Gay-allied frat wants support, campus home

Senior Ryne Shadday says IU’s campus culture is changing.

“We’re at a time in history where people are starting to view equality in a better light,” he said. “We are taking steps toward a more diverse IU.”

By next fall, IU greeks will likely gain an atypical addition as students push for the formation of a gay-allied chapter of Sigma Phi Beta.

“We’re putting it out there. It’s not going to be hidden,” sophomore Josh A. Thomas, IU’s interest group leader, said. “We are going to be a place where gay or gay-allied students can come, feel comfortable and be as active in greek life as any other male on campus.”

The idea started with a group of five IU students who wanted to join the greek community but felt they would have to hide their real identity to do so, Thomas said. The success of Sigma Phi Beta at Arizona State University inspired them to take action.

Previously, a group of students tried to bring Sigma Phi Beta to IU, but they did not receive enough support from the greek community to follow through, Shadday, a member of the IU interest group, said.

Sigma Phi Beta is a national fraternity that provides a safe social outlet for gay, straight, bisexual and transgender men within the traditional greek system, according to the fraternity’s Web site. The fraternity was founded in 2003 at ASU and is the only established chapter.

“We don’t have a lot of the benefits of a historically established fraternity,” said Sam Holdren, the national director of communications for Sigma Phi Beta. “Despite this, we have made a great deal of impact by breaking down stereotypes and building bridges.”

The IU group began working to bring the fraternity to campus during the second week of this semester and has had great results thus far, Thomas said.

Last week the students received “interest group” status after registering with the Sigma Phi Beta national headquarters, indicating their interest in establishing a chapter at IU.

“This is Sigma Phi Beta’s first real prospect for expansion as an organization,” Holdren said. “We are really excited to hear from them, and we really hope they will be successful. We are doing what we can to make this happen.”

The next step is for the group to become a colony within the IU greek system and within Sigma Phi Beta, which will involve the completion of several tasks, including recruiting potential members and forming an advisory board of IU staff and community members, Thomas said.

“I think recruiting and getting people interested will definitely be a struggle,” Shadday said. “People look at it and want to do it, but that doesn’t mean they actually will.”

Shadday shared his concerns about recruitment, saying that many gay or bisexual students will likely be nervous about coming out publicly or may already be resistant to greek life.

The group’s strategy for recruitment includes using social networks, such as Facebook and Listserv, as well as talking to people face-to-face.

Once the group becomes a colony, it can petition the national chapter for a campus charter. Thomas said he hopes this will happen by next fall.

The interest group will meet with the Interfraternity Council of IU within the next two weeks to begin necessary negotiations.

On IU’s campus, Sigma Phi Beta will be similar to traditional IFC fraternities, Thomas said. It will be a social fraternity with an emphasis on brotherhood and philanthropy.

“It will be a social outlet for those who are very comfortable with themselves sexually, as well as a safe haven for those who are not yet,” Thomas said.

Thomas said the fraternity will not likely have an established house on campus until after he graduates.

Shadday said he hopes his optimism about furthering diversity at IU will stay strong as the group proceeds.

“I hope there are enough people with open minds,” Thomas said. “There has not been much negativity thus far, but then again we are not very far into the process.”