Editor's Note: This is the final story in a three-part series that examines the experience of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students in Dartmouth's Greek community.
Tiger Rahman '09, a straight male member of The Tabard coed society who previously identified as a queer woman, said that in his freshman year many students who attended Gay Straight Alliance meetings would "flock over" to The Tabard's house meeting, scheduled immediately afterwards.
"The entire active freshman queer contingent would come to [The] Tabard," Rahman said. "They would usually hang out and end up joining."
According to many students interviewed by The Dartmouth, the College's coed organizations are welcoming to members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.
Rahman, who said that The Tabard was a social space for everyone from "Christian conservatives" to "would-be anarchist revolutionaries," said the house's openness about sexuality created a welcoming atmosphere.
"The things we do have -- like lingerie and disco [parties] particularly -- are very 'celebrate your sexuality,'" Rahman said.
Katie Herman '09, the president of Phi Tau coed fraternity, said that the tensions that some students may encounter in the Greek community do not exist at her house because of the organization's diverse membership.
"We try to be an open and accepting community for very diverse people, from devout Catholic to crazy raging liberal," Herman said. "They're all Phi Taus and we all work together."
She also emphasized that students should join the organization in which they feel most comfortable.
"Whether it's because you like board games or you're on the baseball team, people choose [a house] because it's people they feel comfortable with or people they have things in common with," Herman said. "Sexuality can be one of those things; it doesn't have to be."
Emily Eberle '09, president of Alpha Theta coed fraternity, said that Alpha Theta has eliminated gender-specific language by calling fellow members of the house "siblings" instead of brothers or sisters.
"Frats would say bring a girl, whereas we couldn't say that because we're already coed," Jen Reiser '09, former house manager and incoming president of Alpha Theta, said. "We have to say bring a date."
Outside of the Greek community, coed organizations provide a similarly open environment, according to several members. Panarchy, one of two coed undergraduate societies on campus, has a long-standing tradition of GLBT members, according to former president Kristin Vallacher '08.
"We refer to ourselves as gender neutral rather than coed," Vallacher said. "Coed means boy, girl. We say whatever you identify yourself as. The very nature is conducive to having that type of membership."
Vallacher said she felt the underlying reasons students chose coed fraternities instead of single-sex fraternities contribute to the coed organizations' welcoming environments.
"It's not common that you go to a coed house to play pong," she said. "You go because you have a friend there or you like the theme of their party or you were invited. It doesn't have the same type of facelessness as going to a frat randomly without knowing any brothers."
Students speculated that this welcome attitude in coed organizations comes from a variety of sources.
Herman said she feels the Greek community is comfortable with GLBT individuals on a personal basis rather than with the GLBT community as a whole. She cited a former Chi Gamma Epsilon president who was openly gay and comfortable in the house.
"I think people were comfortable with him as an individual," Herman said. "But asking a [fraternity] if they're comfortable with gay guys is very different from saying this is your friend, he's cool right? He's okay?"
She added later, "Once you know someone, their sexuality becomes much less important."
Jon Hopper '08, a member of The Tabard, echoed Herman's sentiments, saying that houses have been more receptive of the GLBT community if there is an individual in the house who has taken a personal stand.
"There's a vocal [person] who's respected within the house and willing to step up and take the lead, usually involving much personal risk on their part," Hopper said. "They're very rare individuals who should be commended for their work."
Cody Lavender '10, co-chair of Gender, Sexuality, XYZ, formerly known as the Gay Straight Alliance, noted that the welcoming environment of coed houses could be a result of the presence of a number of minority groups in the organizations' memberships.
"I think the subcommunities themselves gravitate towards each other," Lavender said. "It's not that they put up with us, we become part of an integrated community."
Several students noted that coed membership itself may eliminate issues that might come with a homosexual environment.
"The differences between everyone are so obvious so we're able to accommodate," Nico Buhr '07, the 2007-2008 president of Alpha Theta. "Having both genders makes those differences not as important."
Eberle said that eliminating gender boundaries creates a sense of respect between all members.
"You're all already on equal footing," she said.
Members of Amarna undergraduate society were unavailable for comment at press time.