Sorority Members Call For Greek Life Reform

Three Johns Hopkins students in Pi Beta Phi are asking Greek organizations to pair loyalty with accountability.

The writers point to federal and university research on assault rates. A 2019 Campus Climate Survey by the Association of American Universities found that 1 in 4 undergraduate women reported rape or sexual assault after enrolling in college. Research from the National Institute of Health reports fraternity members are three times more likely to commit sexual assault than non-affiliated male students. The same NIH research shows sorority women experience higher rates of sexual assault than non-affiliated female students.

The authors link those figures to events at Cornell University. In October 2024, a Cornell student identified in court filings as Jane Doe alleged she was sexually assaulted by members of the Chi Phi fraternity while intoxicated and unable to consent. A civil lawsuit filed in September 2026 states fraternity members discussed her in a group Snapchat chat in real time, referring to her as "free pussy" and asking whether the "shop" was still open. The authors write that more than 50 Chi Phi brothers at Cornell did not speak up about the allegations.

Siyeon Joo is a sophomore from Cade, Louisiana, studying molecular and cellular biology and public health. Frances Leiter is a senior from Los Angeles studying art history. Veda Kommineni is a sophomore from Edwardsville, Illinois, studying international studies. The three write that fraternity structures built around loyalty can protect perpetrators when silence is treated as loyalty.

The piece addresses sexual misconduct involving men and women alike. The authors state that anyone who experiences misconduct, regardless of gender or Greek affiliation, deserves support.

Joo describes learning early in her Pi Beta Phi membership that sorority practice centers on a single line: "Text me when you get home." The group chat check-in follows each night. Joo writes that her mother still asks whether Pi Beta Phi is spelled like Pi Day.

The authors call for policy reform and new student conduct procedures. They write that holding a fraternity member accountable for harm is not a betrayal of brotherhood but part of it. The article ends with a request that members ask their brothers why women send those check-in texts.