UC-Berkeley Greeks create queer alliance
Daily Californian
University of California, Berkeley
October 15, 2004
http://www.dailycal.org/article.php?id=16527
UC-Berkeley greeks create queer alliance
By Rachel Luna, Daily Californian
When a flier advertising the Greek Queer Straight Alliance was dropped off at his fraternity, junior J.P. Avila saw an all-too-common display of homophobia. "One of my brothers said, 'This faggot dropped off this flier,' read it and dropped it on the ground," Avila said.
For some members of the queer community who are also involved in greek life, their sexual orientation can carry a stigma.
Although Avila does not identify himself as gay, he has felt comfortable experimenting beyond the girlfriends he had in high school since coming to University of California-Berkeley.
He still dates women, but he says his sexuality is not solidified. But if he were to come out as gay to his brothers at Acacia, Avila said he would not expect violence, but isolation.
A new Greek Queer Straight Alliance had its first meeting Thursday night to help combat misconceptions and reach out to members of the greek community. About 15 members came: some queer, some straight, some greek, some not.
"I'm sure there are members of the greek community who are not out to their chapters because of real or perceived fears of negative reactions," said junior Andy Ratto, the main coordinator for the alliance and a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi. "We want to establish a positive sense of community among people who might not always feel that in their own experiences."
At Thursday's meeting, members began laying out goals for the group, throwing out ideas about who the group should target, fraternity and sorority outreach, and possible events to sponsor. In the future, the alliance plans to have guest speakers, social events and philanthropic activities.
Ratto says the alliance has received a lot of positive support from Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic executives, although attendance fell a little short of Ratto's hope for 25.
"Maybe people are interested in coming, but are scared that they might see someone from their house there," Avila said. "They could be afraid of being outed, or they could be afraid of being misclassified as gay."
Some who attended the meeting said the alliance should have been created earlier.
"Ever since being part of the greek community," said Ian Richardson, the IFC vice president for risk management, "I've seen how homophobia exists. So this was an opportunity to help out and finally do something about it."
Last year, allegations that Delta Upsilon members were harassing residents of the queer co-op Oscar Wilde House were said to be rooted in homophobic tensions.
But the greek community does not identify with the homophobic label.
"I think there is a lot of acceptance of queer students at UC-Berkeley and I believe that is also true in fraternities and sororities at Cal," said university greek adviser Rob Maneson. "The nature of UC-Berkeley students is that they are very supportive and accepting of many different cultures, religions, sexual orientations, customs. I don't believe that the Cal greek community is any different from the rest of campus in this regard."
The inaugural meeting of the alliance comes in the closing days of National Coming Out Week, which is meant to ease the process for people discovering their sexuality.
On campus, the week was celebrated with many queer-themed discussions, meetings and training.
"Our main goal is to provide a safe space for those who are questioning to come out safely and to show them that there is a community that is welcoming," said Lindsey Swift Arrow, Queer Resource Center facilitator. "Even if participation may have been minimal at some points, it still lets people know that there is a safe space, so we have accomplished our goals."
(C) 2004 Daily Californian
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