Although the greek system at Indiana University at Bloomington will have an organization available for lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgendered students, some MSU students say such an idea might not be successful in East Lansing.
Delta Lambda Phi is the first fraternity catering to gay students at Indiana. It will be initialized Saturday. Its goal is to allow all students to feel welcome, regardless of their sexual orientation, senior president and founder Steven Ary said.
“We had organizations for the LBGT community, but no fraternity for its members,” he said. “We decided it would be a great idea. We knew we would run into some obstacles, but the university has been really supportive in helping us get everything going. The entire student activities organization has been really great with us.”
Ary said the idea came about after a conversation with a friend about fraternities.
“I said, ‘I think we could use something like this here,’” he said. “We are the only fraternity that is exclusively open. There are other fraternities that will accept gay or bisexual members, but it’s not as publicized as Delta Lambda Phi is.”
Ary said the 15-member organization aims to be a resource for LBGT students by promoting unity. The group will participate in LBGT events and support the community to help get rid of stereotypes, he said.
“Beyond being a male, full-time student, we are open to anyone in terms of race, ability or sexual orientation,” he said. “Our goal is show that people can come together in a cohesive unit united in fellowship and brotherhood. Sexual orientation is a minuscule difference. Everybody can work together with everybody. We are out to prove that you just can’t base things on stereotypes.”
David O’Ryan, a member of Alpha Sigma Phi at MSU, said he thinks diversity within a house is a good idea as long as no one feels excluded.
“If you concentrate one group in a house, others might shy away from it,” the English junior said. “I think the greek system as a whole should be made up of diverse people. I think the idea is great, but here at MSU, I have never come across a fraternity or sorority who wouldn’t let someone in because they were gay.”
Aaron Beasley, a member of the Alliance of Lesbian-Bi-Gay-Transgendered and Straight Ally Students, said he thinks the fraternity is a good idea as long as it is being open to anyone who wants to join.
“If it’s open to everyone, it’s a good idea to inform the community of LBGT concerns and needs,” he said.
But Beasley said he is unsure of what the reaction would be from students if MSU formed a similar fraternity.
“I think it’s something the LBGT community would think about doing, but not something the university itself would support,” he said.
The psychology junior said he thinks the idea would be useful, but also controversial because of the possible lack of support from MSU.
“I think there would be some kind of big uproar about it,” he said. “Most people would be uninformed about it at first and think it was segregated and just for the LBGT community. It wouldn’t go over well in the beginning, but it might once people are informed.”
