Industry Update Provided by NPC

U.S. News & World Report, VICE and Reuters each offered coverage detailing the impact of COVID-19 on fraternity/sorority life nationally, with VICE and U.S. News & World Report citing comments from interviews with Dani Weatherford, National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) CEO. Throughout coverage, social aspects of fraternity/sorority life—including parties—are identified as risk factors to the spread of the novel coronavirus. Reporters often point to…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports on the Abolish Greek Life movement, citing activity on at least a dozen campuses. The piece includes comments from students who say that fraternity/sorority life is “a system of exclusive groups that were historically limited to the white and wealthy” and isn’t compatible with their newfound resolve to dismantle oppressive institutions. National fraternity and sorority leaders say the activists are calling attention to…

Government Relations Update

The Fraternity and Sorority Political Action Committee (FSPAC) continues to defend and enhance the Greek Life experience. Although we were not able to convene in Washington this past April, we have continued our efforts to meet and support Congressional candidates.

Theta and individuals have been involved since 2005 advocating for these initiatives. Thanks to generous personal contributions, Theta is represented on the FSPAC board by Laurie Connor (also a member of…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

In recent weeks, COVID-19 cases have exploded among people in their 20s and 30s. Public health officials say that’s partly because of so-called ‘superspreader’ events, including gatherings of college students in off-campus houses, fraternity facilities, and bars. Confronted with social media posts showing crowds of students dancing and drinking together in defiance of local orders, colleges and universities have been forced to zero in on what’s happening just…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

Recent coronavirus outbreaks have been linked to fraternities at universities in Washington, California, and Mississippi, and experts say it is an example of what’s to come as many colleges reopen for in-person classes beginning in August. TIME reports that while colleges can enforce certain safety changes on campus—adding dividers between library desks, limiting the number of students assigned to each dorm room, requiring masks in classrooms, only serving…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

Reuters, The Hill and The Washington Post report that Harvard University is rescinding its controversial policy that penalized students who were members of fraternities, sororities, and other single-gender clubs. First imposed on the grounds that the clubs were discriminatory, Harvard officials said they were dropping it because the policy itself, announced in 2016, could be seen as legally discriminatory. Harvard President Lawrence Bacow said that the change…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

The Harvard Crimsonand The Boston Globe report Harvard University will drop its set of sanctions against students who join single-gender organizations. The policy has been challenged in state and federal courts by a set of sororities, fraternities, and students. In an email cited by the Crimson, Harvard University President Lawrence S. Bacow said the decision was based on the recent Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County regarding sex…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

TheColumbus Dispatch published an editorial calling on Ohio colleges and universities to keep students safe from exposure to COVID-19 and work to eradicate racism. The editorial board also called for institutions to prioritize hazing prevention. “We hope that the cases still working their way through the criminal justice system in Athens will help keep the danger of hazing a top concern with Ohio University administrators and faculty—and for all college and…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

Several instances of racial slurs or racist posts from fraternity and sorority members continued to earn coverage in the past week. The Daily Mississippian reports the vice president of programming for the Ole Miss Interfraternity Council did not sign the joint letter from the institution’s fraternity/sorority community calling for the relocation of a Confederate monument on campus. WBIR-TV and Chattanooga Times Free Press report that Sigma Chi International…