Jan 30, 2015 03:43 PM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Despite the massive outcry against the University of Virginia's (UVA) ruling that bans its sororities from attending its fraternities' "bid night" parties, 16 national organizations are holding fast.

According to the Huffington Post, "bid night" is a massive night of parties in which fraternities on UVA's campus welcome new members. But this year, the school is implementing new, strict policies for fraternity and sorority social events that take place on campus.

UVA's banning sororities from attending these parties has been met with petitions, letter and all sorts of forms of protest, though it seems the sorority chapters are on their own. 16 national sorority organizations and the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) have publicly thrown their support behind UVA's decree.

"While we value the input our chapter leaders have to offer on this important and ongoing dialogue, our members' safety and well-being must remain our top priority," the 16 sororities said in a joint statement through Alpha Delta Pi. "That is why we stand by the collective decision of our 16 International Presidents, which supports an existing [National Panhellenic Conference] policy that our organizations will not participate in men's bid day activities on any campus. Per our members' request, we will engage directly with our respective chapters to address their concerns and move forward from here."

Outrage over UVA's sweeping declaration is more directed at the school's apparent lack of faith in its sororities, the Washington Post reported.

"This has everything to do with reminding UVA chapters of existing policy and nothing to do with our confidence in the smart, strong women who are members of the Alpha Phi chapter at UVA," Linda Kahangi, executive director of Alpha Phi International Fraternity, told the HP.

Though the Rolling Stone article detailing an alleged gang rape at a UVA frat house has been discredited, the school has been taking measures to reform their sexual assault practices and policies anyway.

"We would resist any implication that UVA students are somehow deserving of special admonition. To the contrary, students at UVA have lived up to our tradition of student self-governance. Our student leaders in the Greek community recently spent several weeks developing thoughtful enhanced safety practices for their members and guests. These new safety practices were adopted by all fraternities and sororities on Jan. 16," UVA president Teresa A. Sullivan said in a statement. "We have confidence in our students' ability to use good judgment, be mindful of one another's safety, and adhere to the new safety practices developed by them and outlined in the recently revised Fraternal Organization Agreements."

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