With New Gay Frat, Members Challenge Stereotypes

There is a stereotype of the average frat guy. And there is a stereotype of the average gay man. In general, these two images do not overlap.

But with the formation of the Boston colony of Delta Lambda Phi, a national gay fraternity, members are challenging both of those perceptions, according to President and Pledge-master Paul S. Mercurio.

"We're like that middle bridge," he said.

Delta Lambda Phi posters are scattered about the Yard in an attempt to reel in some Harvard students to take part in its Rush 2000.

The seven current brothers, who attend various Boston area schools, have been together for one semester, but hope to at least double their size after rush.

Rush kicks off with an information session at MIT's 24-hour coffeehouse in the student center Jan. 19.

To attract prospective brothers and get to know them better, DLP has planned several other social activities--including ice-skating and billiards.

Mercurio, a sophomore at Boston University (BU), said that when he arrived at school he felt a need for something more than Spectrum, the gay and bisexual group for BU students.

After discovering the national organization for Delta Lambda Phi, which has been around since 1987, he put the word out through e-mail lists and list-servs that he was starting a Boston chapter and pulled together the alpha (first) rush class.

"Throughout the last semester we've formed a bond between the seven of us," Mercurio said.

Treasurer and Secretary Christian P. Pincock, a senior at the New England Conservatory, said the pledge process helped them get to know each other.

"With this we became brothers," Pincock said. "It's more like a family."

Mercurio said the fraternity allows brothers to connect in a way they cannot in most political or social campus groups.

"[In groups like Spectrum] people are coming and going--much less consistency," he said. "And it's hard because people are closeted."

Michael K. T. Tan '01, co-chair of the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Supporters' Alliance (BGLTSA), said Harvard's organizations--both BGLTSA and GirlSpot--fill those needs well.

But he still thinks Harvard students could be curious to learn more.

"Because it's a frat, it's going to appeal to people more," Tan said. "Also, because the Harvard community is very incestuous, people are interested in plugging into groups in the Boston area."

With the increased prevalence of social organizations on campus, the fraternity could prove popular.

Although Harvard cannot technically recognize single-sex organizations, student interest in these off-campus groups is surging.

Undergraduates resurrected the Delta Upsilon fraternity last spring and created the all-female Seneca club.

Both Kappa Alpha Theta and Delta Gamma, two of the largest Harvard sororities, are bursting at the seams and expect to see much interest in their spring rush.

Sigma Chi, the only Greek organization on campus with its own house, has also grown, said outgoing President Hector C. Bove '00, who is also a Crimson executive.

But for homosexuals, the options seem more limited.

Bove said he has not known Sigma Chi to have any homosexual brothers, although he added there would be nothing wrong with that.

"I don't think the presence of homosexual members within the fraternity would change the dynamic of the group," Bove said. "As a chapter we would not exclude a person based on their sexual orientation. If the brothers can get along with a person and feel that they can develop a strong friendship with them, then they are admitted to the group."

Tan said that even so, gay people often feel left out of these organizations.

"A lot of people joke that we should have a gay final club," he said.

DLP only accepts men, but they do have a national sister lesbian sorority, Lambda Delta Lambda.

While the closest Lambda Delta Lambda colony is at Penn State, Mercurio said a number of women have approached him about helping them form a chapter.

After getting through the initial growing pains of its first semester, Delta Lambda Phi's next few months promise big plans, including a trip to the march on Washington, community service activities and social events.

Last semester they focused their community efforts on cleaning up the Back Bay Fens Park, but this semester they plan on working with the Arlington Street Church making meals for the poor.

Currently there are no set dues for joining other than a small initiation fee. Pincock said a bake sale is also in the works to help raise some funds for future endeavors.

The members said one of the fraternity's greatest selling points is its diversity.

"Some of us are conservatives and others are wild and crazy," Pincock said.

Mercurio related an incident that occurred last semester when he set up a paintball excursion.

"We have some people who are effeminate," he said. "They refused to do it."

They may have differences, but the brothers still work toward their collective goal, which Mercurio explained with reference to a popular Broadway musical.

"'How do you connect in an age where strangers, landlords, lovers, your own blood cells betray?'" he quoted. "Like in Rent, that's what we can do, really get to know people."