Non-traditional fraternity continues to expand

by Lindsey McKay
Staff Writer

Members of Delta Lambda Phi — a gay, bisexual and progressive fraternity — are facing a season of triumphs and setbacks in Ohio, with one chapter setting up on a state campus and another excluded from joining a greek governing body.

While the University of Cincinnati’s chapter of Delta Lambda Phi celebrates its new charter this week, Kent State University’s chapter is dealing with a rejection vote from its Interfraternity Council.

This comes after Ohio University’s IFC last year became the first in the country to admit Delta Lambda Phi into its ranks with full membership.

Kent State’s IFC voted April 22 to block the fraternity from becoming a member of the campus fraternities’ governing body. Delegates voted after IFC members presented Delta Lambda Phi’s constitution. Eight fraternities voted against accepting Delta Lambda Phi, four voted to accept it and three abstained.

Kent State’s chapter members did not seek OU Delta Lambda Phi President John Hall’s advice before applying for IFC membership. But Hall said his chapter might have been able to help.

“I want us to be a resource,” he said.

Charlie Grandinetti, Delta Lambda Phi’s national executive director, said he was surprised by the vote at Kent State.

Grandinetti said he is unsure if the outcome would have been different if Kent State’s chapter sought Hall’s help, but he encourages chapters to consult one another.

“If I was going to run a marathon, I’d want to talk to someone who’d done it,” Grandinetti said. “A little knowledge is better than none.”

OU is one of only two chapters ever to receive a form of IFC acceptance. About 12 years ago, a Sacramento, Calif., chapter of Delta Lambda Phi applied for full IFC membership but received associate status, which denied it a voice or vote. The Sacramento chapter left IFC in 1996 when it shifted its base from California State University, where it found difficulty recruiting new members, to the Sacramento community, Grandinetti said.

Nationwide, Delta Lambda Phi has 23 nationally chartered chapters and four colonies, or locally recognized chapters. --

Ohio gained its third Delta Lambda Phi chapter on April 27, when the national fraternity granted the University of Cincinnati’s colony its charter, said C.J. Liotta, the national organization’s vice president of chapter services.

And this summer, OU’s chapter will host the fraternity’s annual national convention. Because of Athens’ central location among chapters, Hall said he hopes to draw 100 delegates.

The event, scheduled for June 28 at the OU Inn, 331 Richland Ave., will feature workshops designed to guide chapters looking to join IFC, Hall said. OU’s chapter members will use their experiences to help others apply successfully, said Hall, who hopes a representative from IFC or OU Student Activities will participate in the convention.

The University of Minnesota’s chapter will be next to apply for IFC membership, Grandinetti said. The national board of directors gave the chapter permission on April 14 to petition the council.