GW Pi Beta Phi

Dear Family, Friends and Alumni of DC ALPHA, Thank you for staying connected with us during this crazy year - we have our annual edition of our publication: "The Dart" recapping our year!

Check it out below! Or click the link to view the full size version!

https://indd.adobe.com/view/18de38e4-6731-4e6b-a8c7-142fedae93ce

This Sunday at 7pm we are hosting a film screening and discussion about the movie ‘Paper City’ on a discussion of the school to prison pipeline and literacy! Tickets are $4 and can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/paper-city-movie-screening-and-discussion-tickets-128158564717

TW/CW: Film contains mature content and racist language.

Our sister our Director of Diversity and Inclusion put together a guide sharing how to “Be Actively Anti-Racist” with tips and action items which we can all learn and work towards anti-racism and ally-ship.

Image Description
(First Slide) yellow background with white text reading “Being Actively Anti-Racist”

(Second Slide) yellow background with white text. Title reads “A 5 Step Approach.” Subtitles read “1. Know the terms 2. Examine your biases 3. Acknowledge your privileges 4. Hold people accountable 5. Unlearn and learn”

(Third slide) yellow background with title in white, the title reads “Know the terms.” The text in black reads “Individual racism refers to the beliefs, attitudes, and actions of individuals that support or perpetuate racism in conscious and unconscious ways. Example: telling a racist joke,” “ interpersonal racism: occurs between individuals. These are public expressions of racism, often involving slurs, biases or hateful words or actions. Example: racial slurs, biases, negative stereotypes,” “Institutional racism: occurs in an organization. Institutional policies, discriminatory practices, etc. Example: a school system where students of color are more frequently distributed into the most crowded classrooms and underfunded schools and out of the higher resource schools,” “ structural racism: the over arching system of racial bias across institutions in society. These systems give privileges to white people resulting in disadvantages to people of color. Example: stereotypes of people of color as criminals in main stream movies and media.”

(Image description for slides 4-8 Continued in the comments)

Juneteenth (June 19th) celebrates African American freedom in the US. On June 19th, 1865, federal troops arrived in Texas to ensure that all enslaved people were freed. Juneteenth is a day to celebrate, bringing the experiences of African Americans to the forefront and telling the true history of our country.

BLACK LIVES MATTER:

As DC Alpha women it is imperative that, in order to maintain our values of integrity, honor, and respect, and personal and intellectual growth, we end our complacency and listen to the Black community. Silence on issues that affect our communities and maintaining the status quo can no longer be tolerated if we want to claim that our organization reflects the values and voices of our sisterhood.

Our non-Black sisters possess privilege that causes us to be complicit in pervasive acts of systemic injustice. We denounce these destructive words and actions and commit to holding ourselves accountable by engaging in constant conversation and action. Our organization’s history requires that we take direct action, in addition to our past promises. We must lean into the discomfort of this conversation in order for our chapter to grow and meet the needs of all of our sisters, and their communities.

We are working with the Panhellenic community to implement systemic changes that will help our chapter achieve our objectives. We reject all forms of injustice and want to make it clear that this conversation will not be ending anytime soon, as we work to eliminate remnants of systemic bigotry from our organization, our campus, and task ourselves to individually dismantle unjust systems. We are learning, we are listening, and we are committed to action and change. And once again, we unequivocally say, Black Lives Matter.

Our resources for education and donations can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wk1IQR6gGar8jvUn_zjASv4fekQ3euwqROKKNAmUjoc/edit

WELCOME TO OUR MC '20! We're so happy to have you angels!

Today we are co-sponsoring “These Hands Don’t Haze” in support of National Hazing Prevention week. Stop by Kogan Plaza between 1-3pm to take the pledge!

The women of the DC Alpha Chapter of Pi Beta Phi condemn the recent incident that has taken place in our community and on our campus. Any act or hateful rhetoric regarding race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ability, or any other factor will not be tolerated. The members of Pi Beta Phi strive to create an inclusive and safe atmosphere on campus.

While the Panhellenic Association and The George Washington University school administration further address this situation, Pi Beta Phi will continue to uphold our core values, and continue the discussion of diversity and inclusion in our organization and on campus.

🌟Internship Spotlight🌟
Sister: Lizzy Hampton (PC’19)
Major: International Affairs
Internship: Fairbanks Morse, Washington D.C.

“I’m interning for Fairbanks Morse, a naval defense contractor, as both a lobbyist and research analyst for their government relations department! My day to day job consists of anything from researching potential legislation to advocating on behalf of similar companies on the hill. My favorite part about spending my summer in D.C is jazz in the sculpture garden every Friday!!”

Check out our 2019 Spring semester & Summer newsletter! We can’t wait to be reunited with our sisters soon!