Sorority ‘obsessed with taking away this crucial women’s space,’ student says
A University of Kansas student is speaking out against her sorority for granting honorary membership to a male transgender activist who identifies as female during its 150th anniversary celebration.
Sarah Green, (pictured) a junior at the University of Kansas and a member of the KU chapter of Sigma Kappa, said the national sorority is ignoring its members’ desire for women-only spaces.
“The national board [of Sigma Kappa] is so obsessed with taking away this crucial women’s space when they don’t have to live with the consequences,” Green told The College Fix in a recent email.
Green, a mechanical engineering major, began speaking out in July on X after Sigma Kappa National gave an honorary membership to transgender attorney and activist Stevie Tran during its celebration over the summer.
This Wednesday, the Sigma Kappa sorority is granting honorary membership to a 37 year-old transgender attorney, activist and former brother in the Sigma Phi Beta fraternity. What is going on and how did we get here? A thread. pic.twitter.com/QUyLqdE4da
— Sarah Green (@sarahgreen314) July 8, 2024
Tran, a 37-year-old male who identifies as female, formerly served as national president for the Sigma Phi Beta fraternity.
In a statement responding to the honor, Tran said that “joining a Sisterhood will only further empower her in life.”
Neither Sigma Kappa National nor the KU chapter of Sigma Kappa returned two requests for comment from The Fix via email, asking about Tran’s membership and concerns posed by Green. The KU chapter told The Fix it would forward the message to a spokesperson; however, The Fix did not receive a response to the email or follow-up requests for comment.
Green said Sigma Kappa is trying to “fundamentally change” its mission to “foster lifelong connection in sisterhood while being true to our founding as an intellectual and social women’s sorority.”
When asked why she believes it is harmful to include biological men in women’s space, Green told The Fix there are “unlimited reasons.”
One of the problems is that “girls don’t want it,” but the decision also “forces ideology onto girls…[by making] everyone fearful to speak up,” Green said.
Ultimately, it hinders “free speech and open discussion,” she told The Fix.
“And, let’s be honest, while nearly every member I have spoken to is shocked at these efforts of ‘inclusion,’ most are fearful of stating so publicly or even within their chapter. They are afraid of stating their true opinions for fear suspension or accusations of harassment,” Green wrote on X.
Green said Sigma Kappa doesn’t seem to be taking its members’ concerns into account.
A survey last year by SK National found current and former members of the sorority largely opposed admitting nonbinary members, according to her X post.
The survey found 45 percent answered “no” to the question: “There is space in Sigma Kappa for people who identify as nonbinary.” In contrast, 39 percent said “yes,” and 16 said they were “not sure.”
I asked several times for the results of the survey to be released to membership. This didn’t happen. However, leadership finally released the results of two of the 15+ questions about 6 months after the survey. Those results showed an overwhelming preference to keep SK’s… pic.twitter.com/j2yRmViMwt
— Sarah Green (@sarahgreen314) July 8, 2024
A second question found strong opposition to amending the membership policy to allow “nonbinary” members, according to the survey data obtained by Green.
However, the national sorority’s website highlights diversity, equity, and inclusion and expresses its aim to be “a more welcoming place for current and potential nonbinary members.”
Sigma Kappa’s DEI strategies include obtaining “support from members on a membership eligibility Bylaws change to include nonbinary members.”
Green, a member of the KU Student Senate, expressed concerns about similar efforts at the University of Kansas as a whole.
“The student senate recently pushed through a bill that would eliminate women’s spaces and require use of pronouns by professors,” she said.
If the bill passes, it will allow KU leadership to penalize students that oppose the inclusion of transgender individuals in women’s spaces, Green said.
In addition, Green told The Fix the public university “spent $18+ million on DEI just last year.”
A February audit by state Rep. Steven Howe and overseen by the Legislative Post Audit Committee confirms this figure.
The Fix also contacted the Independent Women’s Forum, and the University of Kansas’s Office of Public Affairs twice by email, but did not receive a response. Questions pertained to Tran’s membership, Green’s X post, and the University of Kansas’s DEI agenda.
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IMAGE: Sigma Kappa, Sarah Green/X
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