The Article below was published in Vol. 136, Issue 2 of the Lake Forest College Stentor on October 16, 2020.
Emma G. Overton ‘21
Editor-in-Chief and News Editor
The nationwide Abolish Greek Life Movement, which has called for the abolition of Greek life on at least 10 college campuses, including Northwestern University, Washington University in St. Louis, Tufts University, Duke University, Vanderbilt University, Emory University, Chapman University, the University of Richmond, the University of Rochester, and the University of Southern California, has come to Lake Forest College. On October 10, 2020, Emily Norris ’21, who had been a member of the sorority since 2017, and who held the position of Chief Executive Officer in 2019 and Chief Recruiting Officer this year in the College’s Eta Nu Chapter of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, posted the following statement on social media:
The above statement followed a vote by chapter members on October 9, 2020, to abolish the Eta Nu Chapter at Lake Forest College. According to the organization’s website, the Eta Nu Chapter has been in existence at Lake Forest College since 2004. As noted in the statement, the vote passed by two-thirds, but, according to the statement, the national organization of Kappa Alpha Theta refused to accept the vote.
Stentor staff contacted member Angela Addante ’22, who declined to comment and referred Stentor staff to chapter president Mira Cohen ’22. Cohen also declined to comment and directed Stentor staff to the chapter’s advisor and Director of Collegiate Services for Kappa Alpha Theta, Katherine Murphy. Attempts by Stentor staff contact Murphy were unsuccessful. Additionally, Stentor staff contacted Assistant Director of the Gates Center for Leadership and Personal Growth, Jen Van Ewyk, who also declined to comment.
Speaking with Stentor staff via email, Norris—as well as Allison Coffell ’23, who had been a member since 2019 and was the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director this year; Natalie Kamau ’24, who joined the sorority in this year; Teagan Wolf ’21, who had been a member since 2018 and held the position of Event Director in 2019; Fallon Longfield ’21, who had been a member since 2017 and held the positions of Chief Recruiting Officer in 2019 and Event Director this year; and Missy Bryan ’22, who had been a member since 2018 and was Chief Operations Officer this year—provided an account of the situation regarding the Eta Nu Chapter.
According to Norris, the Eta Nu Chapter previously had 21 active members and six inactive members. The group noted that as of October 16, “eleven members have resigned,” but the group noted that “things are still unfolding. Some have opted to become inactive for the fall semester, meaning that they won’t be participating in any Theta-related activities, but inactivity is a temporary member status and those members are still officially tied to the organization.”
The group clarified their motivations, stating that “the Greek life community has consistently failed its members of color, LGBTQ members, and those with marginalized identities in favor of white wealthy membership.” While they acknowledged that “this is not a new circumstance,” and stressed that “leaders in Theta have been attempting to create a more inclusive environment through workshops and reforms.” They nevertheless stated that “recent events in the chapter have brought these issues to the forefront of discussion. Members have been made aware of comments that racially tokenized members of color, and in one incident chapter officers threatened disciplinary action on members who condemned white supremacy via social media, on the grounds that these posts were politically aggressive and therefore ‘conduct unbecoming of a Theta.’”
Discussing the October 9 vote for dissolution, the group shared that “the chapter held an emergency meeting in which these events were thoroughly discussed, and members reassessed Theta’s position on campus. At the meeting, a majority of members agreed that these systemic failures were too deep to heal through reform. This meeting culminated in a vote to abolish the chapter, which passed with two-thirds voting in favor of abolition.”
Responding to the failure of headquarters to accept the vote, the group noted that “while we are disappointed in the outcome so far, we aren’t terribly surprised either. We believe that the response on the part of the national organization is a strategic public relations move. Greek Life is, after all, a business, and the national organization would face greater scrutiny if it acknowledged that its own members voted to abolish a chapter as it would force the organization to address its own systemic faults. It’s important to remember that these national organizations reap massive financial benefits from collegiate membership—while disappointing, it makes sense from an economic standpoint.”
Additionally, while the group noted that the College has not given them “an official response” to their actions, they shared that they are “working closely with the Office of Intercultural Relations (OIR) to help process the situation, and they have been incredibly supportive.”
In a statement to the Stentor, Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Andrea Conner shared, “The staff in Student Affairs are aware of the recent division in the Kappa Alpha Theta chapter on campus, and staff from various departments (Gates Center, Intercultural Relations, and Residence Life, to my knowledge) are supporting individual students and helping them explore their options. We are currently gathering information on what has happened, and where to go from here, and will do everything we can to support students from afar.”
Summarizing their actions, the group of resigned members stated that “we want to make it clear that this is only the beginning of a movement toward abolition. This conflict is not about targeting specific people who have exhibited racist actions, rather, exposing a racist system that has inflicted painful consequences on its members and former members.” They further noted, “this is not only about Theta, but about the Greek system as a whole. This community was built to be exclusionary from its very inception. It is an exclusive social club built for white cis-gendered individuals with enough wealth to cover the heavy membership fees. We urge our campus community to reconsider the role of fraternities and sororities on campus, and whether these organizations deserve their privileged status in the community.”
The group further emphasized that “the Abolish Greek Life movement did not originate on this campus, or in this sorority. We are following in the footsteps of other collegiate leaders who are recognizing the problematic nature of Greek-letter organizations nationwide. For more information on Abolish Greek Life, follow @abolish_greeklife on Instagram, and @abolishlfcgreeklife for abolition news and materials specific to LFC.”
