Greek organizations can do more to embrace the College's LGBTQA community, several students said at the annual "Don't Yell Fag from the Front Porch" discussion, which this year was held at Beta Alpha Omega fraternity on Thursday as a part of PRIDE week.
"Don't Yell Fag from the Front Porch" was first held in 2000, after a member of Alpha Delta fraternity reportedly yelled "faggot" from the fraternity's porch at a gay student. In response, LGBTQA students organized a panel, which has been held annually at AD ever since.
The discussion's moderators began by asking the audience a series of questions about their views on the relationship between the LGBTQA community and Greek organizations. When asked how many students had witnessed a homophobic act within the Greek system, almost every hand went up.
The moderators also read anonymous stories they had received via e-mail. Some of the anecdotes were sent in by students who felt supported when they came out to members of their Greek organizations. One male student described his choice to come out to his fraternity brothers as the "best decision of my life." A female student said that coming out in her small sorority community first made it much easier for her to come out to the entire campus.
During discussion, students questioned whether fraternities and sororities should maintain gender-specific environments or become more gender neutral. Peter Rothbard '09 said Greek organizations were "founded on a gender binary with the assumption of heteronormativity."
Other students, however, appreciated the existence of gender-specific spaces.
"If someone wants to be in a gendered space, that's fine by me," Christian Brandt '12 said.
When discussing how houses can become more comfortable places for LGBTQA students, Brandt suggested "just being nice to everyone who goes through your door." Many students, however, said that they view Greek organizations as male- or female-dominated environments, and more can be done to make the spaces more open.
"There are certain places where you know you'll be unwelcome, and you learn to avoid those spaces," one student said.
One of the challenges that the LGBTQA community faces is the need to reach out to students who are not currently involved in the discussion of LGBTQA issues, Brandt said.
"It's difficult when many members of the community don't care because it doesn't affect them," Neel Joshi '11 said.
Many of the students said they believed it is often difficult to be an outspoken ally of the LGBTQA community. One of the purposes of PRIDE week is "to give visibility to a group of people on campus -- not just gay students, but their allies," Raymond Rodriguez '09, one of the event's organizers, said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
The discussion also touched on the role the College administration should play in encouraging inclusivity, why some of the most popular Greek organizations are perceived to be the least accepting of the LGBTQA community, and how transgender students fit into the Greek system.
This is the third year that PRIDE week has taken place at Dartmouth.
"It's become more positive when we started it two years ago, and now we have a two-week-long event," Rodriguez said. "Every group wants to be a part of it, its no longer just the PRIDE committee."
