Abolish Greek Life at Lafayette College
The Issue
Our mission is to completely abolish Greek Life at Lafayette College. We are calling for administration, faculty, and individuals in our community to take action.
Lafayette will be a safer, more inclusive space for all students if the Greek institution does not exist on our campus.
We stand in solidarity with the brave individuals who have shared their stories on the @black.at.laf and @anti.violence.laf Instagram pages. After reflecting on these narratives, it is apparent that Greek Life is the root of many instances of discrimination, racism, sexual assault/harassment, and excessive drinking on campus.
It is no longer acceptable and should have never been acceptable, to permit 12 chapters to exist on campus while knowing the exclusionary foundation of Greek culture. While we understand that abolishing Greek Life will not eradicate all of these issues, Greek Life has played a crucial role in the perpetuation of them.
We will no longer remain complicit.
We recognize the great changes that have been implemented to reform this system by the Interfraternity Council, National Panhellenic Council, Greek Life Committee of Student Government, and within chapters. While we support these reforms, we believe a system designed to be exclusive will simply never be inclusive.
By allowing Greek Life to prevail at Lafayette College and encouraging students to join, we are promoting and complicit in a historically White supremacist, racist, classist, transphobic, ableist, homophobic, misogynistic, and sexually violent institution.
The Greek system has created a significant divide on our campus. As a predominantly White, heteronormative, and privileged institution, Greek Life at Lafayette alienates people of color, Black students, victims of sexual harassment and assault, low-income individuals, international students, members of the LGBTQIA community, and more. This divide on our campus has led to a seemingly irreversible separation that we believe can only be reformed with the abolishment of Greek Life.
We call upon you in efforts to break this harmful cycle. We encourage current members of Greek Life to disaffiliate and chapters to disband in support of our abolishment proposal. We acknowledge that some Greek affiliates have found community and unique resources within their chapters, however, the institutional values of Greek Life and negative experiences of marginalized students outweigh the benefits of the system and have too often been overlooked.
As long as Lafayette College continues to support Greek Life, students who are a part of these organizations will continue to perpetuate acts of violence and discrimination. Our campus will never be inclusive until every single student feels safe regardless of their identity or socioeconomic status.
We demand that:
- Lafayette College abolish the current Greek organizations on campus and place a permanent ban on all future Interfraternity and Panhellenic Organization recruitment cycles. No new Interfraternity Council and/or National Panhellenic Council chapters will be allowed on campus, permanently.
- Lafayette College explicitly prevents the formation of future socially-oriented/exclusive organizations that uphold and perpetuate the same systemic inequalities as Greek Life.
- A percentage of physical and financial resources given to Greek organizations should be reallocated to those who were previously excluded from and harmed by the system of Greek Life and its members (ex. organizations run by BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and other marginalized individuals). This includes the repurposing of on-campus Greek houses so that they may serve as spaces to support and uplift the aforementioned groups.
In signing this petition you permit for your signature to be used in a proposal to faculty, administrators, and the Board of Trustees to officially abolish Greek Life at Lafayette College.
Please refer to the @abolishgreeklifeatlaf Instagram page to read testimonials of students, alumni, and faculty who are in support of abolition.
We encourage you to follow the link below to submit your own story/experience with Greek Life. You can also access resources on how to formally report an instance of College policy violation and Lafayette’s Counseling Center.
The Issue
Our mission is to completely abolish Greek Life at Lafayette College. We are calling for administration, faculty, and individuals in our community to take action.
Lafayette will be a safer, more inclusive space for all students if the Greek institution does not exist on our campus.
We stand in solidarity with the brave individuals who have shared their stories on the @black.at.laf and @anti.violence.laf Instagram pages. After reflecting on these narratives, it is apparent that Greek Life is the root of many instances of discrimination, racism, sexual assault/harassment, and excessive drinking on campus.
It is no longer acceptable and should have never been acceptable, to permit 12 chapters to exist on campus while knowing the exclusionary foundation of Greek culture. While we understand that abolishing Greek Life will not eradicate all of these issues, Greek Life has played a crucial role in the perpetuation of them.
We will no longer remain complicit.
We recognize the great changes that have been implemented to reform this system by the Interfraternity Council, National Panhellenic Council, Greek Life Committee of Student Government, and within chapters. While we support these reforms, we believe a system designed to be exclusive will simply never be inclusive.
By allowing Greek Life to prevail at Lafayette College and encouraging students to join, we are promoting and complicit in a historically White supremacist, racist, classist, transphobic, ableist, homophobic, misogynistic, and sexually violent institution.
The Greek system has created a significant divide on our campus. As a predominantly White, heteronormative, and privileged institution, Greek Life at Lafayette alienates people of color, Black students, victims of sexual harassment and assault, low-income individuals, international students, members of the LGBTQIA community, and more. This divide on our campus has led to a seemingly irreversible separation that we believe can only be reformed with the abolishment of Greek Life.
We call upon you in efforts to break this harmful cycle. We encourage current members of Greek Life to disaffiliate and chapters to disband in support of our abolishment proposal. We acknowledge that some Greek affiliates have found community and unique resources within their chapters, however, the institutional values of Greek Life and negative experiences of marginalized students outweigh the benefits of the system and have too often been overlooked.
As long as Lafayette College continues to support Greek Life, students who are a part of these organizations will continue to perpetuate acts of violence and discrimination. Our campus will never be inclusive until every single student feels safe regardless of their identity or socioeconomic status.
We demand that:
- Lafayette College abolish the current Greek organizations on campus and place a permanent ban on all future Interfraternity and Panhellenic Organization recruitment cycles. No new Interfraternity Council and/or National Panhellenic Council chapters will be allowed on campus, permanently.
- Lafayette College explicitly prevents the formation of future socially-oriented/exclusive organizations that uphold and perpetuate the same systemic inequalities as Greek Life.
- A percentage of physical and financial resources given to Greek organizations should be reallocated to those who were previously excluded from and harmed by the system of Greek Life and its members (ex. organizations run by BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and other marginalized individuals). This includes the repurposing of on-campus Greek houses so that they may serve as spaces to support and uplift the aforementioned groups.
In signing this petition you permit for your signature to be used in a proposal to faculty, administrators, and the Board of Trustees to officially abolish Greek Life at Lafayette College.
Please refer to the @abolishgreeklifeatlaf Instagram page to read testimonials of students, alumni, and faculty who are in support of abolition.
We encourage you to follow the link below to submit your own story/experience with Greek Life. You can also access resources on how to formally report an instance of College policy violation and Lafayette’s Counseling Center.
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Petition created on September 10, 2020