Theta Pi Sigma () is an American

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

-focused, gender-neutral fraternal organization. It was established in 2005 at the

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of C ...

and has expanded to six chapters across the United States. It is the first

-focused, gender-neutral Greek organization.

History

In 2005, Marc Garcia formed Delta Lambda Psi as a gender neutral and queer focused "frarority" at the

. Its purpose was "to strengthen Greek life at the

by providing a vehicle for positive leadership, change, and growth in the

, transsexual,

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

, questioning, pansexual,

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

intersex Intersex people are those born with any of several sex characteristics, including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binar ...

, gender-queer, gay,

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

, asexual and ally communities". The second chapter was founded in 2012 at the Northeastern Illinois University, followed by a chapter at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

later that year. Thus, it became world's first

-focused, gender-neutral Greek organization. In 2012, Delta Lambda Phi, an established gay fraternity, sued Delta Lambda Pi, saying that the name similarity and the identical initials, ''DLP,'' was a violation of its trademark. The lawsuit claimed that Garcia created Delta Lambda Pi after meeting members of Delta Lambda Phi at a conference at the University of California, Santa Cruz. At the time the lawsuit was filed Delta Lambda Pi was in the process of establishing a chapter at the University of Oregon which already had a chapter of Delta Lambda Phi; the lawsuit was filed in Oregon. As a result of the lawsuit, Delta Lambda Phi changed its name to Theta Pi Sigma. In 2015, the ''Alpha chapter'' of Theta Pi Sigma voted to stop using the term ''frarority'' due to the connotations of the term.The term "frarority" was coined by the organization to combine the words 'fraternity' and 'sorority".

Symbols

Theta Pi Sigma's motto is ' or "Death Before Conformity". The name Theta Pi Sigma is an acronym for its motto. Its values or pillars are Openness, Growth, and Respect. Its colors are charcoal gray, snow white, and sky blue. Its badge is a blue shield with silver trim, divided into three sections. The top left section features three swords, recalling the three founding families, the upper rights consists of puzzle pieces that symbolize unity, and the bottom section includes a rainbow to represent all genders and sexualities. Above the shield is a torch that symbolizes knowledge. Below the shield is a banner with the Greek motto and the 2005 founding date. The shield is surrounded by red roses to represent growth and death.

Activities

The organization's activities include hosting LGBTQ educational panels and a queer prom. The group also holds fundraisers to support scholarships for members and funding for its chapters.

Chapters

In the following list, active chapters are indicated in bold and inactive chapters are in ''italics''.

References

{{Fraternities and Sororities , collapsed LGBTQ youth organizations based in the United States Fraternities and sororities in the United States University of California, Santa Cruz LGBTQ fraternities and sororities Student organizations established in 2005 2005 establishments in California LGBTQ in California