Panhellenic Council pens letter against Greek changes


Photo from USC Panhellenic website

The Panhellenic Council released a letter Tuesday to oppose Vice President for Student Affairs Ainsley Carry’s proposal to instate GPA requirements for students to participate in Greek recruitment.

Carry’s proposal would require a minimum grade point average of 2.5 and completion of 12 units of coursework at USC before students are eligible.

The letter, which was addressed to Carry, president C.L. Max Nikias, provost Michael Quick and Associate Vice Provost for Student Affairs Monique Allard, was read at an open forum at Tuesday’s Undergraduate Student Government Senate meeting. No senior administrators were in attendance at the meeting, but the letter was delivered to the four addressees earlier in the day.

The Panhellenic Council stated in its letter that “a change in recruitment eligibility would work against their stated mission of empowering women and enabling them to reach their fullest potential through academic success, campus involvement, community service and interfraternal collaboration.” 

“We are concerned that if new potential members who want to join our community are not able to, they will not be able to receive the education that our community provides or mentorship and wellness that come with having older girls to turn to,” Panhellenic Council president Jamie Kwong said.

Kwong also stressed that the new eligibility requirement would cause sororities financial stress.

“If we were not able to take first semester new students, we would be losing [financial support], and that would then have to be shifted onto our active members,” Kwong said. “This would make membership extremely difficult to afford, especially when a lot of girls already have to work to do so.”

The letter also conveyed the Panhellenic Council’s concern that, despite expressing its sentiments to Carry, the organization’s voice has not resonated with the administration nor the USC community.

“We understand the importance of fostering a constructive relationship with the administration and working to ensure that the first semester experience for any student at USC is a positive one,” the letter read. “That’s why we are reaching out to you about our concerns and hope for the future.”

The letter went on to emphasize the Panhellenic Council’s willingness to work closely with the administration to better understand the issues behind the proposal and find alternative solutions. It also requested that the administrators addressed in the letter provide the Panhellenic Council with their availabilities to discuss an action plan.

“We really wanted to make sure our voice was understood,” Kwong said. “We want to make sure we’re having an open dialogue with the administration.”

Last week, the Interfraternity Council released a similar letter, asking the University’s administrators to reconsider deferring freshman recruitment to the second semester.