Industry Update Provided by NPC

Several outlets, including the New York Post, Fox News, and The Hill, reported that a member of Kappa Alpha Theta at the University of Kansas was put on probation for sharing a social media post that criticized the Black Lives Matter movement. As a result, the member was sanctioned by her chapter and encouraged to reflect on her post and Kappa Alpha Theta’s values.

A new perspective piece in The Washington Post addressed anti-fraternity/sorority sentiment from…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

CNN reports the University of Wisconsin-Madison has directed nine of its off-campus sororities and fraternities to quarantine following high COVID-19 positivity rates. “Violating isolation and quarantine orders may result in a court order for involuntary quarantine and/or a fine of up to $10,000,” according to Public Health Madison & Dane County. Failure to comply also will result in university sanctions against students who violate a quarantine directive.…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

The Associated Pressreports that fraternity and sorority members at the University of Rhode Island have been issued a two-week shelter-in-place order. The school said it based its decision on high rates of coronavirus positivity among students in fraternity/sorority housing, with fraternity/sorority members having 11.17% positivity rates compared to those in off-campus housing, 3.83%, and the on-campus population, 0.65%. Chapters with no cases can apply for an…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

In a piece published early last week, Vox.com offered the latest coverage in the evolution of the Abolish Greek Life (AGL) movement, focusing on recent efforts to disband individual chapters, the various financial interests tied to the presence of fraternity/sorority life on a college campus and the impact of COVID-19 on the movement. Reporting reviews the feasibility of abolishing fraternities and sororities amid declarations from activists that Greek life is…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

Several national outlets – The Washington Post, The New York Times, NBC News, and CNN – report that the University of Georgia’s chapter of Lambda Chi Alpha has self-suspended its operations following the publication of a GroupMe chat where members used offensive and racist language to mock a student who had tweeted about the university's response to COVID-19 violations in fraternity/sorority life. In a statement last week from the national chapter of Lambda Chi…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

Coverage of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death in The New York Times referenced her membership in Alpha Epsilon Phi during her time as an undergraduate at Cornell University. The Times coverage includes comment from Bonnie Rubenstein Wunsch, executive director of Alpha Epsilon Phi.

In long-awaited reporting, The Washington Post published a lengthy piece on the Abolish Greek Life movement, including comment from Dani Weatherford, National Panhellenic Conference…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

Indiana University was a major news focus last week after it announced the university is encouraging the nearly 2,600 students living in fraternity/sorority housing to move or re-evaluate living arrangements, pointing to mitigation testing positivity rates in some houses being above 50%. Diverse Issues in Higher Education reports that the positivity rate in fraternity/sorority housing is 8.1%, compared to the residence hall rate of 1.6%. According to Reuters,…

Member Development Committee (MDC) Change

In December 2019, 13 college chapters participated in an MDC pilot program with the aim of increasing informal peer accountability. This program provided college chapters with the option to address member concerns through a one-on-one meeting, as opposed to in front of the full MDC. 

The program was wildly successful, with participating college chapters reporting an increase in overall meeting effectiveness and a more positive perspective of MDC within…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

COVID-19 has pushed the bulk of recruitment online, NPR reports, forcing fraternity/sorority life to reconsider its pitch to students now that social activities are less of an option. Gentry McCreary, a consultant for Greek-letter organizations, says that several schools are reporting “record-breaking numbers of students” signing up for recruitment as sororities pivot strategies to focus on meaningful experiences beyond partying. If Greek organizations,…