Sorority women at the University of Virginia have been told not to party with their Greek brothers — or else face sanctions. The order comes down after a widely publicized and subsequently discredited accusation of a fraternity gang rape, which first appeared in Rolling Stone.
Sixteen U.Va. sororities were told by the National Panhellenic Conference not to participate in the annual “Boys’ bid night” fraternity parties, which take place on Saturday. This is one of the biggest party nights of the year for U.Va., and some sorority members have said the schools aren’t treating them like adults.
“They are treating us like children and punishing us for being women,” Whitney Rosser told Bloomberg News. “We’re angry because we are being told we are not allowed to go out instead of addressing the deeper issue of why sexual assault happens.”
The parent of another U.Va. student, who asked not to be identified in an email to the Washington Examiner, said that the ban constitutes a “war on women.”
“So there was a fake gang rape reported and in response U.Va. forced fraternities and sororities to adopt new rules. Now the national sorority leaders think the proper response to the fake gang rape is to demand that their members not fraternize with boys?” the parent wrote. “Why not let the young women at U.Va. be adults and decide for themselves who they want to associate with? They’re in college, not under age children at home who need constant supervision. It’s a war on women by women who want all college age women to be fearful of men.”
The parent also directed the Examiner to the “about” page for the NPC, which states: “Fraternity is a social experience based on the fundamental right of a free people to form voluntary associations. It is one of the enrichments of college life.”
“Obviously,” the parent wrote, “they don’t believe that since they’re threatening sanctions for said voluntary associations.”
Earlier this month, U.Va. fraternities and sororities were forced to sign new agreements in order to resume social activities, which had been banned in the wake of the discredited accusation.
