Chi Phi Fraternity Votes to Allow Transgender Members

“We felt this amendment to Chi Phi’s Constitution would change the conversation surrounding transgender men and their ability to join the Fraternity,” said Sam Borchart, the undergraduate chairman of the Committee of Membership, in the release. ”One change is never a stopping point, and we hope this opens the door to further discussion about inclusivity, particularly for transgender men who want to join us in this fraternity.”  A petition had earlier gone up on change.org about the new rule. It read in part: “The current constitution of Chi Phi limits the eligibility for membership to ‘males of the age sixteen years and upwards.’ The constitution does not reference gender or define ‘male’. We are trying to change that: we want Chi Phi to define “male” as an inclusive concept based on self-identification regardless of the sex they were assigned at birth, rather than having specific genitals as a prerequisite to be considered a man.”