UC Santa Barbara sorority reports adviser over alleged exclusion of women of colour
UC Santa Barbara’s Alpha Phi sorority has accused an outside recruitment adviser of sidelining women of colour during this year’s membership selection. The allegations prompted public calls for accountability and led the chapter to report the adviser, who was removed from the sorority house.
The recruitment began with about 1,200 prospective members, but the chapter president said the pool was cut to 250 and appeared to be missing a diverse group of women the members had recommended. Black chapter members also said they were kept out of most recruitment events. Alpha Phi members challenged the decisions, and the chapter continued recruitment with members taking greater control over the remaining process.
- UCSB’s Alpha Phi accused an outside adviser of discriminatory recruitment.
- About 1,200 prospects were reduced to 250.
- The adviser was reported and removed from the house.
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Alpha Phi is a national women’s sorority with a chapter at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Sororities recruit prospective members through a selection process in which current members meet applicants and decide whom to invite to join.
The chapter’s recruitment adviser was brought in from outside to help with that process. The dispute concerns claims that women of colour were excluded from events or dropped from consideration, and whether chapter members had a say in decisions about who could join. Sorority recruitment can shape who belongs to campus organisations and has access to their social networks, so the allegations have prompted calls for accountability.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The chapter’s account, if accurate, raises a serious concern that an adviser excluded women of colour and prevented Black members from participating fully in recruitment. Reporting the adviser and taking greater control of selection could be seen as necessary to uphold fair access and the sorority’s responsibility to its members.
The case against
The adviser may have been applying recruitment criteria or procedures intended to manage a very large applicant pool, and the reported disparities alone do not establish that exclusion was deliberate. A fair assessment would require hearing the adviser’s account and examining how decisions were made; removing the adviser before that process could risk judging the allegations prematurely.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “California sorority accused of sidelining prospective members for being black”.