As many may know, I am the current Vice President of Student Groups for the Student Government Association (SGA); however, I am not writing this article as a member of SGA but as a student here at Shippensburg University. 

At the last public SGA meeting in February, a Slate representative made a statement during open gallery discussion that I would like to address as I felt it was unwarranted and unjust. The statement addressed the motto of one of our university fraternities, as they felt it excluded members of the LGTBQ+ community. 

As an individual that is part of the LGTBQ+ community, I took offense and strongly disagreed with that blanket statement. I am not a member of the fraternity in question, but I am familiar and close with many members of the organization. I consider them my friends who have been some of the most accepting and supportive individuals that I have met since coming out as part of the LGBTQ+ community. They have always done their best to make me and others feel included, despite not being a brother. I have never witnessed any discrimination from this group.

In a recent printed published piece, The Slate shared their philosophy on news coverage as “shockingly simple: do good things, and we report good things; do bad things, and we report bad things.” So, I would like to share some “good things” that our fraternity and sorority members are responsible for. 

Each fraternity and sorority have their own philanthropies that they fundraise to support and are year-round efforts. Recently, over 685 cans of food were donated by Greek Life organizations to benefit the Big Red’s Cupboard, and several Greek Life organizations worked together to clean up the streets of our local Shippensburg community. 

Last semester, Alpha Phi raised over $500 to benefit the American Heart Association, specifically for prevention in women. I suffer from a heart condition and appreciate the supporting efforts for this great cause that indiscriminately effects so many. Another organization, Delta Zeta, recently raised over $220 for the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter, and additional funds for the local Relay For Life. Greek Life is also assisting with community wide town beautification days, such as the annual Ship Shape Day. 

These are just a few noteworthy examples that can be credited to their organizations. To find out what other initiatives they support, visit their social media pages such as the Panhellenic’s and Inter-Fraternity Council’s Instagram pages. 

I appreciate being able to share my opinions, feelings and facts of some of the good things that are being done by our Greek life population. Supporting my fellow Ship students that are actively making a difference is some good news in my book that should be reported. So before making negative statements about an entire group of people, let’s do our due diligence and report all the facts. 

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