Brothers,
For a moment, I would like you to think back upon the time when the White Cross of Sigma Chi was pinned to your chest during your initiation. The feelings of accomplishment and excitement surged through you and your fellow initiates. In that instant, an invisible bond was created that connected you not only to the brothers in your chapter, but also to the hundreds of thousands who have gone before and built our Fraternity into the premier leadership development organization in the interfraternal world.
Our Founders and your chapter’s alumni created the opportunity for you to experience that connection and provided you with a chance to become part of something so much bigger than yourself. Since that moment, you’ve shared successes and hardships, given and received support, learned and taught valuable lessons, and all because of the lifelong friendships you created through Sigma Chi.
Unfortunately, all of those things – the Sigma Chi experience – are now in danger as fraternity life has come under fire at a rate and with a ferociousness that we have never felt before. Support the Fraternity and Sorority Political Action Committee (FSPAC) to give our current and future brothers a fighting chance.
Do you know that anti-Greek sentiment increased over the summer as a social movement operating under the banner of Abolish Greek Life gained prevalence? Primarily fueled by anonymous posting on social media platforms, the movement seeks to eradicate the presence of interfraternal spaces on college campuses. This campaign has placed enormous pressure on our young brothers on 37 campuses and counting. Members or chapters who do not respond favorably to the demands of the movement are labeled as discriminatory, racist, and/or sexist – an unfair, oversimplified, and erroneous labeling of the character of our men.
The movement is just the latest effort in a series of anti-Greek activities. Others include:
- Harvard University enacted a policy targeting members of single-sex organizations making them no longer eligible for elected leadership positions in student organizations, selected as sports team captains and endorsements for graduate fellowships or honors such as Rhodes, Marshall, Fulbright and other scholarships.
- Female students at Yale University filed a complaint and lawsuit alleging that the school’s fraternities engaged in gender discrimination by excluding women from the recruitment process.
- The University of Southern California unilaterally imposed deferred recruitment against the wishes of student organizations that want to control the time, place and manner of their own recruitment.
These are just a few instances where Greek-letter life is threatened, but there are countless other examples. While the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Bostock v. Clayton County forced Harvard to rescind its anti-Greek policy, our single-sex status remains in jeopardy across the United States. Make no mistake, we may have won this battle, but the war on our single-sex status is still being waged.
In these trying times, Sigma Chi is once again on the front lines, pushing back against these threats. We’re doing this by taking a leadership role in the FSPAC. Formed in 2005, the FSPAC helps elect pro-Greek candidates to Congress who, regardless of party affiliation, understand the interfraternal world and the specific needs, interests and concerns of Greek-letter organizations and their members. It also:
- Builds collaborative relationships with first-time candidates and members of Congress.
- Gives Sigma Chi and the interfraternal community a strong voice in the legislative process.
- Supports a pro-Greek legislative agenda that advocates for freedom of association rights, anti-hazing legislation, and tax reform to make gifts to a house corporation tax deductible.
The stakes are high for Sigma Chi, and our Fraternity needs your immediate help.
If you dismiss this plea, you can expect to see continued threats to our single-sex status, due process and freedom of association rights; but just like the alumni before you who paved the way for your Sigma Chi experience, it is now your turn to help build a bridge to the future for other worthy men. The challenge is real. The time is now. The opportunity to make a difference is before you.
Brother, the question is – can I count on you to join me? Let me know your answer by making an online contribution.
In Hoc,
David Ashinoff, WILLIAM & MARY 2003
Chairman Government Affairs Committee
Grand Preator, Eastern Virginia Province
Member, FSPAC Board of Directors