National sorority leaders sent a letter to all sixteen University of Virginia sorority chapters back on January 20, urging them “not to participate in activities related to ‘men’s bid night’ [this] Saturday and to instead plan alternative ‘sisterhood events …'”
This did not sit well with many on campus, however.
Two days ago, the university’s student council passed a resolution saying the letter “perpetuates the fundamental power dynamics underlying the issue by forbidding sorority women to exercise their agency.” (University-speak translation: “It perpetuates the oppressive patriarchy!” Normal translation: “Hey! We’re legal adults! We can make our own decisions!”)
The council’s chairman, Abraham Axler, who provided a copy of the letter to NBC News, said the response “is not about people fighting for the right to party. It is a response to what we feel is an infringement on the values of the students of UVA, particularly the value of self-governance.”
… the National Panhellenic Conference had a standing policy saying members would not participate in men’s recruitment events. That point was also made by Linda Kahangi, the national executive director of the Alpha Phi sorority, in an emailed statement to NBC News. “This has everything to do with reminding UVA chapters of existing policy and nothing to do with a lack of confidence in smart, strong, women who are members of the Alpha Phi chapter at UVA,” she said.
UVA spokesman Anthony P. de Bruyn said the university was not involved in the sororities’ request. “With regard to activities scheduled for this weekend, 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,” he said.
Lest ye despair that the oft-cited “one in five women are sexually assaulted in college” figure will be forgotten along with the idea behind the UVA Rolling Stone “rape” story, here’s Daillen Culver, a UVA senior who signed a Change.org petition against the national sororities’ letter:
“I would just like to turn the focus back to people and to the rape culture and how that is perpetuated on college campuses,” she added. “And not only just on college campuses, but in society as a whole … I think we need to address that before we try and forbid women from going out to a party on a Saturday night. It’s just not a sustainable solution.”
Some members of UVA sororities told the Washington Post that they were visited by representatives from their respective national chapters and threatened with suspensions or fines if they attended any frat “bid night” parties.
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