You’ve all seen the headlines, “University Cheerleader With Down Syndrome Denied From Every Sorority on Campus.” And yes, this incident did occur, but also it’s not true.
So you may be wondering, “Why is Mason’s Greek community so cruel? Why did EVERY sorority on campus deny her?” Well for one, not every sorority on campus denied this student, and two, not every sorority on campus participates in sorority recruitment.
There are four councils on George Mason’s campus – there’s the Interfraternity Council (IFC), Panhellenic Council (PHC), National Pan-hellenic Council (NPHC) and the Multicultural Greek Council (MGC). If you know anything about these four councils, you would know that our intake processes are completely different and do not reflect the actions of other councils.
When I saw this headline, I can admit that I was a little offended because the girl involved deserved so much better, but also because the headline said
~every~ sorority.
The headline left an awful taste in everyone’s mouth about Greek Life here at Mason, which is why it’s my duty to clear the air as a member of this community.
The 42 chapters here on campus ALL do great things. They raise thousands of dollars for their philanthropies, they give back the Mason Community AND the Fairfax community through community service, they throw informative events raising awareness about issues that matter and they are inclusive to all students.
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Even though the National Panhellenic Council is known for housing all nine Black Greek Letter Organizations, our organizations do not discriminate against race or ethnicity, especially the seven chapters here.
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The same goes with other councils. Members don’t always traditionally follow the stereotypes displayed in the media.
There are students with disabilities in both Panhellenic and IFC. There are people who don’t identify as “multicultural” that are in MGC organizations. People cannot make an assumption about our Greek Lettered Organizations without first getting to know us.
The ZTA chapter here raises thousands of dollars each year for Breast Cancer Awareness. Some members of the NPHC here on campus live with and work closely with Mason Life students on a daily basis. Phi Sigma doesn’t just throw wild parties off-campus every weekend. LTA isn’t just hosting stroll-offs. WE ARE ACTUALLY DOING WORK.
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For people to say we need to do better and that we are evil people, they need to get the record straight first. You cannot judge all of us off one headline that was worded strictly for click bait. You cannot make an assumption about the whole Mason Greek Life experience by going to one terrible frat party.
Come out to our events and at least attempt to get to know us as people beyond our letters. We are way much more than just a headline and a presumption.