Letter of Discontent from the Presidents of the

Multicultural Greek Council & the National Pan-Hellenic Council

Last Sunday, April 2nd, marked the end of another successful Greek Week for the Greek
Community at Iowa State University. Vespers is an annual awards ceremony commemorating
the end of a fun and busy week for many of us. It is a time to acknowledge the dedication and
hard work of all the unique chapters within our community and to celebrate everyones
accomplishments.

However, instead of being a night of celebration, individuals in the Iowa State Greek community
chose to boo award recipients from the Multicultural Greek Council (MGC) and National Pan-
Hellenic Councils (NPHC), imitate the calls of the organizations, and make racial slurs towards
the members of the MGC and NPHC councils.

For many of you, this may be the first instance of racism or disrespect towards the Multicultural
and National Pan-Hellenic Councils that you have heard of, but for us this is our every day
experience as members of the Iowa State Greek Community. When we became members of
our organizations we thought that we had finally found a place of belonging at Iowa State. And
while that has been true within our own chapters and our own councils that has never been the
case within the wider community.

Many have stated that the actions committed by a handful of individuals from the Collegiate
Panhellenic (CPC) and Interfraternity Councils (IFC) does not represent the entire Greek
community. While that may be the case, it is also important to understand that while the booing
and call imitating were condemned by those seated in the audience, the racial slurs were not. By
not holding your siblings accountable, entire chapters and councils remain complicit in the racist
actions taken by that initial handful of individuals. In this instance, the actions of a few do in fact
represent the entire community.

The actions at Vespers are a current example of how apathetic, uninformed and disengaged the
Greek Community at Iowa State is. The response, or lack thereof, to these actions from the
Office of Greek Affairs exemplifies how detached they are from the experiences of members of
MGC and NPHC. It also shows how uninformed and unprepared they are to handle these types
of situations.

Members of CPC and IFC have been asking us how to best apologize for the words and actions
of their individual members and are wanting to release messages of support for MGC and NPHC
on behalf of their chapters. We acknowledge and appreciate your efforts and challenge you to
recognize that your words mean nothing to us if they are not going to be followed up by
immediate action(s). If you want to call out individuals in your chapters, dont bother. Racism is
an act of violence and remaining silent and neutral in the face of it is equally as violent. All those
who failed to take action when their siblings actively engaged in racism are at fault in this
situation as well. So call out your entire community.

Just a few of the experiences we have had while being a member of this community:
 During Homecoming 2015 a Greek pairing decided to appropriate Latinx culture by
decorating their Halloween Town themed apparel with cultural symbols belonging to Dia
de los Muertos.
In the fall of 2015 an IFC fraternity duplicated an event that an MGC chapter has hosted
for years, which serves not only as a philanthropy but also as a fundraiser for the MGC
chapter. The event is vital to support members attending the national convention each
year.
At the Association of Fraternal Leadership and Values Conference (AFLV) in 2016,
members of IFC and CPC were disrespectful during a keynote address on racism in the
Greek Community. When asked to address their behaviors, the Office of Greek Affairs
staff asked to postpone the conversation to a more convenient time. The discussion was
continually put off and the conversation addressing the disrespectful behavior was never
addressed.
During the spring of 2016 an IFC chapter asked an NPHC member about his Negro
Fraternity.
At Greek Visit Day 2016 a philanthropy pairing used racial caricatures to sell their food
to prospective Greek students.
Throughout the school year, requests are made for chapters in our councils to step and
stroll at IFC and CPC sponsored events as entertainment.

Our time as students in Greek-lettered organizations has been marked with feelings of
disappointment, isolation, anger, and exhaustion.

Even now, as Council Presidents, we do not feel respected as members of this community.

When instances such as those listed above occur it is imperative that students with marginalized
identities feel supported by the staff and administration in the offices involved. It is our belief
that the staff members in the Office of Greek Affairs are not capable of providing the same
support for the MGC and NPHC communities as they do the CPC and IFC communities. This
has been proven on multiple occasions when, because of the identities held by the members of
our council, our concerns are dismissed and seen as overreactions, then we are expected to
educate staff and our peers on topics of diversity and inclusion, and our experiences are deemed
less valuable than our peers in other councils.

The Office cannot continue to ask for change from their students if they are not willing to
commit to the same changes within themselves. We cannot expect our own peers to respect our
Councils, our traditions and our identities, if they are learning from the staff how not to.

Five days have passed, and yet a public apology is still absent from the Office of Greek Affairs
and the chapters involved in this blatant display of racism. On Monday, an email response to
incident came from the Assistant Dean of Students/Director of Greek Affairs after heavy
influence by both the MGC and NPHC presidents. Individually, our councils have received
apologies from the Assistant Dean/Director, as well as various chapters; however, this is not a
private matter. MGC and NPHC members were humiliated in front of the entire Greek
Community totaling 5,000+ individuals. At the very least a public apology from all those
involved is warranted.
Before we are members of Greek-letter organizations, we are students and we are here to
graduate. But we cannot function as students if we are consistently expected to perform the jobs
of members of the administration. We cannot succeed at this university if we are being weighed
down by being expected to perform free emotional labor for those around us who choose to
remain ignorant. We cannot succeed at this university if we are constantly having to fight to be
seen as full human beings. We also cannot continue to enter an office we feel uncomfortable in
on a daily basis just to be the only ones actively trying to provide our councils with a sense of
security and reassurance that they and their experiences are valued.

After speaking with many of the staff members in the office, they have expressed how tired and
frustrated they are from the events that transpired this week. This is a small glimpse of how it
feels to hold a marginalized identity inside Iowa States Greek Community.

Saying that you are in solidarity with us and actually showing up are two different things. So
unless you are prepared to fight for real and meaningful change within your chapters and
councils then you can stop writing your letters and releasing your statements of support.

We challenge you to dedicate yourselves to building an actual community amongst our four
councils even if it means feeling uncomfortable, having to admit that you are wrong, and having
to hold those in positions of power accountable for their actions. While this is about holding the
chapters responsible for their actions, it is also about creating systemic change. Until then,
#NotMyCommunity.

Signed,

Rachel Ramirez, President of the Multicultural Greek Council

Chandler Wilkins, President of the National Pan-Hellenic Council

Houa Vang, President of the Iowa State Colony of Delta Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc.
Blake Miller, President of the Beta Lambda Chapter of Delta Lambda Phi International Social Fraternity
Kenni Terrell, President of the Omicron Chapter of Gamma Rho Lambda National Sorority
Berenice Real, President of the Zeta Gamma Chapter of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc.
Cynthia Banda, President of the Alpha Epsilon Chapter of Lambda Theta Nu Sorority, Inc.
Derek Solis, President of the Gamma Chi Chapter of Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc.
Kevin Dang, President of the Iowa State Colony of Pi Alpha Phi Fraternity
David Ortiz, President of the Omicron Chapter of Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc.
Erica Argueta, President of the Gamma Chapter of Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority, Inc.

Chandler Wilkins, President of the Omicron Pi Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Zakia Brown, President of the Eta Tau Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Leroy Alexander McGarity, President of the Mu Theta Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
Kierra White, President of the Phi Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Kiearrah Williams, President of the Upsilon Nu Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.
Sharmaine Porter, Adviser to the Theta Psi Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.