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The Chronicle T H E I N D E P E N D E N T D A I LY AT D U K E U N I V E R S I T Y
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2016
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ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVENTH YEAR, ISSUE 97
LGBTQ students in SLGs present ways to increase inclusivity Samantha Neal The Chronicle At an event for the third annual Greek Ally Week, a panel of LGBTQ students discussed their experiences as queer students in selective living groups on campus. The panel of 11 students included members of the Panhellenic Association, Interfraternity Council, the SLG Wayne Manor and National Pan-Hellenic Council. The discussion focused on coming out, going through the competitive recruitment process as an LGBTQ student and students feeling like token LGBTQ members of living groups. “There are closeted people in your organizations,” said Jeremy Gottlieb, a sophomore in the all-male SLG Wayne Manor. “I can probably guarantee that for all of you.” A point emphasized by many panelists was the heteronormativity of many Greek events, such as date functions. “I think about things a lot more than the classic straight person,” said Carina Arellano, a junior in the sorority Alpha Delta Pi. “For example, when we have ‘My Ties’ every semester, that just gets under my skin. It’s the most annoying event that sororities hold.” During recruitment—especially for Interfraternity Council organizations— the panelists noted that they felt calling attention to their identity would put them at a “competitive disadvantage.” “After going through rush this year and realizing that I was part of the
Carolyn Chang | The Chronicle Eleven students in SLGs, fraternities and sororities talked about their experiences going through the recruitment process and feeling tokenized at Tuesday’s panel.
problem not always bringing guys to date functions or the [semi-formals], I made a pledge to always bring a guy to date functions,” Gottlieb said. “Guys bring girls as friends, and girls bring girls as friends, but it’s super taboo for guys to bring guys as friends. I think actively doing that and showing people it’s okay is something I can do and allies could also do.”
Overall, the panelists described very different experiences identifying as LGBTQ within their organizations, but the students that came out after joining noted that they were worried about how they would be perceived. Despite these fears, the panelists said that they were generally relieved by the reactions of their organizations after coming out. Within some organizations, there is a
strong sense of community among LGBTQ members, the panelists explained. “We have a group text—it’s called Bi Omega,” said Anya Ranganathan, a junior in the sorority Chi Omega and the president of the Panhellenic Association. Panelists explained that some inappropriate comments are still made, but noted how much they appreciated support from within their chapters. “I often get asked questions, and it’s pretty meaningful to me when someone says, ‘Hey, I noticed this happened in chapter and I wanted to hear your thoughts about that,’” said Alice Sievers, a sophomore in Gamma Phi Beta. The panel was followed by a brief question and answer session in which audience members asked about how to make events more inclusive. Junior Savannah Story, a member of the sorority Delta Delta Delta, said that instead of a “My Tie,” an event in which girls wear the ties of their male dates, her sorority held a “My Hat” to allow girls to bring non-male dates. Sievers also mentioned that including SLGs in events between sororities and fraternities are an option to make traditional Greek events more inclusive. Greek Ally Week aims to provide support for members of Greek organizations on campus and spread awareness about issues facing the LGBTQ community. As a whole, Greek Ally Week has 310 participants registered across all Greek organizations, said senior Tyler Nelson, president of Blue Devils United, in an introduction to the panel.
DSG working with SISS Office to redesign ACES Sarah Feng The Chronicle
Julia Li | Chronicle File Photo President-elect Tara Bansal, second from right, and the DSG Academic Affairs Committee are hoping to see more student-friendly resources on ACES.
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Following student complaints about the ACES interface, the website is being redesigned to be more user-friendly. The Student Information Services and Systems Office is working with Duke Student Government on an ACES redesign project. The redesign aims to allow more fluid navigation of the site as well as provide a more modern look, said Kathy Bader, assistant vice provost and director of SISS. “The initiative to redesign ACES came from my office, beginning several years ago in response to student observations that the look and feel were outdated and the navigation clumsy,” Bader said. “There were also design pressures given the multiple roles a user may have in the system.” The redesigned ACES is expected to have more resources and be easier to navigate. SISS began working with DSG last year to get
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organized feedback from volunteers who are testing the new site. Freshman Sean Bissell, DSG senator for academic affairs, created a focus group open to all students to get more feedback on the redesign. DSG president-elect Tara Bansal, a junior, explained that the first part of the project is dedicated to adding more course details and making class synopses more accessible. As for the second part of the project, three main modules—including class resource archives, student comments and course videos— are going to be integrated into ACES. “I would love to see students be able to read other students’ comments on classes and get a better idea of the quality of the class and what the class is like,” Bansal said. In addition to student comments, course videos will feature professors explaining the contents of the classes they teach. “Classes currently have an unhelpful description on ACES that makes it difficult for
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