The Wake Forest Panhellenic Diversity & Inclusion Task Force was established to assist in tackling issues such as diversity, privilege, and cultural competency within our community.
Our task force is is composed of members representing all 8 chapters on our campus. These members are broken into 4 specific subcategories of Internal, External, Recruitment, and Data & Surveying.
This summer, our task force has been meeting to develop actionable plans to further increase inclusivity on campus and educate our members on how to be anti-racist and better allies for the Black community. It is crucial as Wake Forest students that we acknowledge the horrific realities of systemic racism in this country and continually examine the immense privilege we hold as sorority women. As change will definitely not occur overnight, this will be more of a slow-burn process in which we focus carefully on the intent behind each and everyone one of our actions and strive to achieve a lasting impact on our community. Progress requires struggle, time, and dedication, and our group is committed to doing whatever we can to make our students’ voices heard.
The initiatives established by each of the subgroups can be founded in detail below.
Internal
Implementing mandatory racial equity training for all chapters. Specifically educating members about developing cultural competency, unmasking the complexities of implicit biases and micro-aggressions, and actually putting what we learn into practice in our everyday interactions with others.
Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable: we need to be able to delve into painful topics and actively challenge our assumptions, otherwise we can never move forward.
Organizing weekly discussions within each chapter surrounding the intersection between social issues and Greek life, such as the implications of tokenism, financial transparency, the meaning of “authenticity,” and being part of an institution that has historically perpetuated inequality.
External
Partnering with other groups on campus and working towards bridging the divide between Greek life and the rest of the community, with a strong emphasis on building relationships and trust with individuals of different organizations.
Reassessing social media accounts to provide a more accurate representation of each chapter that encompasses the experiences of our sisters from a variety of backgrounds.
Recruitment
Dissecting the ways in which we, as sorority women, recruit PNMs and where our priorities fall — understanding how we unconsciously gravitate towards women that look like us and how this affects the makeup of our chapters.
Working towards abolishing the dress code, thereby de-emphasizing the importance of appearance and potentially alleviating certain financial concerns.
Assisting with GRC trainings and highlighting the unique experiences and multifaceted identities of BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and first generation individuals going through recruitment.
Data and Surveying
Evaluating our strengths and current shortcomings, and ways in which we need to improve as an institution through data-driven decisions.
Collecting data and designing surveys to examine how Panhellenic sororities reflect the demographics of Wake as a whole. We aim to garner feedback from those in and outside of Greek life and their differing perceptions on the value of Sorority & Fraternity Life.