Jillian Kurtz and Peter Edgar, Editors-in-Chief
UPDATE | 11:35 A.M. Jan. 21, 2021
Early this morning, a team of representatives from Alpha Omicron Pi National Headquarters met with members of Florida Southern College’s administration, including representatives from the marketing department, the Center for Student Involvement, and the President’s Office.
According to Jackie Inskeep, the Director of Student Involvement, the National office’s decision was membership-driven, not an issue of bylaws violation or conduct. Alpha Omicron Pi’s international headquarters issued a press release this morning, Jan. 21, about the charter withdrawal.
The international headquarters issued this press release Jan. 21. It outlines the departure of AOII from FSC.
“Despite many visits and efforts to support and guide the chapter, the Fraternity was unable to sustain a collegiate chapter that provided an exceptional membership experience and also attracted potential members to join,” the release said.
In a joint interview with FSCTV and the Southern, Inskeep said that all of the members of Kappa Gamma chapter of AOII have received alumni status.
“They have all of the rights and privileges of any alumni sister of the organization,” Inskeep said.
Because the 2019-2020 school year is the first year of deferred recruitment at FSC, it’s difficult to predict how this event will affect the recruitment process. There isn’t a precedent or historical data to draw from.
“Our first priority is to be mindful of our 14 students who are going through this, and to… be mindful of the situation,” Inskeep said. “We definitely hope to one day explore revisiting AOII’s presence.”
Inskeep said also that the College was not in a place to consider balancing the numbers of fraternities and sororities on campus back to seven apiece.
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BREAKING | 10:45 P.M. Jan. 20, 2020
The national office of Alpha Omicron Pi has withdrawn the Kappa Gamma chapter at Florida Southern College.
Jackie Inskeep, Director of Student Involvement, confirmed that “AOII nationals has withdrawn our [Florida Southern’s] chapter’s charter.”
AOII Kappa Gamma was chartered at Florida Southern on May 5, 1946. As of January 20, alphaomicronpi.org no longer lists Florida Southern College as a location of a chapter.
IMPLICATIONS
1. The withdrawl comes 10 days before formal sorority recruitment, which is scheduled to begin on Jan. 30. The removal of an entire sorority from the event will affect the structure of recruitment, such as the size of each party.
2. Each sorority may only recruit a specific number of women each year, according to specific averages generated Panhellenically (across all of Greek Life); this quota is called a “house total.” Because of how few women were in AOII before its charter was withdrawn, it’s likely that house totals will increase for the remaining six organizations in the coming year.
(Editor’s Note: In the Southern and FSCTV‘s interview with the Director of Student Involvement on Jan. 21, Inskeep explained that the house totals and quotas for spring recruitment won’t be calculated until “pref night,” one of the last nights of recruitment and the night that the final selections are made by each sorority.)
3. Greek life is a signature way that Florida Southern College connects with alumni and markets itself to prospective students. In light of AOII nationals’ decision, FSC will have to update marketing materials cross-platform: in print, on its website, and in the various social media channels it uses.
4. Alpha Omicron Pi now joins a list of other Greek organizations— fraternities and sororities alike— that have been removed from campus. Though not all for the same reasons, over the years Kappa Alpha fraternity, Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority, Delta Sigma Theta sorority, and others have come and gone.
