[23130] in APO-L
Re: [APO-L] Issue One
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jason Risner)
Wed Nov 6 20:23:12 2002
Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2002 19:59:11 -0500
Reply-To: Jason Risner <jason_risner@ATT.NET>
From: Jason Risner <jason_risner@ATT.NET>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
In-Reply-To: <B51A5D0EE1F3CBA4EB2DC5CFDB0D951D@JayBEE.25-52.zzn.com>
RE: Single Gender/Single Race Chapters
Quote: "At this point, I have not heard of any interest group of individuals
that are mostly black men, that Alpha Phi Omega has accepted has a
petitioning group and then chapter since 1986."
I think it's already been established that Alpha Phi Omega, being a student
organization at college campuses that are federally funded, is included
under Title IX, and we are not subject to fraternity exclusions because only
SOCIAL fraternities are excluded. Thus, the mandate is that any new chapter
created at a school covered by Title IX (including HBCU's) is not exclusive
to any gender or race.
Could we establish a new gender or race exclusive chapter at a school
covered under Title IX? Perhaps, if the school approved it. But it would
leave that chapter, the school, and the fraternity liable in a lawsuit. One
or two of these and the entire fraternity is sunk.
And, unlike APO policy, Title IX doesn't grandfather pre-exising
single-gender chapters. APO is already risking enough continuing to allow
pre-existing single-gender chapters to exist at schools subject to Title IX.
It is fortunate that APO hasn't been subject to Title IX lawsuits for this.
Single-gender chapters at single-gender schools (or single-race chapters at
single-race schools) are permissible - the school is opting out of federal
funds to continue operating as an exclusionary educational institution -
thus APO wouldn't be liable under Title IX by allowing a chapter at that
school to exclude membership lawfully.
Set aside the desire of many students and staff (never mind the school
granting the PG a charter) to not have chapters exclude certain genders or
races for a moment - and you still are obligated, by operating at schools
accepting federal funds, to not discriminate membership by gender or race.
JayBEE, given the above, blaming staff for not allowing new single-gender
chapters to start is a bit misguided. No school covered under Title IX would
allow such a group to charter. Even if the school allowed it, the risk is
too great that defending APO against Title IX lawsuits would bankrupt it.
It's simply too big a risk.
In L,F,S for Life,
Jason Risner
Epsilon Lambda alum
