Advocating for Pi Phi in a VUCA World

On July 1, 2013, I was installed as Pi Beta Phi’s 23rd Grand President. I pledged myself to lead intentionally and purposefully. I felt we would find our greatest success if we could keep sisterhood our main priority and not be distracted by the nonessential matters that would compete for the Fraternity’s attention. As someone who is not overly political myself, I felt Pi Phi had no business engaging in politics.

Nearly six years later, I am still committed to leading with intention and purpose. I still believe a deliberate focus on fun and friendship is what will make us most successful. However, I now know Pi Phi must be involved in advocating for the sorority experience — even when that takes us to our capitol building and into the offices of our lawmakers. Simply put, Pi Phi cannot be part of the conversations that threaten our ability to exist if we don’t enter the political arena.

PAULA PACE SHEPHERD, Grand President, Texas Epsilon, University of North Texas

For many years, fraternities and sororities have faced significant challenges, such as the fight to remain single-sex organizations. Throughout my presidency, I have seen these challenges become more frequent. With the tragic deaths experienced by men’s fraternities in 2017, hazing laws have become more specific and unforgiving — and rightfully so. At the same time, university demands of fraternities and sororities have increased and, in my opinion, become overreaching. On public and private college campuses across North America, we can point to very real instances in which the ability of undergraduates to assemble as sorority women, united in friendship and common values, has been taken away.

I will be the first to admit that we can sometimes be our own worst enemy. If our members contribute to instances of hazing or any action that does not align with our values, we fuel the fire working against us. All the good we do can be overshadowed by poor behavior and bad decisions. We must be an organization committed to integrity. By modeling friendship, leadership, philanthropic service and lifelong commitment for 152 years, we’ve demonstrated that there is a relevant place for women’s fraternities in today's world.

To protect our right to assemble as fraternity women, we must advocate for ourselves and support legislators who understand the valuable role fraternities and sororities play on college campuses and within communities. We must be engaged in the conversation, or there will be no more conversation to be had. Very literally, we are in a fight for our existence.

This issue of The Arrow focuses on a term introduced to Grand Council and senior Headquarters staff by Leadership Development Officer LISA MASTERS, Georgia Alpha, during our 2017 strategic planning efforts. VUCA — an acronym for volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous — describes the various dimensions of an uncontrollable environment. Frankly, there is no better term to describe our world today. We cannot sit idly. We cannot rely on our past successes. We cannot let someone else fight our fight. If we believe in the experience Pi Beta Phi has afforded us — and I know we all do — then we must do everything we can to survive and thrive in our VUCA world. Our beloved Fraternity deserves our care.