[15642] in APO-L
Re: all male chapters & school support
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Elliot Echlov)
Sat Nov 16 14:52:25 1996
Date: Sat, 16 Nov 1996 14:51:04 -0500
Reply-To: Elliot Echlov <cfknights@INFOAVE.NET>
From: Elliot Echlov <cfknights@INFOAVE.NET>
To: Multiple recipients of list APO-L <APO-L@VM.CC.PURDUE.EDU>
Hmmm...two interesting questions arise from this.
> I think it is relevant.... if any chapter of APO as a National
>Fraternity is in violation on Title IX, it poses the potential for a
>lawsuit directed at the National Fraternity as a whole, not the individual
>chapter. Just because the university hasn't said anything about the
>chapter being all-male doesn't mean that remaining all-male is the right
>thing to do.
The purpose of Title IX, as I understand it, is to ensure that opportunities
are available for students of both genders to receive equal education and
equal opportunity for extracurricular activities. Only if a compelling
reason existed could a school deny equal opportunity to both genders.
Example: The 4 female cadets at The Citadel want to form a women's
basketball program. They would be denied for lack of the requisite number
of players needed.
So here is the first question. On those campuses where Alpha Phi Omega has
an all-male chapter, and GSS or OPhiA also exist, does gender inequality
exist? All are fraternal (or sororital [?}) organizations, all have
basically the same purpose. However, we on a national level are committed
to having chapters be open to all students, regardless of gender.
The second question, obviously, is the situation where APO has an all-male
chapter on a campus and there are no sororital (?) organizations devoted to
service. Does gender inequality exist? For the moment it could, but is
there anything to prevent interested women from trying to start a GSS or
OPhiA chapter?
I would think (being a non-lawyer) that those factors would arise if the
National Fraternity was sued because a female student was denied affiliation
with an all-male chapter. Unfortunately, much would also depend on which
district court hears the case. I suspect if the same suit were filed in
California and Alabama, the decision of each would be different.
2
E
