A new sorority at MU is a little different than one might expect.
Tau Lambda, “tau” being the Greek letter for “life” and “lambda” being the letter for “queer,” is a new sorority targeted toward queer women and their specific needs, founder Kaitlyn Ingersoll said.
Ingersoll said a discussion about the Greek climate and queer members of Greek Life’s experiences at a meeting of Greek Allies motivated her to found Tau Lambda.
“I got thinking how it would really help to have a Greek queer organization on campus,” Ingersoll said. “I know a lot of my friends are both queer and Greek, and through them, I became more knowledgeable of the Greek system and became really excited for the opportunities that (Tau Lambda) has.”
Tau Lambda’s aims to form sisterly bonds among queer women by fostering social and academic support and participating in philanthropic work, according to its page on the MU LGTBQ Resource Center website.
Though the LGTBQ Resource Center doesn’t run or fund the sorority, it prides itself on supporting all new organizations including Tau Lambda, LGBTQ Resource Center coordinator Struby Struble said.
“We want to help promote their organization like we help promote all other LGBTQ student orgs,” she said.
MU Women’s Center coordinator Suzy Day said Panhellenic Association sororities build a community for women and that Tau Lambda will be able to build a community for queer women. She also said Tau Lambda will allow queer women to meet others with similar identities.
“While PHA sororities’ new member education is becoming expansive to include the whole person, a large focus is geared toward educating the new member about the chapter,” Day said. “Tau Lambda is hoping that their new member education program will not only teach the member about the chapter but also diversity, self-care and other skills that will prepare the member for collegiate life and life after MU.”
Though Tau Lambda and PHA sororities do have similarities, some differences also exist.
“We’re different than other Greek organizations as we are more targeted toward queer women and their specific social circumstances,” Ingersoll said. “Also, we are different that we don’t have a parent organization, so we aren’t bound by what our parent organization says. But we also don’t have support from that parent organization.”
Day was a member of Gamma Rho Lambda, formerly a queer sorority colony at MU, as an undergraduate, and said she was excited students today will have an option to join an organization that will create an outlet for queer women in the community.
Day was also a member of Kappa Delta, a PHA sorority.
“LGBTQ organizations focus on the sexuality identity, and this organization will allow queer women to experience the intersectionality of their gender and sexuality without it being the sole focus,” Day said. “For example, it has been suggested that our philanthropy may be American Civil Liberties Union versus an LGTBQ organization.”
Both Day and Struble said MU needs more organizations that fulfill what students want and that help meet student needs.
The amount of students that will have their needs addressed as part of Tau Lambda is currently unknown. The sorority will have its first meeting at 7 p.m. Aug. 21 in the Women’s Center.
