You could call it Rolling Stone fallout, part two.
Sorority women at UVA are furious over the collective decision of the leaders of their 16 national organizations to bar them from the Greek-wide party known as Boys’ Bid Night, scheduled for this Friday, January 31, and are speaking out nationally about what they see as sexist and damaging disparities in how sororities and fraternities are treated.
Boys’ Bid Night is one of the biggest and most important celebrations for fraternities and sororities all year. It’s been called the “Christmas of Greek life.” And while it’s technically held to mark the occasion of men officially becoming pledges in their chosen fraternities, the night has typically revolved around women, with groups of girls attending elaborate events in costumes and drinking heavily with their hosts.
After seeing the University stuck in the media spotlight for months in the wake of the now discredited Rolling Stone story on an alleged rape at a frat party here, the leaders of the national sorority organizations with chapters at UVA decided Boys’ Bid Night posed too much of a safety risk, and issued letters to local chapters telling them they’ll face fines and other consequences if they participate. A spokeswoman for the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC), the sorority umbrella organization that counts the 16 UVA chapters as members, cited a rule that bans women from fraternity recruitment events and vice versa.
But many UVA sorority members say it’s an unfair move, and adds to what they see as sexist and unfair treatment by their sorority leaders. National rules dictate that sororities can’t host parties with alcohol in their own houses, a mandate that’s received increased scrutiny since C-VILLE reported on it last fall and the New York Times wrote a piece on the issue earlier this month.
Speaking up can come with consequences; we’ve learned that one UVA sorority member has deactivated from her organization after giving an interview to the Huffington Post in which she criticized national sororities’ treatment of chapter members. But C-VILLE has heard from a number of women in the last week who want to explain their anger, and we’re sharing some of their thoughts below. Most have asked that we not indicate their sorority.
From Hooper Neale, a second-year sorority member:
“In my personal opinion, this mandate is absolutely ridiculous and not a single person I have talked to thus far agrees with it, or even understands the reasoning behind it. When we learned that sorority girls were not allowed to step foot in fraternity houses at all that night, everyone was shocked and, quite frankly, belittled. For many sororities, there is a mandate that every member must be present in the sorority house on the night of January 31. This means that legal adults are being told that they literally cannot even lay in their beds on a Saturday night and do homework. How is that fair? As a 20 year old student, I am legally not allowed to go to a bar, but there is no law that states I cannot go into a fraternity house. There is no law that says I must be in my sorority house that night. We are not children, and we should be able to make our own choices. We are all aware that people can get too drunk on BBN. But people, both boys and girls, can get too drunk anywhere and at any time. The boys want to celebrate their new brothers, and the girls want to celebrate with them. Being in the Greek world is supposed to be fun and communal in a non-exclusive way. No sorority travels from house to house as a group, no one wears her letters. There seems to be no problem.
Everyone I have talked to, both male and female, is fed up with all of these restrictions they are taking out on us. IFC members had done their part over break to implement change in their houses, and girls feel like we are being victimized for no apparent reason. We do not want to come across as party-obsessed or boy-obsessed. A female, non-Greek athlete can still step foot in a fraternity that night. Just because we are girls in a sorority it seems like we’re paying thousands of dollars a year in dues just to be told what we cannot do, even as an individual. We do not understand how this is legal.
Many of my friends in fraternities have stated that they just plan on pushing their big parties back a week, which is perfectly legal. The NPC cannot continue to restrict fraternities from having social gatherings. That being said, this mandate is a failed attempt to fix a problem that is far bigger than the University of Virginia. Although this mandate is not a direct result of the Rolling Stones article, everyone knows that the article got the ball rolling. Not only were there falsities found in the article, there were factual instances that happen at schools all over the world. The University of Virginia, a school that has already suffered an unprecedented amount this year, continues to bear an unnecessary burden.
I am not planning on rebelling. I will not step foot in a fraternity on Saturday night, barring a miraculous lift on the mandate. I just want to speak for all of my peers who I have spoken to.”
From Olivia Bona, fourth-year sorority member:
“A key issue is the subjugation of women by organizations meant to empower them. Women have, historically, been the targets of sexual violence, and forbidding women to exercise their agency is both a human rights violation and a dangerous contributory measure to these historic stereotypes. No one is upset they are being forced to miss a high-risk party night. The real issue is the component of force.”
From Lissie Baker, fourth-year Delta Zeta member:
“The NPC ban on women’s participation in Boys’ Bid Night fails to be an effective measure in addressing sexual assault and the perpetuation of rape culture on our grounds. It takes away sorority women’s right to individual action—despite that sororities, at their core, are created to empower women and celebrate individuals. In previous years, sorority chapters at UVA have undertaken serious risk-management measures; however, these measures have suddenly been deemed incapable of ensuring safety, the ‘only’ option left being to infringe upon individuals’ choice to participate.
Moreover, it fails to transparently address last semester’s events. Greek organizations are clearly concerned about backlash following the infamous Rolling Stone article. Why not work collaboratively with chapters to create “positive changes”, rather than instituting top-down mandates that woefully fail to rebuild our integrity as organizations?
The greatest disappointment is its blatant sexism. Barring women from these events makes women responsible for addressing “unacceptable conduct” that could occur. By demanding we remove ourselves from the situation, rather than continuing cooperation with fraternities and highlighting their responsibility over fraternity-organized parties, the NPC places the responsibility of assault on a women’s choice to participate and shows no concern for the well-being of unaffiliated women.
We as a community can do better. The NPC can do better. This is not the way bring about lasting, positive change.”
UVA President Teresa Sullivan issued a statement Thursday on the NPC decision:
“The National Panhellenic Conference and its member national organizations arrived at this decision and issued relevant instructions to their chapters in Charlottesville pursuant to their own policies. The University was not involved in this decision, and we consider this a matter between the national organizations and their local chapters here in Charlottesville.
We would resist any implication that U.Va. students are somehow deserving of special admonition. To the contrary, students at U.Va. have lived up to our tradition of student self-governance. Our student leaders in the Greek community recently spent several weeks developing thoughtful enhanced safety practices for their members and guests. These new safety practices were adopted by all fraternities and sororities on Jan. 16.
We have confidence in our students’ ability to use good judgment, be mindful of one another’s safety, and adhere to the new safety practices developed by them and outlined in the recently revised Fraternal Organization Agreements.”
—Graelyn Brashear and Nicolette Gendron