News
2005-07-26
Gay fraternity
creates national charter, hopes to expand
With the creation
of a national charter last week, Arizona State
University's gay fraternity has become the first national
With the creation
of a national charter last week, Arizona State
University's gay fraternity has become the first national
collegiate-based organization of its kind in the country.
Now, five years since it appeared on campus, Sigma Phi
Beta hopes to establish chapters at other campuses.
"We definitely want to expand so that we can get other
students at other universities the same opportunities that
we've gotten for ourselves," said Sam Holdren,
president and chairman of Sigma Phi Beta.
Holdren said no one voiced any opposition to
making Sigma Phi Beta a national organization. The
fraternity has about 25 members at ASU, from
freshmen to graduate students. However, the fact that the
fraternity gets all the benefits of being a
university-recognized organization rubs the right wing
the wrong way.
Last November the Alliance Defense Fund sued ASU
on behalf of the Christian Legal Society—a
conservative, religious-based organization for
attorneys, law students, and others in the legal
field—demanding that the institution recognize
a campus chapter. ASU does not support the group,
arguing that it prohibits discrimination on campus.
Jeremy Tedesco, an attorney for the
Scottsdale-based Alliance Defense Fund, said the
organization believes ASU is attacking religious-focused
groups such as the Christian Legal Society while supporting
organizations such as Sigma Phi Beta, which have an
exclusive membership chosen according to whether they
share certain characteristics and values. "The problem
that's occurring on campuses across the U.S., including
Arizona State University, is that they're prohibiting
formation of religious groups," Tedesco said. "It's
hypocrisy." (AP)
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