Each
year since 2002, the Fraternal Government Relations Coalition (FGRC), which is
a collaborative effort between the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC),
North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC), Fraternity and Sorority Political
Action Committee (FSPAC) and Fraternity and Sorority Action Fund (FSAF), has lobbied
in Washington, D.C., in order to educate legislators on the value of sororities
and fraternities and the advocacy issues important to NPC and NIC.
The
FGRC represents 92 single-sex fraternities and sororities nationwide with more
than 800,000 undergraduate members at over 9,500 chapters on almost 700
campuses, as well as more than 9.1 million alumni. The NPC and NIC set and
execute the advocacy agenda for the FGRC. This year’s lobbying efforts, with more
than 460 meetings between fraternity/sorority members and legislators or their
staffs, focused on the value of the fraternity/sorority experience and our
priorities for the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA).
This
topic directly aligns with Pillar One of the NPC Government
Relations Platform:
Preservation of the sorority experience.
Working
together with the NIC, FSPAC and FSAF, our goal is to gain support for
protection of our experience through the reauthorization of the HEA. Our
members have a constitutional right to freely assemble and associate, but there
is a growing trend to punish single-sex organizations for existing by creating
barriers and/or penalizing students who join such organizations. Harvard University
is just one example as that institution is now blacklisting students who choose
to join single-sex social organizations and seeks to force groups to become
co-ed against their will. The Harvard policy affects this year’s freshman class
and all future students, penalizing those who join single-sex organizations by rendering
them ineligible for leadership positions in recognized student organizations,
selection as a sports team captain and the Dean’s endorsement for a Rhodes,
Marshall or Fulbright scholarship, where such endorsement is a prerequisite for
consideration.
But,
it’s not just Harvard that is seeking new ways to restrict freedom of
association rights. It has become increasingly common for institutions of
higher education to regulate and propose policies aimed at forcing single-sex
social organizations to become co-ed or imposing burdensome policies and
restrictions that undermine a student’s right to freely associate. Examples
include blanket suspensions for all sororities and fraternities on a campus
when one student or one organization is accused of misconduct and the adoption
of operational restrictions that don’t apply to any other student organization
on campus, such as not allowing first semester or first year students to choose
to join a sorority or fraternity.
 |
| Students and alumni gather on Capitol Hill to advocate for the fraternity and sorority experience. More photos. |
The
House Committee on Education and the Workforce has taken the first step to protect
every student’s freedom of association rights, including with single-sex social
organizations. The committee’s HEA reauthorization bill – the PROSPER Act –
includes language on this issue, but does not address or prevent actions taken
by Harvard or a few other campuses that do not already recognize single-sex
organizations.
That
was our task on April 25 – to encourage House members to perfect the pending
language in the PROSPER Act to include all students and to ask senators to
include this same language in their own HEA reauthorization bill.
The
value of protecting our single-sex experience now and for generations to come
cannot be understated. Our
organizations create a unique community of support. They are the one place on a
college campus, where through a shared single-sex experience, young women or
men can enjoy a sense of belonging, empowerment and personal development. NPC
and NIC are committed to continuing to advocate for freedom of association
rights for our organizations, and we invite you to join us by contacting your
representatives here.