Post Detail

Why the fight for women's rights in higher education still matters

Join Fox News for access to this content Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account - free of charge. By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News' Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive. Please enter a valid email address. NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Sweet Briar’s Board of Directors explained that because their founder specifically ordered the establishment of a college for "girls and young women" in her will, they had an obligation to interpret her directives as they were understood at the time it was written. 

Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority members appear on Fox News. (Fox News/Ingraham Angle)

This is a commonsense approach that should be embraced throughout higher education. Spaces created for women should remain for women. Sadly, sorority members across America are learning this is no longer the case. 

In 2022, I was a University of Wyoming sophomore and an active member of "Kappa" when my friends and I discovered that a man, Artemis Langford, received an invitation to join our sorority. This bid, issued in spite of overwhelming opposition by the majority of our chapter, was offered at the urging of our national headquarters, which was obsessed with further diversifying our membership.

This was heartbreaking news since we had joined Kappa believing it was an organization for women – not merely any person claiming to be one. Not only would we be forced to acknowledge this male as our "sister," but this individual would also participate in residential activities, like slumber parties, in our sorority house. 

This meant sharing more than our rituals and traditions with a man. It included sharing bathrooms and bedrooms, too. For nearly all of us, this quickly turned from deeply concerning to something that felt downright unsafe.

Sororities, including Kappa Kappa Gamma, are time-honored ways women can form meaningful relationships, further academic pursuits, promote worthy charities and foster leadership skills. Members become doctors, lawyers, scientists, teachers, entrepreneurs, authors, U.S. Supreme Court justices and even the presidential nominee of their political party. And most importantly, they grow into the women our society needs them to be as friends, family, colleagues and citizens.

The unfortunate reality, however, is that like most of the other 26 National Panhellenic Conference-aligned sororities, Kappa has unilaterally adopted so-called "anti-discrimination" policies that allow anyone who simply identifies as a woman to join these women’s groups.

When members raised concerns with national sorority leaders about this unthinkable departure from our rules, we were condemned as threats to the social progress they hoped to achieve. Instead, Kappa’s leadership indicated they would ignore their contractual obligations to us and to their bylaws to remake our 152-year-old sorority as they desired.

When faced with no other option, we began to pursue legal remedies to right the course of the sorority we love. Alumnae and students, including me, have sued Kappa Kappa Gamma for disregarding its mandate to adhere to our founding documents and bylaws, like Sweet Briar College, and affirm our organization is meant exclusively for women.

Depleted from this excruciating experience, I transferred universities. A fellow plaintiff vacated her leadership position in the sorority. Another dropped out of college altogether. Alumnae who dared to speak out have been kicked out. Still, we will not give up.

Our resolve is strengthened when we see leaders like those at Sweet Briar who have, even in the face of irrational and unjust opposition by gender ideologues, persevered for the sake of us all. They have proven that the wishes of women from centuries past to create opportunities for the women of today still must take precedence over radical activists seeking the self-satisfaction of embracing an alternate reality.