aphi havard goes independent
by: NPC WOMAN
www.cambridgealphaphi.com/transition
The Harvard College members of the Iota Tau chapter in partnership with Alpha Phi International Fraternity have decided to suspend our chapter charter and become an independently governed group in accordance with Harvard's social organization policies. We will be working to have gender-inclusive recruitment practices and a gender-inclusive membership in the near future.
Being Alpha Phi and an all-female organization has provided our past members with positive fulfillment in college and beyond. Our chapter strongly believes in the importance of organizations like us, and the community a female organization provides is one of the main reasons we all went through recruitment. The purpose of all Alpha Phi chapters is to continue to seek the highest ideal of womanhood and intellectual development through love and charity. However, future growth of our chapter membership would be in opposition with the sanctions being imposed on our members by Harvard University.
Last month, we aimed to stay affiliated but despite the best intentions we had, the alarm it raised in our chapter throughout all classes was eye-opening. Given the penalties our campus has put in effect on our youngest class of members and all future classes, our organization found it imperative that we achieve some level of recognition by our school in order to ensure we remain true to our purpose and value system. Although older classes are not directly affected by the sanctions, we are in support of obtaining interim recognition because we want to remain an organization that provides only benefit to its future members, and does not force prioritization of chapter membership over academic and extracurricular success. This required our chapter to take official action, but we hope our ties with Alpha Phi will continue until our youngest class of initiated members graduates.
Ultimately, Alpha Phi was founded to provide help, hand in hand, to a community of women so we could achieve success that paralleled the men around us. We do not believe our school’s sanctions are justified, but in non-compliance, we are giving up on young women who came to our organization for a strong community and are instead forced to risk their future success. Our letters have been something we wear with pride in the past, and it should not turn into something we are afraid to share. With great sadness, we have departed from Alpha Phi International with hopes that one day we may be able to reestablish the Iota Tau Chapter.
Comment#2by: APhi alum
Harvard has just stolen experiences from their women students that would have helped them in their lives. I am an Alpha Phi alum. I joined at UCLA. Ok - I know - not Harvard but a decent university. I am NOT affiliated with the international office or the Harvard chapter and do not speak for them.
But I have my own ideas. I offer my condolences to the Alpha Phis at Harvard and wish you the very best. I think you made the right decision under the circumstances.
The effects of my college experience in Alpha Phi has helped me all of my life. Over the years I held a leadership positions in the house. In those years I learned about management, compassion, patience, organization, courage, and charity. I learned that I did not have to defer to men - that I had the full capability to govern my life as my authentic me.
As a result of this confidence, I have always tried to be the best that I can be. In my career I was successful and a leader. At 50 I started an international charity. It is a one of a kind and we are consulted by many of the world's authorities. My two children are professionals with strong work ethics. I have participated in my local community. Last year when I was diagnosed with cancer Alpha Phi alums gave me emotional support to win that battle.
So Harvard - this is what you have stolen. A life time of confidence, support and courage.
(I posted this here because The Harvard Crimson does not allow anon posting.)
by: @^
WTF? Why does it matter if you come from a "top tier" university or not? Get over yourself!
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#3by: Makiing Judgements
The Harvard Corporation is trying to take generic action without making judgements about the merits of individual organizations. Because it is weighing abstract principles and mediating between contradictory values and goals, it is doomed to failure. The Harvard College faculty has the historic role of taking disciplinary action against individual organizations that break the rules. By taking this away from the faculty and moving the decision to the highest level of the University, the probability of lasting, wide-spread damage increased dramatically.
by: ?
#5by: Alpha Phi still standing
From Alpha Phi facebook page
5 hrs ·
"In December of 2018, we announced that Alpha Phi and our Iota Tau chapter were standing up to Harvard and joining a lawsuit against the University. It has been a year and a half of Harvard fighting against us and penalizing the women of Alpha Phi, and yesterday, we learned that Harvard will no longer enforce their policy against students who join single-gender organizations because they know that the courts will not rule in their favor. We stood up to Harvard, and we won!
We are so incredibly proud of our Iota Tau members for their immense bravery and for the steadfast loyalty they have shown to Alpha Phi. They have truly embodied the spirit of Alpha Phi. We are so excited that our members will no longer have to live in fear for being part of an organization that they love.
We have always wanted the women of Harvard to have the power to shape their future, to join the organizations that best meet their needs and to be able to express their views. Finding where you belong is a right that belongs to everyone, and we are ecstatic that future members at Harvard will have the opportunity to find where they belong."
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by: ^
I too am a sorority woman from a top tier university. I'm saddened that Harvard has chosen to deny women an opportunity to be a part of women's organization. This is, without a doubt, and a lost opportunity.
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