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I just received my fraternity magazine and noticed in the Board meeting minutes that some of the chapters had questions about transpeople. Some apparently wanted to pledge FTM students. At least one chapter had a brother who had decided to become a "sister." They wanted to know the fraternity's stance on this. The answer the Board came up with was that the fraternity constitution stated that a person to be initiated into the fraternity had to be a male at the time of initiation. "What they do after that," the Board said, "is their own business." Quite a change from when I was in college and the "white only" clause (now abandoned) was being questioned and some chapters were questioning our pledging some men of the Jewish faith.
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Frats
My fraternity actually considered de-activating me for dating a black. Things have changed a lot during our lifetime.
Try some of these stats. Only a third of those who served in Vietnam are still alive today.
http://www.nationalvietnamveteransfoundation.org/statistics.htm
I can't vouch for the accuracy of their numbers, but what if they're right?
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
54?
The only number I take exception to is the youngest Vietnam Vet alive being 54. I enlisted January of 1975, and was 17 years old. I am 57 now. For somebody to be 54 and a Vietnam vet they would have enlisted at the age of 14.
RobinDiaz
Major Federal Court Decision
I think I read something about a Court decision that makes any sort of discrimination against T folk a very serious infraction. This in response to the bigots in North Carolina.
G
Mine
I have to admit I've been a total chicken on contacting this member, but one of the active members of my fraternity from college apparently is transitioning MTF currently. There was a debate about what to do in January about it, but from what I can tell they did the right thing and left her a part of it. My fraternity has long since had many gay members though too, so it's not the first case of someone being a little bit outside of the 'norms' for them. It's a very unique chapter though, so who knows what it would be like in my same fraternity at another school.
Technically a person could probably petition their national fraternity to release them of their oaths. I know of a few cases where people did that so they could join a different fraternity instead. It was a very high bar to get the nationals to approve of it from what I understood. I think if someone told them they were wanting to pledge a sorority instead you would probably see understanding though.
College tends to be the most 'liberal' time of life for most people. That leads to a greater tolerance and understanding in the case of someone who is transitioning in a lot of cases!