WESTERVILLE, Ohio — Students entering their freshman year of college often search for a place of belonging, as they look to find their way in a sea of hundreds and even thousands. For some, Greek life is the answer to their desire for community, but being accepted is a whole other story.

What You Need To Know

  • In 2015, Otterbein University's Tau Delta Sorority officially became gender inclusive and changed their constitution and chants to reflect the change

  • Sixteen transgender and non-binary students are currently apart of the sorority

  • Some students said it's the first time where they've felt accepted 

Avon Von Dlln, 20, is a member of Tau Delta. Von Dlln, a non-binary student joined in 2019.

“In high school, my friends were really accepting, but then the teachers didn't really understand. And so everybody, if you had a preferred name, they still used your birth name. If you had preferred pronouns, they didn't care. They called you what you presented as and I'm very feminine presenting. So it was — I was always being called she, her and called my birth name, and it just wasn't very, like, mentally happy," Von Dlln said.

When Von Dlln came to Otterbein University, there was an interest in joining a sorority. Afraid to ask if the sorority was gender neutral, Von Dlln took a chance after hearing about Tau Delta. That sealed it for them.

“Being able to find somewhere that just automatically respects me was probably the best thing that happened, my freshman year,” Von Dlln explained, and having the correct pronouns used made it all the better. “So it was just really validating and I didn't even have to ask for it."

Von Dlln said the experience was surprising.

“For a sorority, it was very surprising because I definitely had that stigma already in my head about what it already was gonna be like. And I showed up at Delta for the house tours, and I had heard that they were gender neutral, so I was more comfortable with like telling them my pronouns, and that's something that I don't feel comfortable doing anywhere else because it's such a nerve-wracking thing," Von Dlln explained. "But knowing that they are open to it, I was a lot more comfortable coming out to everyone.”

Von Dlln isn't the only one. Tau Delta has 16 transgender and non-binary students. 

Sophomore Cori Fain was introduced to Tau Delta by a friend. The psychology major came out as a transgender man a couple of weeks ago. Used to being called slurs, Fain said he accepted it would be the same in college and expected not to be accepted until getting connected to Tau Delta in 2019. Fain said it's been a weird transition from growing up in the rural parts of southwestern Ohio, as he now feels valued and respected. Fain said it took a year and a half to come out, but is glad Tau Delta was accepting.  

For Fain and Von Dlln, their mission is now about helping and welcoming other students struggling to find acceptance too. Still, the hope is that all sororities and fraternities on campus would become fully inclusive, while making it so that students don't have to wonder about it.