As the editor of the Texas edition of The Odyssey, I’m really blessed with this platform to express my opinions. Of all the issues that currently face Greek life both at The University of Texas and nationally, the issue of how Greek life deals with homosexuality is one of the closest to me. That’s because I’m gay and in Greek life. I’d like to utilize this platform to both come out and comment on being gay in Greek life at UT and coming out in general.
The reality is that in today’s world gays do face a lot of discrimination. When you’re like me and gay with the goal of becoming a news reporter, digging into important issues that will mean dealing with people from all walks of life, it can be compelling to hide your sexuality, not wanting to make an already difficult and competitive goal even harder. However, when one hides their sexuality, they really miss out on so much, and it’s just not something that I want to sacrifice anymore. Also, it can sometimes make things harder, like when I had a gay UT administrator, who I guess could tell I was gay, threaten to out me last year to try and stop me from doing a story.
I truly believe in honesty. I strive never to be dishonest. However, with all the discrimination around homosexuality today, I think that gays should be able to come out when they feel ready, without backlash for having hidden it.
In terms of Greek life at UT, the only Greek life I feel like I really have the experience to comment on, the situation for gays is moderate. I truly believe that you can be openly gay and be a part of mainstream Greek life at UT. However, to say that there isn’t discrimination would be a lie. From my experience, acceptance of gays in Greek life varies greatly by organization, with some of UT’s most prominent fraternities being the most accepting. Over the past several years, there has been increased attention around efforts at UT to create and grow LGBT fraternities and sororities. Those efforts have seen a lot of success, and it’s not surprising to me. Those organizations are needed because that level of acceptance can be tough to find in Greek life.
The truth is that while it’s getting more accepting all the time, Greek life at UT does have a long way to go in being truly accepting for LGBT students.
