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Stevens sororities include trans women and nonbinary students, pushing for inclusivity

On April 10, the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) will formally vote on whether to amend their recruitment policies to include nonbinary students by allowing individual sororities to determine “their definition of women.” On the Stevens campus, Delta Phi Epsilon (DPhiE) and Sigma Delta Tau (SigDelt) are working towards a more inclusive sorority experience, by including trans women and nonbinary students.

Currently, the policy in place allows for any student who identifies themself as a woman to seek matching with a sorority. This policy covers transgender women but does not extend membership to nonbinary students. With the new amendment, nonbinary students can be formally eligible for membership in one of the 26 sororities under NPC. 

Back in 2017, DPhiE approved a Trans Women and Gender Non-Binary Inclusion Policy, which ensured that along with trans and cisgender women, others to be considered for membership are “non-binary, gender nonconforming individuals who are committed to the advancement of womanhood.” With this policy change, DPhiE’s international executive director, Nicole DeFeo hopes that they can be on “the right side of history as we welcome and embrace current and future members,” while emphasizing ideals of sisterhood, inclusion, and justice. 

As DeFeo aspired, the reactions and experiences of nonbinary members of DPhiE have been overwhelmingly positive. Emily Su, founding member of the DPhiE chapter at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was one of many who were integral in the push for a nonbinary inclusion policy in 2017. In their experience at DPhiE, Su expressed that they found “community and support with other queer members of Delta Phi Epsilon that just didn’t exist in other networks.” 

Empowered by the efforts, the Stevens chapter of DPhiE have also outlined multiple steps for inclusivity. Nina Caldarone, 3/4 Quantitative Finance major, is the current President of the chapter and states that they have “created new roles of Diversity and Inclusion Chairs within [their] chapter,” to create an inclusive environment for all potential members.

Shannon Giarratana, 3/4 Business and Technology major, and Juliana Gaitan, 4/5 Engineering Management major are the D&I Inclusion representatives for the Stevens chapter of DPhiE and have mentioned various initiatives that they have implemented to make the organization live to its full potential.

In an interview, Gaitan mentioned that they are ensuring that each member of the sorority sets goals that practice inclusivity, by working with multiple organizations and staff involved with D&I on campus. For example, Gaitan and Giarratana explained their previous collaboration with fraternity Sigma Nu and Kody Guedes, Graduate Coordinator for Diversity, to host a Safe Zone workshop. They hope events like these “become Greek life tradition.” 

Laina Emmons, 4/4 Political Science major, is the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion chair at the Stevens chapter of Sigma Delta Tau (SigDelt) and offered her reactions in live interview to the policy as well. While overwhelmingly positive about the enforcement of inclusion on a national level, Emmons commented that leaving definitions up to sororities can be a “sticky situation.” While she did not see any issues with the policies of her chapter or SigDelt nationally, she described that she would have found it more impactful if the NPC laid out definitions for all sororities, explaining it would clear up confusion and keeps inclusivity expectations on the same level for all NPC members.

In addition to DPhiE, SigDelt has also taken actions to work towards being more inclusive on campus. According to Emmons, she, along with her SigDelt DE&I Committee and Bylaws Chair Alexis Fryc, 3/3 Quantitative Finance major, passed a gender neutral policy that she explains will make the sorority experience more comfortable for trans women and nonbinary students. Emmons additionally held workshops and sessions with members of SigDelt with content from Contrapoints to discuss inclusive practices. These sessions are important to Emmons because “listening to trans/nonbinary people to essentially understanding their perspective/experiences, rather than listening to me talk about it.” She hopes to continue hosting such events in the future.

Overall, Caldarone stated she hopes these policies, amendments, and efforts towards inclusivity “opens the door for non-binary individuals to become a part of the greek community on college campuses across the country.”

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