To the Duke University community,
We are writing to you as current students and alumni that support the greater Abolish Interfraternity Council (IFC) and Panhellenic Association (Panhel) Movement occuring at our university. To clarify, this movement intentionally excludes the Multicultural Greek Council (MGC) and the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), as they provide community to BIPOC students on Duke’s campus. This letter focuses on historically ‘white Greek Life’, solely referencing the IFC fraternities and Panhellenic sororities.
These organizations have been a part of our university’s history for nearly two-hundred years. According to Student Affairs, Greek Life currently consists of over 2,000 students or one-third of the undergraduate student population. As Duke students, we often claim that our Greek Life (IFC and Panhel) is different than or even morally superior to other universities, insinuating that we are exempt from the systemic issues it perpetuates.
Duke’s white Greek Life cannot and should not be separated from the history of these national organizations. Fraternities were created by white, wealthy men to separate from increasingly diverse student bodies after the Civil War. They were designed to support and preserve the oppressive systems that include, but are not limited to, white supremacy, misogyny, classism, homophobia, and transphobia. It is no wonder then that, on Duke’s campus, hundreds of years later, IFC and Panhel are still made up of predominantly white students and students of higher socioeconomic statuses. As outlined in a Chronicle article, “Is Greek life at Duke as homogeneous as you think?”, the percentage of Duke students in IFC and Panhel who attended a private high-school is nearly one-third higher than the campus average. Furthermore, despite existing scholarships, many attribute the cost of rush ($75) and semesterly dues (ranging from $420 to over $1000) as a significant barrier to joining IFC and Panhel organizations.
As has been demonstrated for years, and more recently by students who have been willing to share their narratives on the Abolish Duke IFC and Panhellenic Instagram page (@abolishdukeifcandpanhellenic) and Dear Duke Instagram page (@DearDukeU), the IFC and Panhellenic Council are toxic spaces that should have no place on Duke's campus. Below, we have included some quotations from students and alumni who courageously shared their personal stories that illuminate the extensive damage that white Greek Life has inflicted upon the Duke student body and will continue to inflict if not dismantled.
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Read the full letter here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/16wg36MHFldn3SSbid2w4Xoku1e1QZflDnY1dW4ANtG4/edit?usp=sharingBy signing the letter, I acknowledge that my name and Duke affiliation will appear publicly.
