Thread by @elarmstr

As colleges & universities, including my own, announce ambitious plans to bring students back to campus amidst #COVID19, #highered leaders still haven’t fully faced the risks of campus party culture - A thread 1/11
campusblueprint.umich.edu

In our study of white college women, we found for affluent white students on “the party pathway,” college is a social experience, with classes here and there to legitimate it. Game days, Greek rush & bar crawls are the point. 2/11 #PartySchool #GreekLife
hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?is…

We know from @JenniferSHirsch & @shamuskhan in #SexualCitizens that campus party culture is dominated by white, wealthy students. White #GreekLife often excludes by race, class, gender, sexuality, etc. & has a history of racism, hazing, sexual assault, property damage 3/11

For a great analysis of the "indulgence" granted to white fraternities, see @DrIbram's What’s the Difference Between a Frat and A Gang 4/11 theatlantic.com/politics/archi….

In the context of #Covid19, #WhiteFraternities pose dangers to the entire community as hosts of already documented #superspreader events--and the semester hasn’t even started yet 5/11
m.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jun/…

In light of #BlackLivesMatter movements and the pandemic, universities are promising to keep students and the community safe from #Covid19 & recommitting to racial justice efforts 6/11

So why do universities plan to allow white fraternities to function this year when these racially exclusive organizations threaten both health & racial justice goals? #whiteprivilege #highered #covid19 7/11

We’re examining the purposes and values of many social institutions now, calls to #DefundThePolice have opened up possibilities for reimagining universities as well. What purpose does white Greek life serve and does it further the mission of higher education? 8/11

And, yes, white #GreekLife does lots of community service and people meet their best friends, but harms to the community--and even to the members--outweigh the benefits 9/11

Maybe we need to cancel white #GreekLife this year, for the safety of the entire community, and spend this time thinking about how we can transform these organizations 10/11

And maybe that just isn’t possible. The deep roots of racial exclusion & sexual/gender violence may be too deep, leading to the conclusion that white Greek life must be abolished. #AbolishGreekLife See @lisawade 11/11
time.com/4784875/frater…