Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senator Logan Cotton has initiated a dialogue aimed at making Greek life more accessible to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) students.
In a recent e-mail to the LGBT Center listserv, Cotton, a sophomore and Theta Delta Chi (123) brother, requested suggestions for ways to create safe environments for LGBT students within the Greek community.
"Our goal is to establish a greater level of understanding between the LGBT community and the Greek community so that the two can interact and support one another without the barriers of animosity to obstruct," Cotton said in the e-mail.
Cotton further elaborated in an interview with the Daily that, based on his conversations with students, there was a perception that Greek life was somehow incompatible with the LGBT community.
"People told me that there were a lot of ways that Greek life, implicitly or explicitly, can be inhospitable to students who identify as LGBTQ," Cotton said.
Cotton said establishing a positive relationship between the LGBT and Greek communities would be mutually beneficial.
"I know how big a role Greek life played for me when I first came to Tufts," Cotton said. "I think it's a shame if a student can't take advantage of all the opportunities because the environments that are created are inhospitable, but I also think it's a real loss for Greek life in general if Greek life can't capitalize on having such fantastic leaders as the LGBT students in our community."
TCU Senator Tabias Wilson, the chair of the Senate's Culture, Ethnicity and Community Affairs (CECA) Committee, is working with Cotton on the initiative and said that the goal is to establish the Greek chapters as "safe spaces" on campus.
A safe space, according to Wilson, a sophomore, is a place where students can be comfortable with their identity.
"A safe space is a place where you don't necessarily need to be cognizant about what identity you may have," Wilson, a Theta Chi brother, said. "If you have to go into a place and you act like you have to take certain precautions because of an identity you have … that's probably not a safe space."
Discussion about LGBT life within Greek houses began during the Pride Flag initiative, in which students were encouraged to hang rainbow flags from their house and dorm room windows to show support for the LGBT community, according to Cotton's e-mail.
"Many members of the Greek community, after having been made aware of the degree to which their houses are considered hostile environments for many members of the LGBT community, turned to the LGBT Center for answers," Cotton said in the e-mail.
Wilson said that students often perceive Greek life as unwelcoming of LGBT students.
"Just because it's a Greek system doesn't mean it has to be an unsafe place. I think a lot of times that people get that misconception," he said. "If that's true, then that should probably be changed."
Wilson said that the discussions are still in the early stages with no concrete plans in place.
Cotton hopes that there will be a result to the discussion in time for Greek recruitment.
"The eventual goal … is to have something ready by spring rush that incorporates [the Inter-Greek Council,] that incorporates Senate, hopefully, and that works with the [Group of Six] centers," Cotton said.
LGBT Center Director Tom Bourdon praised the Greek houses for their involvement in the pride flag campaign.
"We did see a lot of support coming from different Greek chapters around the whole rainbow flag initiative," he said.
Bourdon said he has contacted Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Tanya McGinn Paolo about future ways to create safe spaces within Greek chapters.
"When Tanya came on board, she and I connected and started talking immediately about how we could hopefully work together," he said.
Interfraternity Council President Alex Stein said that Greek chapters have recently shown their support for the LGBT community.
"I do understand, by and large, frats and sororities showed a lot of support for Coming Out Day and for solidarity week," Stein, a junior, said.
Stein said that he did not have any additional knowledge about the initiative and declined further comment.
Bourdon said individual students affiliated with the Greek system have shown support for on-campus LGBT life in private conversations.
"I had a lot of fraternity and sorority members talk to me directly about how they want to show support for the community," he said. "There's been tons of positive feedback and very intentional signs of support coming from different Greek chapters."
Bourdon hopes to create a tip sheet to help Greek houses become safe spaces for LGBT students. He also said he and Cotton had raised the possibility of having a safe space competition.
"What we're doing is just brainstorming," Bourdon said. "I think it'll continue to grow and relationship-building can take years, but I think we have a lot of people who are interested."
