College students are all familiar with Spring Rush and Fall Rushactivities on campuses. Students, eager to identify with otherslike them, put themselves through lengthy application and approvalprocesses all in the name of brotherhood and sisterhood.
In this community of bonds and friendships meshed by Greekletters, not all are represented, however.
On university campuses, gay and lesbian activists are comingtogether to battle isolation. In many cases that means formingtheir own groups, including fraternities and sororities.
"Discussion about starting a gay fraternity at The University ofMemphis has been minimum," said Eric Sirignano, president of theBi-Sexual, Gay and Lesbian Association on campus. However,homosexual fraternities and sororities are sprouting in otherlocations across the country.
About two dozen gay fraternities exist in the United States. Oneof these groups includes the Gamma Lambda Mu brotherhood at FloridaInternational University.
Alpha Lambda Tau, formed in 1999, is an international gayfraternity that promotes social, educational, financial andcharacter building for gay, bisexual, and transgendered malecollege students. The group is based in Indianapolis.
Lambda 10 Project, based at Indiana University, was formed inthe fall of 1995 and serves as a clearinghouse for educationalresources and materials related to sexual orientation and thefraternity and sorority experience.
Penn State and Colorado State University are home to twochapters of Delta Lambda Phi, whose goal is to make room for gaysin the Greek community. DLP was formed in 1986 and now has morethan 300 members in 18 chapters on campuses across the country. TheSanta Fe Community College chapter of Gamma Alpha Psi is afraternity of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgenderedstudents.
In addition to anti-gay violence, constant issues that gaystudents must combat include expressing their sexuality andreligion on college campuses.
"Common issues we see are people dealing with the isolation thatis associated with being 'in the closet.' The other big issue isreligion," said Sirignano, a U of M sophomore.
Students organized BGALA in 1979, and it was initially calledGALA.
"The group was formed mainly for the promotion of gay, lesbian,bi-sexual and transgendered rights, to educate the public on sexualand gender orientation related issues and to provide a practicalresource and information base for students at The U of M,"Sirignano said.
Although there have yet to be any gay fraternities or sororitiesestablished at The U of M, not everyone agrees with the idea.
"I was raised in the Bible belt and come from a background wherehomosexuality is frowned upon," said Daniel Belado, a U of Msophomore criminal justice major.
"I am a former member of a fraternity and fraternities are basedon Biblical principles. I think gay fraternities are out of therealm of what the organizations are supposed to be based on. But onthe other hand, fraternities are supposed to be about brotherhoodand friendship."
Of the 24 Greek organizations at The U of M, none are gay orlesbian, but there may be gay members of these traditionalgroups.
"I do not know if any of our (BGALA) members are members ofestablished fraternities or sororities because BGALA is a group ofconfidentiality," Sirignano said. "But I can assure you that thereare some out there. We're everywhere!"
