LGBTQIA+ Fraternity & Sorority Life

Questions to Ask at Rush/Recruitment

Rush/Recruitment is a series of tabling and events where students will get to meet and hang out with each chapter and its members. The Rush/Recruitment schedule varies for each chapter, and some require a fee paid by a certain deadline, so don’t be afraid to reach out via Direct Message or emails on their websites before Rush/Recruitment to get more details.

Each Chapter is unique, and every year’s Active Body is unique (because some join and some graduate), so it is important to get all of your questions answered during Rush/Recruitment in order to make an informed decision on which chapter(s) to commit to. Fraternity & Sorority life is all about making genuine connections that will stick around for a long time, so here is a list of questions to get you started by figuring out whether a chapter is inclusive of LGBTQIA+ students.

• Are there LGBTQ+ members in your organization?
• Can non-binary, trans*, genderfluid, or genderqueer people join?
• Where does your organization stand on folks from the LGBTQ+ community joining?
• Does your organization require your members to attend workshops related to the LGBTQIA+ community and/or Ally Trainings?
• Does your organization offer gender-inclusive alternatives in your language?
• Do you have any dress code for Rush or any sorority/fraternity events? Is there any flexibility?
• What does your organization do to make sure that LGBTQ+ people, including closeted folks, feel safe in predominantly cisgender and straight spaces?
• What is your policy for when LGBTQ+ folks get discriminated against by a member of your organization?
• Does your organization have any leadership or scholarship opportunities for LGBTQ+ folks?
• Do you have any resources or projects that prevent or actively fight discrimination against LGBTQ+ folks?
• How has your organization contributed to Gay, Queer, and Trans* Liberation?
• Do you as an organization recognize Pride Week, Trans Day of Visibility, etc?

LGBTQIA+ Steps for Greek-Lettered Members

• Always introduce yourself by name and then pronouns. Including pronouns in your verbal introduction, website, name tags, email signatures, at Rush, and at Zoom events, shows that knowing others’ correct pronouns is important to you. 
• Reflect the language that folks use to identify themselves!
• Use flags! When students see pride flags at your table or event they feel seen and accepted. 
• Stay away from tokenism! At times, organizations believe that they are inclusive just because they have people in their organization from different communities, especially different marginalized communities; however, that is not always the case. It is not enough to have people in your organization that have multifaceted identities. It is up to the organization to actively have conversations about inclusion that center different communities but do not put the labor on those specific community members to educate everyone else in the Chapter. 
• Always strive for more accessibility. Accessibility can include but is not limited to, providing live captions or hiring sign language interpreters for virtual events, having multiple languages on your website for parents, promoting awareness about both visible and invisible disabilities, making sure that your event venues are easy to get to or navigate, having gender-neutral bathrooms, educating your members and potential new members on different accessibility needs, and amplifying the voices and efforts of activists and organizations that advocate for students with disabilities. 
• Plan fundraisers and community service events that contribute to causes that benefit LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities. 
• Check-in with LGBTQIA+ people in Fraternity & Sorority Life often by holding events and closed LGBTQIA+ spaces that are limited to active and alumni members of your organization where they can find community and empower each other, especially in times of crises. 
• Call in members every time a microaggression occurs, and ensure that all members get the education they need to become inclusive of marginalized genders and sexualities. 
• Set up a zero-tolerance policy, and keep all members accountable. A strict policy will make a huge difference in the way LGBTQ+ students see your organization.
• Be mindful of who your organization tends to draw in. As a Chapter, reflect on your inclusivity in all aspects. If there is no diversity in your organization, ask yourselves why your organization does not draw others in or how your organization may have been unconsciously excluding groups of people during Rush/Recruitment. It is difficult but essential to step into an unbiased perspective and look at your organization from the outside.
• Collaborate with more diverse and inclusive campus organizations to open your members’ world up to having events with different groups of people. At the same time, recognize the harm that Fraternity & Sorority life has historically done to BIPOC and LGBTQ+ folks and be mindful of the space you take up when collaborating with non-Greek-lettered organizations.