Why the fight for women's rights in higher education still matters
My sorority is not simply permitting men to invade our intimate living quarters and destroy our sisterhood. They are also welcoming it – against the wishes of its female members.
Sweet Briar College confirmed this month it would limit admissions offers to women. This was a first-of-its-kind reassurance to women for the women’s college, which prior to 2024 found no reason to institute gender qualifications to attend their obviously single-sex school.
Sweet Briar’s Board of Directors explained that because their founder specifically ordered the establishment of a college for "girls and young women" in her will, they had an obligation to interpret her directives as they were understood at the time it was written.
While this bold and truthful stand by the college predictably outraged gender ideology activists, their board can proudly say they’ve stayed true to their founder’s wishes as they faithfully follow their governing documents.
This is a commonsense approach that should be embraced throughout higher education. Spaces created for women should remain for women. Sadly, sorority members across America are learning this is no longer the case.
In fact, my own group, Kappa Kappa Gamma, is not simply permitting men to invade our intimate living quarters and destroy our sisterhood. They are also welcoming it – even demanding it – against the wishes of the women in our sorority.
In 2022, I was a University of Wyoming sophomore and an active member of "Kappa" when my friends and I discovered that a man, Artemis Langford, received an invitation to join our sorority. This bid, issued in spite of overwhelming opposition by the majority of our chapter, was offered at the urging of our national headquarters, which was obsessed with further diversifying our membership.
This was heartbreaking news since we had joined Kappa believing it was an organization for women – not merely any person claiming to be one. Not only would we be forced to acknowledge this male as our "sister," but this individual would also participate in residential activities, like slumber parties, in our sorority house.
This meant sharing more than our rituals and traditions with a man. It included sharing bathrooms and bedrooms, too. For nearly all of us, this quickly turned from deeply concerning to something that felt downright unsafe.
This is not what Kappa Kappa Gamma’s founders envisioned for our beloved sisterhood. When it was chartered in 1870, women weren’t welcome in men’s organizations or on most college campuses. These female leaders hoped to form networks that addressed women’s need for community as they strove for success in a "man’s world" full of its fraternities, secret societies and country clubs.
Sororities, including Kappa Kappa Gamma, are time-honored ways women can form meaningful relationships, further academic pursuits, promote worthy charities and foster leadership skills. Members become doctors, lawyers, scientists, teachers, entrepreneurs, authors, U.S. Supreme Court justices and even the presidential nominee of their political party. And most importantly, they grow into the women our society needs them to be as friends, family, colleagues and citizens.
These benefits are conferred because sororities are uniquely female. Research shows that females benefit tremendously from single-sex environments, like sororities and women’s colleges, where women are free to be themselves in a secure and uplifting environment. Here, women may "dream boldly and live fully." This is the promise that Kappa Kappa Gamma makes to women.
The unfortunate reality, however, is that like most of the other 26 National Panhellenic Conference-aligned sororities, Kappa has unilaterally adopted so-called "anti-discrimination" policies that allow anyone who simply identifies as a woman to join these women’s groups.
When members raised concerns with national sorority leaders about this unthinkable departure from our rules, we were condemned as threats to the social progress they hoped to achieve. Instead, Kappa’s leadership indicated they would ignore their contractual obligations to us and to their bylaws to remake our 152-year-old sorority as they desired.
When faced with no other option, we began to pursue legal remedies to right the course of the sorority we love. Alumnae and students, including me, have sued Kappa Kappa Gamma for disregarding its mandate to adhere to our founding documents and bylaws, like Sweet Briar College, and affirm our organization is meant exclusively for women.
These students and alumnae have spoken out at a great personal cost. Even though we have the quiet support of our fellow members, we have been effectively exiled by our sorority.
Depleted from this excruciating experience, I transferred universities. A fellow plaintiff vacated her leadership position in the sorority. Another dropped out of college altogether. Alumnae who dared to speak out have been kicked out. Still, we will not give up.
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Our resolve is strengthened when we see leaders like those at Sweet Briar who have, even in the face of irrational and unjust opposition by gender ideologues, persevered for the sake of us all. They have proven that the wishes of women from centuries past to create opportunities for the women of today still must take precedence over radical activists seeking the self-satisfaction of embracing an alternate reality.
Now, more than ever, those who see the value of women’s and girls’ spaces – in schools, on sports teams, in the workplace – must stand strong against those who would undo the real progress made for true equality for women. Opportunity for future generations of women depends upon it.
