A sorority specifically for lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and progressive women has been launched at San Diego State University and will start taking pledges this fall.

This SDSU sorority is a chapter of Arizona State’s University sorority, Gamma Rho Lambda, which aims to nurture LBTQ and progressive women’s identities, promote a positive body image and acceptance of diversity, and participate in activism on campus and within the community.

“What we offer is a place for women who want to be involved in a sorority but wouldn’t necessarily feel comfortable or accepted in some of the already existing sororities on campus, which tend to be more socially-focused and appearance-driven,” said Jacinda Maheras, a senior at SDSU and founder of the sorority chapter. “There’s not a lot of stuff on campus for LBTQ women [and] the stuff [that] there is is more gay male-dominated, and so I think a lot of women don’t branch out on campus.”

SDSU has a nationally affiliated gay fraternity and offered a women’s queer sorority in 1990, but it lasted only a few years and closed amid rumors that certain faculty pressured their students into disassociating with a queer sorority.

Fortunately, it seems attitudes are changing. “Going into this I was worried about finding the support and [wondered] if I would run into any barriers, but so far I really haven’t,” Maheras said. “We have huge support on campus.”

The inclusive women’s sorority has been sponsored by Susan Cayleff, professor and chair of SDSU’s Women’s Studies Department, and is supported by the head of SDSU’s Fraternity and Sorority Life, Doug Case.

Maheras said that belonging to a sorority is “more than a club, it’s a sisterhood,” and demonstrates to future employers a willingness to get involved and participate in community activism, as well as nurture a kinship with fellow students during college life.

The progressive women’s sorority is in the structuring stages, but will be taking pledges and expects to launch a women’s open-mic event or poetry slam in the fall.

The LGBT Student Union at SDSU is also fostering change for the on-campus queer community.

The Union has recently formed the Pride Action Committee of SDSU, which is compiled of students, community leaders, faculty and staff, with the aim of generating funding for a permanent LGBT Resource Center on campus.

One of the most important functions a permanent resource center would offer is a one-stop shop for the reporting of hate crimes.

“At the moment it’s very confusing who you should be reporting [hate crimes] to, and we know that oftentimes people are afraid to report them, so that’s at the top of our agenda and we’re putting that together as we speak,” said Ben Cartwright, director of the LGBT Resource Center.

Presently, trained volunteers run a skeleton GLBT resource center, offering information, counseling programs, a large library of gay literature and a safe space.

“The Women’s Resource Center is run the same way we are,” Cartwright said, “which is startling as SDSU has the first women’s studies program in the world. It’s shocking we don’t have these things in place.”

SDSU benchmarked $5,000 eight years ago for such a resource center, and that money is now helping to put together the foundations and infrastructure for a permanent center to be operated full-time from a university building.

However, much more funding is needed to develop better services for GLBT students, faculty and staff, and to provide comprehensive GLBT programming.

SDSU President Stephen Webber has lent his support and name to the committee to lend weight to their financing campaign.

Owing to the 2002-03 California State University budget crisis, university funding for GLBT student activities “will most likely be close to non-existent in the coming years,” according to the LGBT Student Union.