CONCLUSIONES DE LA INVESTIGACIÓN DE MERCADO

that she does not know if she would feel safe if she “actually went to fraternity parties.” Alex described their experiences with “frat parties”:

I can speak on the frat parties, because I go to the music frat party, and I go to them in Drag, so that's always, like, straight people just don't know what to do. But generally, it's fine, I mean. But that is the music school also; it tends to be a little bit more progressive of [the Greek Life organizations].

Though Alex did not explicitly acknowledge that there is a difference, it is important to distinguish between social organizations that use Greek letters and chartered members of

the North American Interfraternity Council (IFC). Alex did share their experiences with rushing IFC fraternities and having bids removed once they came out as queer. They shared,

I actually rushed [IFC fraternities] my freshman and sophomore years, and I got bids, and then [had] those bids removed when they found out I was queer. They retracted the bid when they found out I was queer. They didn't say that was why, but the next day after [I came out] I got three letters saying the bids were no longer [being offered].

Alex later shared that they believe that the Office of Greek Life at SRU is “trying to work on [their homophobia],” but stated that they had not personally seen results of their efforts.

AJ and Michelle discussed how much of Greek Life reproduces conformity. AJ said,

I think the Greek life here – and I don't have any experience in Greek life… [I] think about all the girls wear the same thing, all the boys wear the same exact thing. There is no diversity in that, and I could imagine that coming out or even [broaching] the subject of coming out would be incredibly scary…You would have a huge amount of push back, I would imagine – especially from frat boys. Michelle added,

Like [AJ] said, there's not much diversity, and I think there's a big stake put into Greek life in conformity – especially here [at SRU]… there isn’t a whole lot of visible diversity, but I do think that there probably is a decent percentage of LGBT students involved in Greek life, but [they] don’t feel like they can be open

about [their sexuality], which really stunts their own personal growth…I think they’re there, but they’re not going to talk about it, because some places will kick you out [or the fraternity or sorority]. That’s an ethical issue, but that easily happens.

Michelle felt that having individuals come out within the sorority setting would allow more opportunity for others to come out and break some conformity. She said, “I think if one person would [come out] and get it over with… there would be more people coming out.”

As a former member and president of a sorority at another university, Michelle shared that she gets asked a lot of questions about her sexuality in relation to her role as a sorority member:

I think I get more questions [about my sexual orientation], because I was also president of my sorority, so that's not very typical I would say. So I get more questions like, ‘How does that work?’ and ‘How did you survive Greek Life being a lesbian who was out?’

Individuals who ask these questions may assume that being a lesbian in a leadership position within a sorority is an impossible combination given the heteronormative demands of participating in single-sex social organizations. Such assumptions reflect additional expectations regarding conformity in Greek Life.

Finally, Justin shared that he chose not to join a fraternity, though he had wanted to join one. He said,

[I felt like I would be] criticized, and maybe mocked or picked on, so I probably prevented myself from having some bad experiences [by not rushing]. I thought

about joining a fraternity before... [But] because of my sexuality, I decided not to… [I also decided not to join because of] the Black community in general, but Black men especially – I feel like they're really on you about being very

masculine…I wanted to have a brotherhood…I decided not to, because I am a homosexual man, and I didn't want to get subjected to whatever I may be subjected to.

Justin felt that because Black men expected “very masculine” behavior that he might be targeted due to his intersecting identities as a Black, gay man. Wanting brotherhood was not worth the risk.

In Chapter 2, I discussed Welter’s (2012) study, in which the researcher found that participants shared many positive stories from their Greek Life experiences but also had an overall negative feeling about Greek Life. Michelle shared her own positive experiences with Greek Life, and also shared a negative perspective of Greek Life. Alex shared their own negative experiences rushing fraternities and AJ and Justin discussed the particular demands of conformity.

I did not add new questions to the survey based off of this subtheme, but I did include aspects of Greek Life in other survey questions. These questions may be seen in prompts in Question 2 about Campus Climate, found in Figure 4.7.

2.) Do you avoid any of the following places on campus because they feel unsafe or uncomfortable? (Check all that apply.)

Bathrooms

Athletic Centers (The Strom, Blatt) The Russell House

The Horseshoe Fraternity Houses Sorority Houses Classroom Buildings Residence Halls Dining Halls Other:______________________

2.) Which of the following have you experienced at SRU? (Please check all that apply)

Disciplined for identifying as LGBT Prevented from using preferred name

Prevented from using preferred gender pronouns

Required to use the bathroom that you did not identify with

Prevented from joining an athletic team due to identifying as LGBT Prevented from joining a student organization due to identifying as LGBT Prevented from joining a sorority or fraternity due to identifying as LGBT Disciplined because of or prevented from wearing clothes of another gender

Prevented from discussing or writing about LGBT topics in classroom assignments

3.) Which best describes your living situation? On-campus residence hall

Fraternity or Sorority house Off-campus home or apartment

Off-campus home or apartment with parents

Figure 4.7 – Additions to questions related to Greek Life. (Note: These questions are in different subsections of the survey, which is why the numbers do not flow in one cohesive unit in this figure.)

4.5.b Navigating classroom dynamics. Five participants (AJ, Rachel, Paloma,