to simplify the language, but also to address questions regarding a women’s organization using the masculine-rooted word chairman for leadership roles. This also follows the direction toward which many corporations and organizations are moving.

This change is effective immediately, although as you can imagine, these titles are utilized in many manuals, forms, and various other locations. Theta staff is working diligently to get the updates made in a timely manner and expect to have all changes reflected by the end of the calendar year.

Note: "Chairman" is also used several places in the Constitution. Because the Convention body is the only group with the authority to amend the Constitution, it will be added as legislation for Grand Convention 2024.

#GivingTuesday 2022

We hope you will join us for another successful #GivingTuesday in support of the Theta Forever Fund on Nov. 29. This year, we will join forces with so many near and dear to us—the members from our college chapters of initiation/affiliation for some friendly chapter competition for good! Until then, you can sign up to serve as a #GivingTuesday ambassador. Ambassadors share their social media networks for the day and help Theta Foundation reach the thousands of members and friends of Theta all over the world by posting on social media. Signing up to be an ambassador is quick and easy, and we will provide you with resources to have an impact!

Communication Survey Results

The marketing & communications department recently conducted a communication survey using sampling of college and alumnae members. We wanted these groups to give us feedback on what we are doing and where, and what opportunities we have going forward. Specifically, they shared with us the following:

Their Theta communication channel/medium preference (Instagram, Facebook, magazine, website, other)
What content they enjoy, expect, and/or prefer to see on Facebook, Instagram, website, and magazine
Word choices they prefer/most often use when referring to fellow Thetas

Some highlights of the results include:

Alumnae overwhelmingly prefer the Theta Magazine to receive Theta news and content, whereas collegians prefer Instagram.
Collegians and alumnae want to see fun, feel-good content like sisterhood photos and chapter/member stories, as well as Theta history and information about their chapter of initiation.
Alumnae most value feeling connected to the entire membership as a whole and feeling they are part of something bigger than themselves, as well as giving back to Theta, either monetarily or through volunteering.
Collegians most value feeling connected to their chapter of initiation/affiliation and feeling connected to the entire membership as a whole/feeling they are part of something bigger than themselves.
Both alumnae and collegians use the words “sisters” and “friends” when referring to fellow members.