One of the basic premises sorority life is to provide women a place where they are comfortable, where they feel that they can be themselves. Sometimes, the case may be that that just doesn’t happen during formal recruitment and an interest group is formed to give those women such a place. And a new sorority at the University of Texas at Austin is aiming to do just that.
Gamma Rho Lambda, a national Greek organization, which, according to its website “has been referred to as the first national lesbian sorority, however they strive to be inclusive of all members, whether they identify as lesbian, bisexual, ally, transgender, questioning, straight, or with no label.” The sorority has officially chartered at UT Austin this semester and is planning to take a pledge class this fall. Lauren Ferguson, the president of Gamma Rho Lambda, provided this statement for TSM:
“UT has always been a place of innovation and progressive thinking, and it was strange to us that it didn’t yet have a queer sorority on campus to mirror Delta Lambda Phi, the queer fraternity. So, we worked on being affiliated with Gamma Rho Lambda and UT, and were officially inducted as a colony this semester! Our biggest goal is to provide a safe place for all the queer students of UT. Although we are a sorority, which has feminine connotations, we are first and foremost a queer safe place, meaning anyone can come to us if they feel we may be a resource to them. We’re planning on starting rush in the Fall, and we encourage anyone who is looking for a queer family at UT to rush.”
The chapter’s nine members, who all serve as officers, are currently in a three-month trial period with Gamma Rho Lambda. Assuming that all goes well, they will be ready to accept the first new member class in the fall. Ferguson says that while they have received a few negative messages, the Greek community has been overwhelmingly supportive of the chapter, telling CultureMap Austin, “For every one person who doesn’t like us, there’s a thousand who support us. UT has been insanely supportive of us. They’re not only willing to support us, but they’re excited about it.”
And so are we..
[via KEYE]
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Jenna Crowley
Jenna used to be known as 2NOTBrokeGirls, but then one of the girls actually went broke, so she's struck out on her own. Jenna spends her free time saving the world, one sorority girl at a time (usually while wearing yoga pants), questioning why she decided to get a doctorate, and documenting her love of all things cheese related. You can ask her anything you want about football, using your boobs to get what you want, and pizza at @JennaLCrowley on Twitter or via email at [email protected].
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