Announcement/News

Theta Epsilon Chapter at Methodist University

Alpha Delta Pi suspended the Theta Epsilon chapter at Methodist University on September 16, 2021, upon learning of racist and bystander behavior during a chapter sisterhood event. The member responsible for the racist comments has also been suspended, and the process for evaluating her continued membership has begun; a full chapter investigation is also underway. The university followed with their suspension of the chapter on September 21, 2021. Sorority staff and volunteers are working directly with chapter members to learn more and provide support to those who have been harmed, and we are grateful for Methodist University’s professional resources available to students. We are also working closely with university administration to ensure the safety of our members given recent threats, while we ascertain the best education, restorative justice practices, and next steps required to ensure that if Alpha Delta Pi will exist on a campus, it will be a sisterhood of inclusion and belonging.

The members of Theta Epsilon prepared a statement to share with their community but did not post it at the request of the university. The chapter wanted to immediately apologize, take responsibility, and begin to make amends for their painful decisions, and we wish they had been allowed to do so, as so much needed to be said. They are not permitted by the university at this time to post on their chapter accounts, so we have given them our platforms to speak.

STATEMENT FROM THETA EPSILON CHAPTER AT METHODIST UNIVERSITY

We extend our sincerest apologies to the Methodist football team, the student body, the sisters of color in our chapter, university faculty and staff, and university alumni regarding racist comments that took place at our event on September 14, 2021. We failed you, we failed the oath we made to Alpha Delta Pi, and we failed ourselves.

We first failed when one of our members made racist comments. It’s deeply disturbing to realize we have not created the kind of chapter culture where racial jokes wouldn’t be welcome. Then we failed our values and community by not speaking up to stop it. This is bystander behavior, and we’re deeply embarrassed that despite knowing better, we didn’t do better.

We deserve the suspension of our chapter, and our members will use this time to reflect on our behavior and to do whatever will help heal our community. We express our deepest apologies to everyone we’ve hurt and commit to implementing professional diversity, equity, and inclusion training to educate all members and ensure that racism, microaggressions, and discrimination are eradicated from our sisterhood. We are at Methodist to learn, grow, and develop to our fullest potential. It’s clear from our behavior we have a long way to go on all fronts, but we will work tirelessly to do better.

Published: September 25, 2021

Theta Epsilon Chapter at Methodist University

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