Washington University’s chapter of Pi Beta Phi voted to relinquish its charter, effectively closing the chapter indefinitely, Oct. 4.

The vote to disband Pi Phi followed a tumultuous summer for Greek Life at Washington University, as many members of the community chose to permanently deactivate from their fraternities and sororities due to concerns over systemic racism, sexism, classism and heteronormativity within the system. Although 99% of chapter members had already submitted paperwork to deactivate, they were still permitted to vote since the paperwork had yet to be processed.

So far, Pi Phi is the first Greek organization at the University to officially close its chapter. Kappa Delta is currently awaiting the results of a petition to their national organization to close their chapter, and Delta Gamma’s national organization recently denied the Washington University chapter’s request to relinquish their chapter. Other organizations such as Beta Theta Pi and Chi Omega have experienced mass deactivations, but are still active on campus.

Grand President of Pi Beta Phi’s national organization, Marla Neely Wulf, expressed disappointment over the chapter’s decision to close.

“The decision of Missouri Beta collegiate members to close the chapter is met with great sadness by Grand Council,” Neelly Wulf said. “Walking away from Pi Beta Phi membership means diminishing the collaborative coalition of women who have, for decades, made change together.”

However, former Pi Phi member senior Nina Geers emphasized the widespread belief among Pi Phi members that abolition, not reform, was the only way for the sorority to effectively follow through on its commitment to social justice.

“We finally decided that, as a chapter… the damage that we had done as an institution can’t really be undone by reform,” Geers said. “It could only be done by ceasing to exist.”

Pi Phi’s closure has the potential to serve as a model for other chapters seeking to disband. Given that University administrators have adopted a pro-reform stance over the summer, Greek life will likely maintain a presence on campus in some form or another, despite deactivations and closures.

Additional reporting by Sabrina Sayed