The Challenges of being a Greek member in Student Affairs

Sigma Kappa during Welcome Week

When I tell people I joined a Sorority in college, a common phrase I hear is "so you paid for your friends?" It's a phrase that is meant to highlight the privilege of of the rich to be able to afford the high cost of being a member of an "elite" organization and the superficial stereotypes of sorority women. My family has lived in poverty all of my life. I was a CSU Long Beach transfer, a commuter student, and a first generation college student with no support. I relied solely on Financial Aid and student loans to fund my education. In a textbook, my photo would never be used as an example of a Greek Life member.

Joining Sigma Kappa (SK) was the best decision I made for myself in undergrad. It pushed me beyond my comfort zone and gave me an opportunity to really discover myself. I learned more from the women in SK than I did any classroom. We were a group of women from all walks of life and ethnicity who shared values and supported each other. I worked two jobs in undergrad to ensure I could pay to be apart of this organization. It may have been expensive, but I valued the experience. Media may portray sororities as a group of cookie cutter White girls, but if you really looked at modern day sororities you will see the growing diversity. I have sisters who are first generation college, sisters who come from single parent house holds, sisters who have a ton of tattoos, sisters who have disabilities, sisters who are identify as LGBT, and sisters who come from privilege. In higher education, institutions tout diversity like its the hottest trendy buzz word. But what is diversity? Does it only apply to racial ethnicity? What about the intersectionalities of each student? Do those not count towards a diversity of an organization?

Student Affairs Professional Roles and Greek Life

I have learned to preface my conversations about SK by omitting the word "Sorority." My conversations are much like this: "I'm an advisor to a women's leadership organization at CSULB. This year they raised $10,000 for the Alzheimer's Disease Research and have contributed hundreds of hours towards community service. Their collective GPA is just shy of 3.0 which is higher than the all campus average." We would applaud this group of women for their success in the community and in their academics. When we change the words "women's leadership organization" and replace it with "Sorority" it discredits all of the hard work our collegiate women have done because all anyone can picture are movie portrayals of Sororities.

During Fall 2020 in EDAD 521 (History and Philosophy of Student Affairs), I encountered my first taste of how the world of Student Affairs saw Greek Life. In most readings or class discussions, Greek Life is a liability risk with constant student conduct issues. One year before I became a CSU, Fullerton student, there was a major incident with Phi Sigma Kappa Fraternity using a racial slur as a watermark in a flyer [article 1, article 2]. The Black Student Union held a town hall to discuss the incident and created a list of demands for the University, including disbandment of the fraternity. Disbandment was the correct action, they were wrong and there should be no tolerance for hate. It's simply difficult to know the good that a Greek organization can bring and see it's hurtful nature at the same time. More and more each year, there are campaigns to abolish Greek Life across the country and we lose sight of the purpose of a single sex organizations.

How do we evolve the antiquated image of Greek organizations of yesteryear into the modern day student organization for today's college students? We empower our students to advocate. We reevaluate old traditions rooted in exclusion and we have heart to heart conversations about what is the purpose of our organization. Here are some examples of impactful changes for Sigma Kappa:

• Elimination of the Legacy Policy: The elimination of the legacy (Women who are related to a Sigma Kappa sister) policy empowers our collegiate chapters to make their own membership selections and gives each potential new member an equal opportunity to receive an invitation to join Sigma Kappa.

• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access: SK has extensive and tailored training for collegiate officers on DEIA and what it looks like in practice for their chapter events, rituals and language. Empowering sisters (young and old) to hold each other accountable through education, advocacy and honest conversation.

• Women Identities: SK values individuality and diversity in her membership. In our membership selection practices, we recognize the importance of each individual member within an atmosphere of care, respect, and tolerance. Individuals who consistently live and identify as women may be considered for membership.

• Mental Health and Wellness: SK understands everyone needs someone to talk to at times, but for on-the-go college students with various academic and extracurricular responsibilities, it can sometimes be hard to find time to get help. As advisors, we want our students to feel safe to speak to us, however we understand that providing them choices is more important. SK provides members with up to three months of unlimited counseling at zero charge and discounts thereafter.

This year I celebrated my 10 year anniversary of becoming a Sigma Kappa sister. The women I advise are smart, resilient, funny, and bold individuals. They are ambitious in their dreams and often times don't give themselves enough grace. As a sorority advisor, I'm honored to be able to challenge and support our collegiate members achieve their wild ideas. It's also given me an opportunity to give back to our community and continue my advocacy for Alzheimer's Disease Research. A disease that has personally taken beloved grandparents from me. I am a proud Sorority Woman and I'm a future Student Affairs Professional. I'm dedicated to one day seeing the transformation of sororities and continuation of it's purpose of developing holistic women.