Are there any gay-friendly fraternities at Penn State?
 

I am a senior in high school, and I before i decide which college i want to attend, I want to make sure it is gay friendly because i am openly gay. I know that Penn State was recently listed as a top 10 gay friendly college but what about greek life? Since i was a freshman i have always been interested in greek life and i plan to rush a fraternity when i start in fall 2014. Many people keep telling me not to because of my sexuality and feel it is something i shouldn't proceed to do, however, I have met many guys in fraternities who told me its about brotherhood and that sexuality doesn't matter. I know Penn State has Delta Lambda Phi, but i would like to have more options to research before i decide where i would like to rush. So my final question follows. Which fraternities at Penn State are gay friendly, and which ones should i stay away from?

If you are openly gay, it should be easy to tell. I did not go to Penn State, so I don't know specifics there, but on my (not terribly gay friendly) campus, fraternities ran the gambit from actively recruiting gay men, to being a bit homophobic. I knew several fraternity men who came out while active, and was impressed that the majority of their brothers were very accepting.

Tl;dr you'll probably figure out quickly who is and isn't accepting. If penn state really is gay friendly, you should be fine. I know openly gay men who had great fraternity experiences.

People, in college especially, tend to gravitate toward people like themselves. In general, I think young men in college have become more accepting of prospective members of all orientations, while still tending to choose men that they consider to be similar to themselves and/or just would like being around.

I say that to hopefully prepare you not for the homophobia, but for the femmephobia you could face from straight men as well as gay men who present themselves as masculine.

http://sundial.csun.edu/2012/05/femm...gbt-community/

(I do not know how you present yourself, so I am not saying this applies to you. But I am a gay man in a [black] fraternity and see more femmephobia than homophobia.)

There are quite a few posters from Penn State on here - they may message you directly.

Just so you know, too, a lot of fraternities have a statement in their anti-discrimination clauses regarding sexual orientation. Now, that doesn't necessarily dictate chapter culture, but it's a good sign, nonetheless.

If it helps, according to the HRC, Penn State is one of the most gay friendly campuses in the nation.

There are openly gay fraternity men on this forum as well, if you ever need anything. Good luck with recruitment!

33girl hit the nail on the head that there are a few of us on here. As a Penn State alumna who is also a member of a Greek organization, I can say that there are organizations that are gay friendly. I will private message you. Penn State is actually a very gay-friendly place.

Every campus and every fraternity is different. And I know that I don't have experience in the Fraternity world, but my husband is a fraternity member (an alum now), and his Big brother in his house is openly gay. My husband and his chapter had/have the upmost respect for this member. It was never an issue. He was treated with respect and considered a close friend and mentor by the other members.. Hope this helps and the best of luck!!!

I have several friends who attend Penn State (although I do not myself) and can attest that it is a very gay-friendly institution. While I am not too familiar with the entirety of the Greek life community at PSU, I do know that you should have no trouble finding a chapter where you fit in and a group of men who accept you for your personality as well as your sexuality. It's true that many fraternities have by-laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, but what is written on paper does not always dictate how people act in every day life. I have known gay people (not at PSU) to be fought over during recruitment by several chapters because the said chapters were seeking more diversity. Although I have the utmost confidence this won't happen at Penn State, be weary and follow your gut. It's almost always right. Good luck with your senior year, making your final college decision, and going Greek should you choose to do so. The Greek community can only benefit from you being a part of it.

I know I'm a little late to the party, but this could be an opportunity for *you* to bring a new fraternity to your campus if that's a possibility.