The national governing bodies of Greek life have taken a step toward opening organizations to transgender persons.
The National Panhellenic Conference and the Interfraternal Council decided this year to allow transgender students to participate in recruitment. The decision is left to the individual sororities and fraternities and their national or international headquarters as to whether or not local chapters can extend a bid for membership.
Chandler Hardy, OCU Panhellenic president said:
We cannot tell an organization to change their own rules, but we can be as inclusive as possible when dealing with recruitment.
“We are starting to see more and more organizations starting the conversation as to if they will or will not extend membership because of this decision.”
One Greek organizations on campus has a policy regarding transgender members.
Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity’s policy states that “a college ‘man,’ for purposes of our fraternity laws, is any individual who, at the time both of his association and his initiation, self-identifies as male, regardless of his assigned sex at birth or his expression or the perceived expression of his gender,” according to an email from Tad Lichtenauer, national director of communications for Lambda Chi Alpha.
Gamma Phi Beta also allows students to join, based on how they identify.
“We believe that it is about bonding with your sisters and having experiences that make your college experience the best it can be,” said Natalie Dexeus, OCU’s Gamma Phi Beta president. “We follow the same guidelines as Panhellenic regarding transgender members.”
Another sorority on campus is in the process of creating a policy.
“Phi Mu seeks to recruit members who contribute to our mission within their local chapter and for the national organization,” said Jackie Isaacson, national director of communications for Phi Mu. “The National Council of Phi Mu Fraternity is in discussions to determine our policy on transgender members.”
Another campus fraternity doesn’t have a policy, but is open to allowing transgender members.
“We have always prided ourselves in having a diverse member pool and are open to any lifestyle they choose,” said Zach Travers, OCU’s Kappa Sigma fraternity president.
Representatives from Alpha Phi sorority, Alpha Chi Omega sorority and Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) fraternity were not available for comment at presstime.
Levi Harrel, assistant director of student development, said he thinks all people deserve a chance at the best possible college experience. He said:
It is my job to make sure that they get that chance.
When a person decides to go Greek, they can enter fraternity or sorority recruitment. They should fill out the form for the organization they identify with. There is no other form to fill out regarding gender, Harrel said.
“All the forms come to me, so if there is one that I think was filled out by mistake, then I will contact the student and ask,” Harrel said.
OCU has not had an issue with any transgender student wanting to join an organization and not being accepted.
Billy Speed, IFC president for OCU, said he is glad the discussion is happening. He said:
I wouldn’t say that it will be easier for us here because, no matter what, you are going to get people who don’t agree. But, if there is a place for this to happen, it is OCU.
Read about gender-based awards and experiences on campus as a transgender student.
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