ISC Recruitment Postponed

After serious reflection and discussion, ISC will be postponing recruitment. Recruitment will now be held the second weekend of Spring Quarter, from Friday, April 9 to Sunday, April 11.
We understand this decision may bring disappointment and we want to acknowledge all the effort many chapters have put in thus far. However, after much reflection, ISC believes that extra time is necessary to ensure a more equitable recruitment process moving forward. In particular, the way that virtual recruitment had been designed thus far failed to: 1) heed adequate attention to the ongoing campus conversations surrounding Greek life and recruitment, both in ISC as a whole and within our individual organizations; and 2) take into account the needs and concerns of all Potential New Members, particularly those of marginalized backgrounds. As ISC, we apologize for any and all distress we have caused to members of the Stanford community by working towards a recruitment that was not up to the standards of inclusion and intention that we have pledged ourselves to.

We want to take this time to actively create an inclusive space, take responsibility for our own role in perpetuating the exclusionary environment bred by recruitment, and focus on enacting tangible change. We are still deciding what this means concretely, but our hope is that these next few weeks will help pinpoint what we can and should be doing to create a more equitable and intentional recruitment process. 

In terms of changes we have made thus far, we have voted unanimously to discontinue the legacy policy. We have done so in light of the exclusionary history behind this practice and the conflicting impact of this policy on chapter decision-making in regard to our reaffirmed values-based process. With the same intentions, we have also done away with elements of the application process - including bias-inducing questions regarding background and chapters’ ability to access Potential New Member headshots prior to meeting them. We have implemented a mandatory recruitment training in which our members are challenged to look at their own implicit biases and learn how to combat them.

Moreover, we are in the process of creating more opportunities for PNMs to engage in candid discussions with active members regarding recruitment and ISC, with particular attention towards highlighting the diverse experiences of individuals in ISC who hold marginalized identities.* We intend to create these safe spaces where PNMs and active members can converse transparently and freely about various ISC experiences—including asking and answering the hard questions—so that folks can access the support and information needed to make an informed decision on whether or not to undergo recruitment.

Lastly, we intend to make recruitment accessible to individuals who may have barriers to participating in this virtual format. We commit to providing adequate accommodations for any individual with special circumstances, whether it is a technology challenge or time zone obstacle.
As part of our commitment to accountability, we have created an accountability tracker (linked below). Additionally, as we continue to work towards creating a more inclusive recruitment process, we welcome ideas and constructive criticism (response form linked below as well). 

Our biggest hope is that ISC will continue to work closely together to make recruitment a kinder and more welcoming process for the broader Stanford community, and that you, as potential new members, receive the care, connection, and consideration you all deserve. We greatly appreciate your patience and flexibility and anticipate, with optimism and conviction, the ways in which we will carry on growing as a community.
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If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at: iscrecruitmentchairs@gmail.com

Resources:

• Accountability Tracker: http://stanfordisc.weebly.com/accountability-tracker.html 
• Response Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-65ONSGbtp9HaC5JbqC0each__k1_GZleXqD8JNsOKc/edit 

*We recognize that some folks with marginalized identities have suffered negative experiences within ISC organizations, which in some cases, has led to them leaving their chapters. We do not mean to discount these narratives and encourage PNMs to seek and understand experiences of other individuals from as many sources as possible.