FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 12th, 2020 – -With the safety and well-being of all members of Kappa Phi Lambda as National Board’s utmost priority, we wanted to reach out to you regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) and its effect on our membership and campuses. In the past several days, a growing number of universities and colleges have elected to suspend in-person classes for on-site classroom instruction and may transition to online/remote classes for the remainder of the semester/quarter. In addition, universities have instituted recommendations and policies regarding travel, events, and group meetings. On Wednesday, March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
We want to best support our active members as well as our whole membership and respect our greater communities. National Board has issued guidance to our membership in regard to activities and operations within and related to Kappa Phi Lambda.
National Board will continue to monitor the situation on our campuses and across the country. There is still much uncertainty about COVID-19, but we should still be very safety-conscious, prepared, and ever resilient. National Board echoes the guidance provided by the CDC and the WHO that if you are sick, please stay home, avoid public areas, and avoid public transportation until you are well and no longer exhibiting symptoms. If you believe you have COVID-19 symptoms, please call your healthcare provider ahead before visiting a hospital.
Continue to be mindful of your health and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Wash your hands with soap and water often for at least 20 seconds, sneeze into your arm or a tissue, and maintain social distancing. Even if you are not ill, please continue to practice good hygiene as this virus spreads easily, and those who are elderly and/or with compromised immune systems and severe underlying health conditions – like heart disease, lung disease, and diabetes – are at a higher risk.
Fear and anxiety about COVID-19 has led and may very well continue to lead to social stigma and disrespectful behavior to specific communities and groups of people, including but not limited to, persons of Asian descent, people who have traveled, and emergency responders or healthcare professionals. We encourage our Sisters to reach out to each other and to their families, friends, and colleagues and check up on them, express solidarity, and put forth the effort to oppose and speak out against these stigmas and negative behaviors. We encourage our Sisters to support the sharing of resources and mutual aid for all of the many communities who need it right now or may need it.
“We, the sisters of the Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority, Incorporated, strive to strengthen Sisterhood amongst women by providing Service and promoting Cultural Diversity to our members and our community, thus securing the bond of kinship for posterity. Kappa Phi Lambda exists to further educate individuals about Pan-Asian culture, while keeping our own identities. We aim for academic excellence, keeping in mind the importance of education and learning as the key to strength, awareness, and fulfillment.”
In Sisterhood, Service, and Cultural Diversity.
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About Kappa Phi Lambda
Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc. (ΚΦΛ, also known as KPL) is an Asian-interest sorority founded on March 9th, 1995, at Binghamton University. As one of the fastest growing Asian-interest sororities in the United States, KPL strives to strengthen sisterhood amongst women by providing service and promoting cultural diversity to their members and their community. For more information, visit https://kplsorority.org.
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Kappa Phi Lambda Contact
Catherine Angwin
National Board President 2018-2020
president@kappaphilambda.org
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