BY ERIN HIGGINS

Chapman University student Addie Vincent had hoped that she would be the first transgender woman to be initiated into a sorority within her college’s Greek system. But things changed after she was cut from the process after the second day of rush. With many friends involved in the Greek life at Chapman, Vincent felt confident about her chances. But when she learned she would be unable to fulfill her dream of joining a sisterhood, Vincent was crushed.

She now plans to start a chapter of Theta Pi Sigma: Chapman University’s first gender-neutral all-inclusive “frarority.” The frarority will be open to students of all background, including gender, sex, gender expression, and sexual orientation, with a colonization goal of Spring 2014.  A GoFundMe account has been set up to help Theta Pi Sigma achieve its financial needs. Vincent has currently raised $470 of the $2,000 goal.

Read more at dot429.com

The post Transgender university student starts gender-neutral ‘frarority’ first appeared on Lesbian.com.

A sorority at CU Boulder.

BY LUCY HALLOWELL
AfterEllen

When I first read this article about the straight girl at Smith College who circulated an email to her friends in an attempt to set up a “straights only” sorority my first instinct was to do a whole post about all the awesome ladies who would be in a lesbian and bisexual only sorority. But while I was patting myself on the back for being so very clever I had a wave of empathy wash over me.  I know, it was shocking for me, too. This woman, whoever she may be, is living a reality with which most of us should be able to empathize. It’s pretty terrible to live in a world where you feel marginalized, pushed aside, surrounded by people who make you feel wrong or weird. This woman may have, for the first time in her life, discovered what I felt basically from the time I was a little kid. Doesn’t that suck? Doesn’t it feel terrible to not have a place to fit?

Read more at AfterEllen.com

AfterEllen is the pop culture site that plays for your team

The post A sorority without lesbians at Smith? first appeared on Lesbian.com.

You just got the name and contact info of your new college roommate. Most new college students eagerly sit down and type up an email of introduction to their new college roommate. But what if you are gay, lesbian, bisexual or trans? How do you introduce yourself? Do you come out right away or do you wait to feel them out?

When to Come Out to Your College Roommate

Do you come out to your new college roommate before you ever meet her, or do you wait until you’ve gotten to know each other? Either option is fine. A lot of it depends on your personality, how out you are and how comfortable you are with your sexual orientation, and your personal style of communication.

Read more at LesbianLife at About.com

The post Coming out to your college roommate first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Emerson College in Boston. (Photo: Allston Dave)

BY MORGAN WELCH
dot429

There are multiple issues to consider when looking at colleges; Princeton Review’s annual list, which covers both two-year colleges and four-year universities, rate each institution on multiple criteria for the consideration of prospective students, including LGBT-friendliness. Predictably, schools from California and New England crowded the most LGBT-friendly list, while Southern schools were likely to be rated as least friendly towards the community. However, there were some surprises.

Not everyone considers the Princeton Review’s findings reliable, however; Campus Pride points out that the surveys include only one question on LGBT issues: students are asked if they agree or disagree with the statement “students, faculty, and administrators treat all persons equally regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.”

Among the most LGBT-friendly schools:

01. Emerson College (Boston, MA)
02. Warren Wilson College (Asheville, NC)
03. New College of Florida (Sarasota, FL)

Among the least LGBT-friend schools:

01. Grove City College (Grove City, PA)
02. Hampden-Sydney College (Hampden Sydney, VA)
03. College of the Ozarks (Point Lookout, MO)

Read more at see the top 20 rankings in both categories at dot429.com

The post The most (and least) queer-friendly colleges first appeared on Lesbian.com.

The Associated Students of the University of California passed a bill opposing Salvation Army donation boxes on campus after a student accused the organization of homophobic practices.

With the bill’s passing, the ASUC officially opposed the Salvation Army and urged the university to ban the famous organization on campus.

Read more at Huffington Post Gay Voices

The post Will UC Berkley ban The Salvation Army? first appeared on Lesbian.com.

The University of Virginia’s student council has unanimously passed a resolution to bar co-eds from inserting the word “not” before the word “gay” (meaning “happy”) in the school’s song, which is performed at athletic events.

As Outsports reports, UVA students have been inserting the word in the school’s traditional “Good Ol’ Song” since the 1970s, but previous calls to change the practice have fallen on deaf ears.

Read more at Huffington Post Gay Voices

The post UVA student council bans homophobic fight song first appeared on Lesbian.com.