“When I went through formal recruitment, I was honestly terrified that fraternities would not extend bids to me because of my sexual orientation,” said College senior Matty Simon.
As a first-year, Simon knew that he wanted to be involved with Greek life. However, he was still hesitant to rush.
“I did not have a strong support system in the Greek community at Emory cheering me on, letting me know that it is totally OK to be openly gay and be in a fraternity,” he wrote in an email to the Wheel.
Simon now believes his fear was unfounded, as he is currently a member of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. But he wasn’t alone, according to College senior Elizabeth Arnold, who founded the Emory Pride Alliance to support LGBTQ members of Greek life.
“I got the idea for the organization from a Wheel article about sororities discriminating against LGBT people,” she said, “And I realized that within sororities and fraternities, there wasn’t much visibility or support for us at all.”
While she has not personally experienced any active discrimination as a queer woman in a sorority, she believes that there are pervasive issues in Greek life, such as heteronormativity — the default assumption that everyone is heterosexual — and non-inclusive language, which need to be addressed.
“This is an organization that tells everyone, 'Hey, it's OK to be gay in Greek life,’” Arnold said. “It's about sisterhood and brotherhood, and it doesn't matter who you are.”
President of the Emory Interfraternity Council and member of Alpha Epsilon Pi Taylor McNair said he thinks that forming the Pride Alliance represents a positive and necessary step towards resolving these deep-seated problems in the Greek community.
“While I don't think that discrimination is widespread and blatant, I do believe that our Greek community (and Greek communities nationwide) has the perception of being less inclusive,” he wrote in an email to the Wheel. “If even one student feels or has felt uncomfortable based on responses to their sexual identity, then it is a problem that must be addressed.”
Targeted Issues
Arnold began the organization from the ground up in January 2015 when she invited a few sorority girls to informal discussions about sexuality and LGBTQ issues they wanted to change in Greek life.
One of the major issues noted in these initial meetings was the prevalence of heteronormativity in Greek life.
“You have date parties. You have fraternity-sorority pairings like two sides of a spectrum, but there's really so much in between that people don't really understand or recognize,” Arnold said.
In her opinion, most of the other obstacles that LGBTQ members of Greek life face branch off from this deeply ingrained mindset. For example, everyday language can be inadvertently exclusive.
“Going to a date party, people ask you, 'What boy are you bringing?' And if you bring a girl, they just assume she's your friend,” Arnold said.
Similarly, Pride Alliance Vice President of Fraternity and a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity Matthew Smoot wrote in an email to the Wheel that he does not believe Greek life actively discriminates against the LGBTQ community. Rather, he observed unintentional discrimination as part of Greek culture.
He observed that if a fraternity were to throw a date party, they would typically make an announcement like, “What girl are you taking?”
“It would be awesome if they said instead, ‘Who are you taking?’” he wrote. “Small changes in language can go a long way in creating a more inclusive community.”
Simon agreed, saying that the real problem with Greek life’s attitude toward its LGBTQ members is not that they have a true policy of discrimination, but that “it is certainly not inviting to all.”
He hopes that, as the Alliance’s secretary and treasurer, he will be able to “create a space that was not present” when he first joined his fraternity.
Arnold anticipates that the Pride Alliance can provide a platform where people can discuss traditionally taboo topics, like sexuality in the LGBTQ community.
“I think once that discussion happens, people will learn so much about it. The culture will change,” she said.
First Steps
To achieve their overarching goal of creating a campus atmosphere that is progressive and accepting, the Pride Alliance executive board will begin to implement certain policies to increase inclusivity.
According to Director of Sorority and Fraternity Life Marlon Gibson, one of the Alliance’s first steps will be raising awareness of the organization within Greek life, so that all Greek leaders know which resources are available to them and how to utilize them fully.
In collaboration with the Office of LGBT Life, they also hope to offer Greek life members Safe Space training. This training is a three and a half hour session to promote awareness of the LGBTQ presence on campus, address prevalent issues that this community faces and encourage activism that creates equity on and off campus. Arnold thinks that, once established, this will be similar to the training for fraternities provided by Sexual Assault Peer Advocates (SAPA).
Additionally, the board is trying to reach out to freshmen and other students considering the recruitment process in order to inform them about the support system the Alliance provides. As a Pi Chi, a Greek-neutral Panhellenic counselor who advises students about the recruitment process, Arnold feels as though she has a unique ability to spread the Alliance’s message.
“I think it would be a big success if someone was unsure about rushing because they weren't sure whether Greek life would be accepting of their identity, and then they see our organization and change their mind,” Arnold said.
Finally, they plan to establish their campus presence by partnering with various organizations. The organization has already partnered with Emory Hillel for an event on October 29 called “The Colors of Israel: Israel’s Progressive LGBT Community,” featuring Assi Azar, an openly gay Israeli television personality.
“It’s all about getting our faces out there, and making sure people know who we are,” she said.
Going Forward
Gibson remembers a student who was overjoyed when he learned that the particular fraternity he was interested in was LGBTQ-friendly. Gibson said he wishes that all Greek chapters were equally accepting.
“I'd like to be able to say that. That's one of the things that we're working towards,” he said.
In his eyes, Greek life is already becoming more accepting because of the Alliance.
Recently, the fraternity Delta Tau Delta had a date night, and Gibson said he was glad to hear that everyone was extremely respectful of the members who brought their boyfriends.
Similarly, Arnold thinks that the Alliance has the potential to change the view of Greek life at Emory.
“We are very liberal at our school, and people are very accepting, and we want to create an atmosphere that's conducive and supportive to that,” she said.
Ultimately, although the organization is new, its members believe that it will make drastic changes to better the culture of Greek life at Emory.
“Soon on Emory’s campus, all identities, not just those who identify as LGBT, will feel welcome on the Row and within Emory’s Greek Life,” Simon concluded.
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