by Jackson Walker – University of Wisconsin Madison
After her sorority at Louisiana State University kicked her out, Emily Hines says the school ignored her request for the incident to be investigated for possible bias.
Alpha Phi, a Greek Life organization independent of LSU, revoked Hinesâ membership in April over her TikTok video that criticized Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine for her transgender identity. The seven-second video featured the Bee Geesâ song âMore Than a Woman.â
Despite being told that the organization does not side with political views,â Hines told The College Fix she believes the decision was politically motivated.
âI think they chose to remove me because my beliefs go against modern society and it would look bad on them. Sororities are all about outward appearance and I know first hand that Alpha Phi is no exception,â Hines said.
âTheyâre a private organization so they can have their own set of rules, but they donât apply to everyone, which is a major fault in their organization as a whole,â she said.
âAs a conservative, even though I may not agree with decisions you make or words you say, Iâll defend your Constitutional right to do and say those things; that was clearly not the case for them.â
Hines reported the incident with LSUâs bias reporting system in April but says LSU has effectively ignored the request as she has not received a response as of late July.
âLSU has remained silent,â Hines said, noting how her story made national headlines in April. Her university has not, in the months since, defended her free speech or criticized the discrimination and bias she faced.
Hines said she filed her complaint based on the discrimination she faced regarding her religious beliefs.
âLSU has a freedom of speech and expression policy and it applies to all campus locations. I, along with other conservatives on campus, feel itâs become an unsafe space for certain views and beliefs,â Hines told The Fix.
âBecause Alpha Phi is a private organization, Iâm not sure if theyâd be excluded from this. And Iâm not saying LSU is responsible, but they should know what their campus organizations are doing and how theyâre treating members.â
â⊠A response wasnât necessary but wouldâve been more professional than just silence.â
LSUâs Bias and Discrimination Incident Report system encourages student to file a report whenever they experience âconduct that discriminates, stereotypes, marginalizes, excludes, harasses or harms anyone in our community based on their identity,â also noting that the âelimination of discrimination on our campus begins with reporting.â
Director of Media Relations at LSU Ernie Ballard confirmed the schoolâs receipt of Hinesâ report to The College Fix, however, and explained that bias reporting at the school had recently transitioned to the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX.
Ballard replied to recent questions from The Fix that both Media Relations and the Office of Student Advocacy and Accountability had reached out to the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX directly as a result of The Fixâs questions and would follow up with Hinesâ report at a later date.
âItâs insane that you were able to get a hold and on contact with them but I havenât been,â Hines told The College Fix.
In 2018, LSU investigated a bias incident in which the student newspaper The Reveille published a column referring to sorority students as âcattle.â