Openly Gay Members

[SNUIGC]

Alright, thanks for the input... I mean, the guy's great... actually, if it wasn't for me dragging him into a meeting I don't think he'd ever pledge anywhere (was too afraid of what might go on and all). ...and, I must admit, if we did the whole big/little at my chapter here, I'd definitely want the guy as my little.

It's just one of those things where there's the personal side of something...and then there's the business side of it. Personally, like I stated while voting on bidding, "If anybody says anything about this guy's being gay, lets go outside and I'll beat your ass." ...but, on the flipside, I still have to try and think about all that. ...then again, when you're the first "traditionally white" fraternity to integrate and have non-white members, what's with going further? haha

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by SNUIGC

Alright, thanks for the input... I mean, the guy's great... actually, if it wasn't for me dragging him into a meeting I don't think he'd ever pledge anywhere (was too afraid of what might go on and all). ...and, I must admit, if we did the whole big/little at my chapter here, I'd definitely want the guy as my little.

It's just one of those things where there's the personal side of something...and then there's the business side of it. Personally, like I stated while voting on bidding, "If anybody says anything about this guy's being gay, lets go outside and I'll beat your ass." ...but, on the flipside, I still have to try and think about all that. ...then again, when you're the first "traditionally white" fraternity to integrate and have non-white members, what's with going further? haha

crash/

Not like integrating based on race and ethnicity is exactly the same as integrating based on sexual orientation, but I see your point about inclusion. Your fraternity and maybe your chapter (depending on how old and big your chapter is) have always had gay members--this is just the first openly gay member at your chapter. That puts it all in perspective.

The business is all the same, of course. With the personal, just be careful about making heterocentric and bigoted comments that a lot of people make because they assume they are surrounded by heterosexuals all the time.

Lastly, this guy's open homosexuality is more than likely no different than your open heterosexuality. As long as he isn't trying to be flamboyant with it, it won't be an issue. Flamboyant heterosexuality and flamboyant homosexuality are both annoying because it confuses sexuality with masculinity and is basically trying waaaaay too hard.

Good luck!

/crash

[Kevin]

Not like integrating based on race and ethnicity is exactly the same as integrating based on sexual orientation

That's more spot on than you give yourself credit for. Sigma Nu does have a bit of a checkered history when it comes to inclusiveness.

Looking at some of my own old posts, I don't know how I'd have dealt with this situation. My concerns (rush) would have been there, but on my campus, at the time, ACACIA had a few members come out. This garnered them a lot of negative attention. For example, my younger brother, an ATO, was quite proud of himself for taking part in a "prank" where the ATO's spraypainted rainbows onto a fence on the ACACIAs' property which turned out towards a major road. Despite that negative attention, however, ACACIA is still, as far as I know, the largest fraternity on my campus.

I think this reputation for inclusiveness gained them more pledges than they lost.

Also, as an epilogue to that little story, ATO lost its charter last year, probably due to hazing, alcohol violations, low membership, or a combination of those three things. I was pretty glad to see them go. They had been the sole reason our campus turned super dry in my second year of school (had a pledge pass out in the middle of the road, getting run over during a weekend camping trip/haze-fest).

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by Kevin

That's more spot on than you give yourself credit for. Sigma Nu does have a bit of a checkered history when it comes to inclusiveness.

Looking at some of my own old posts, I don't know how I'd have dealt with this situation. My concerns (rush) would have been there, but on my campus, at the time, ACACIA had a few members come out. This garnered them a lot of negative attention. For example, my younger brother, an ATO, was quite proud of himself for taking part in a "prank" where the ATO's spraypainted rainbows onto a fence on the ACACIAs' property which turned out towards a major road. Despite that negative attention, however, ACACIA is still, as far as I know, the largest fraternity on my campus.

I think this reputation for inclusiveness gained them more pledges than they lost.

Also, as an epilogue to that little story, ATO lost its charter last year, probably due to hazing, alcohol violations, low membership, or a combination of those three things. I was pretty glad to see them go. They had been the sole reason our campus turned super dry in my second year of school (had a pledge pass out in the middle of the road, getting run over during a weekend camping trip/haze-fest).

This gets us further into a great topic that is a huge hijack. I'm sure we've discussed homosexuality in our organizations on GC over the years. Maybe it's time for an updated thread to see how progressive (in practice, not just theory) folks have become over the years.

[banditone]

We never had an openly gay active member.

Now, once alumni status was reached, 1 or 2 have come out of the closet. It sucks, but the way most campuses work is once you become the "gay house" you are stuck with that label and it hurts the chapter usually.