Gamma Rho Lambda

Gamma Rho Lambda (ΓΡΛ) is a social, college-based sorority for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, and allied students.^[1] Gamma Rho Lambda has been referred to as the first national multicultural lesbian sorority; however they are inclusive of cisgender women, trans women, trans men, and gender variant people of all sexualities and racial identities. As of 2019, GRL consists of seventeen active chapters and three colonies across twelve states with an active membership of over 400, including alumni and collegians.^[2]

Gamma Rho Lambda
ΓΡΛ
Founded	November 20, 2003; 19 years ago (2003-11-20) Arizona State University, (Tempe, Arizona)
Type	Social
Emphasis	LGBTQ+
Scope	National
Mission statement	Gamma Rho Lambda is an all-inclusive social sorority exemplifying the qualities of tolerance, diversity, unity, and trust, which provides a network of assistance in the areas of scholastic guidance, emotional support, and community service while ultimately developing the lifelong family bonds.
Motto	Truth in tolerance, knowledge through diversity, bonds of unity, strength in trust
Colors	Purple and   Black
Symbol	Wolf
Flower	Sunflower
Mascot	Wolf
Publication	The Wolf's Howl
Chapters	11
Colonies	0
Members	400 collegiate 400 lifetime
Nickname	GRL
Headquarters	PO Box 352367 Los Angeles, CA 90035 United States
Website	www.gammarholambda.org

History

 

Eleven of the twelve founders of Gamma Rho Lambda

Gamma Rho Lambda, Alpha chapter, was founded in the Fall of 2003 by 12 original members at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.^[3] The sorority was initially created because the founding president and members wanted an organization similar to the GBTQ-focused fraternity on campus, Sigma Phi Beta.^[4]

2005 to 2010

In 2005, Gamma Rho Lambda began the daunting task of expanding nationally, as Alpha chapter had been approached by several interested women on other campuses in the United States. Over the course of the next year, Gamma Rho Lambda worked to expand to these campuses, functioning in a national and local capacity at the same time.

In 2006, with enough alum members to support a national council, Gamma Rho Lambda National Sorority became independent of Alpha chapter. Since then, the national sorority has been working on expansion, adjusting to the needs of its chapters and members, and bettering the community overall through these efforts.

The sorority expanded to San Diego State University and Georgia Southern University.^[5] University of Missouri became a colony.^[6] San Diego State University gained chapter status as Beta chapter.^[7] Kansas State University became a colony.^[8] California State University, Northridge, University of California, Los Angeles, Purdue University and SUNY Albany became colonies.^[9] University of Missouri colony disbanded from Gamma Rho Lambda to focus more on political involvement. Kansas State University gained chapter status as Delta chapter ^[10] and Purdue University gained chapter status as Eta chapter.^[9][11]

2010 to 2015

Gamma Rho Lambda rapidly expanded during this time. Northern Arizona University, SUNY Albany, University of Houston, UC Berkeley, UC Riverside, Ball State, Tulane University, Iowa State, American University, and University of Iowa became colonies of Gamma Rho Lambda and later chapters ^[12] Additionally UL Lafayette and UT Austin were inducted as colonies.

2016 to present

UL Lafayette and UT Austin were initiated as Sigma and Tau chapter, respectively. Longwood University, University of Arizona, and Missouri S&T were initiated as colonies in the spring of 2016 and became chapters in early 2017. Also, Bowling Green State University and Ohio State University were inducted as colonies in the fall of 2016 and became chapters in late 2017. Virginia Commonwealth University was inducted as a colony in 2018.

In January 2021, Gamma Rho Lambda National Sorority opened its membership to people of any and all gender identities, thereby including cisgender men in their siblinghood.

The provisional chapter at University of Nevada, Reno was inducted as Alpha Delta chapter in February 2021. Today, Gamma Rho Lambda active membership (including Alum & Collegians) consists of over 400 active members.

Gamma Rho Lambda National Sorority's main philanthropic efforts are to benefit The Trevor Project, but chapters may also have locally-based philanthropy.

Symbols

The sorority's official colors are purple and black. The wolf is its symbol and mascot. Its flower is the sunflower. Its motto is: "Truth in tolerance, knowledge through diversity, bonds of unity, strength in trust."

The Lambda symbol was adopted by the New York City's Gay Activists' Alliance in the 1970s during the Stonewall Riots. Since then, the Lambda has spread as a symbol for the gay liberation movement. Because of its history, the Lambda was chosen to be a letter in the sorority's Greek name. The Gamma and Rho symbols were chosen because with the Lambda symbol, they spell GR (girl").^[13]

Visible symbols in the coat of arms include the lioness, the bear, the unicorn, the crown of thorns, the metal crown, the Isle of Lesbos symbol with shaking hands, the upside down black triangle, the Eye of Horus, the hand, the sword, the ivy leaf vine, the elephant tusk, and the cinquefoil.

Governing council

The sorority's day-to-day business activities are overseen by the National Governing Council which acts as the board of directors. It was established in 2006, when there were enough alumni members to support a National Council. Since then, Gamma Rho Lambda National Sorority has been working not only on expansion, but also adjusting to the needs of our chapters and members and bettering the community overall through these efforts. Council consists of thirteen elected alumnae who are elected every two years; This includes one President, Ten Vice Presidents and two Alumni at Large Delegates. Additionally, each VP has a committee to assist them in projects. Each chapter and colony has a mentor who assists them in any issues and provides guidance as they develop.

Chapters

Active chapters are indicated in bold. Inactive chapters are indicated in italic.

Chapter	Chartered/Range	Institution	Location	Status	Reference
Alpha	November 20, 2003	Arizona State University	Tempe, Arizona	Active	^[14]^[15]
Beta	2008–20xx ?	San Diego State University	San Diego, California	Inactive	^[14]^[16]^[a]
Gamma		Georgia Southern University	Statesboro, Georgia	Inactive	^[14]
Delta	2009–201x ?	Kansas State University	Manhattan, Kansas	Inactive	^[14]
Epsilon	2010–20xx ?	California State University, Northridge	Northridge, California	Inactive	^[14]^[16]^[b]
Zeta	2010–20xx?	University of California, Los Angeles	Los Angeles, California	Inactive	^[14]^[16]^[c]
Eta	November 20, 2010	Purdue University	West Lafayette, Indiana	Inactive	^[14]^[15]^[c]
Theta	2011	Northern Arizona University	Flagstaff, Arizona	Inactive	^[14]^[d]
Iota	2011	University at Albany, SUNY	Albany, New York	Inactive	^[14]^[c]
Kappa	November 12, 2011	University of Houston	Houston, Texas	Active	^[14]^[15]^[d]
Lambda	April 27, 2012	University of California, Berkeley	Berkeley, California	Active	^[14]^[15]
Mu	2012–201x ?	University of California, Riverside	Riverside, California	Inactive	^[14]
Nu	November 16, 2013	Ball State University	Muncie, Indiana	Active	^[14]^[15]
Xi	2013–20xx ?	Tulane University	New Orleans, Louisiana	Active	^[14]^[16]
Omicron	April 19, 2014	Iowa State University	Ames, Iowa	Active	^[14]^[15]
Pi		American University	Washington, D.C.	Inactive	^[14]
Rho	April 25, 2015	University of Iowa	Iowa City, Iowa	Active	^[14]^[15]
Sigma	2015–20xx ?	University of Louisiana at Lafayette	Lafayette, Louisiana	Inactive	^[14]^[16]
Tau	April 30, 2015	University of Texas at Austin	Austin, Texas	Active	^[14]^[15]
Upsilon	2017	Missouri University of Science and Technology	Rolla, Missouri	Inactive	^[14]^[e]
Phi	April 22, 2017	University of Arizona	Tucson, Arizona	Active	^[14]^[15]^[e]
Chi	April 22, 2017	Longwood University	Farmville, Virginia	Active	^[14]^[15]^[e]
Psi	2017–20xx ?	Ohio State University	Columbus, Ohio	Inactive	^[14]^[16]^[e]
Omega	2017			Active	^[17]^[f]
Alpha Beta	2017–20xx ?	Bowling Green State University	Bowling Green, Ohio	Inactive	^[14]^[16]^[e]
Alpha Gamma	20xx ?–20xx ?	Virginia Commonwealth University	Richmond, Virginia	Inactive	^[16]
Alpha Delta	20xx ?–20xx ?	University of Nevada, Reno	Reno, Nevada	Inactive	^[16]
Alpha Epsilon	June 2021	George Mason University	Fairfax, Virginia	Active	^[14]^[15]^[g]

Notes

1. Started as a colony in 2005.
2. Started as a colony in 2008.
3. Started as a colony 2009.
4. Started as a colony in 2010.
5. Started as a colony in 2016.
6. Reserved for deceased members.
7. Started as a colony in the fall of 2019. Its installation was delayed because of the COVID pandemic.

See also

• List of LGBT fraternities and sororities
• List of social fraternities and sororities

References

1. Shoyeb, Jacqueline (2004-03-09). (PDF). The State Press. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
2. "Home".
3. Hunt, Corey (2004-03-09). (PDF). Mesa Legend. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
4. Vary, Adam E. (2004-10-12). (PDF). The Advocate. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-10-24. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
5. Hauswirth, Kevin (2009-12-07). "Gay and Greek at ASU". The Advocate. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
6. Graves, Seth (2007-04-23). "Heterosexism. Sexism. Racism". Missourian. Archived from the original on 2012-09-07. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
7. Brown, Cindy (2008-08-20). (PDF). Gamma Rho Lambda. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
8. Sanders, Molly (2009-03-26). "Senior starts new sorority, works to improve relations with other organizations". K-State Collegian. from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
9. Gamma Rho Lambda. . Archived from the original on 2011-06-01. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
10. Pride, Campus (2009-11-25). . Campus Pride Blog. Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
11. Stroup, Megan (2009-05-07). "GRL separates from national sorority to pursue activism". The Maneater. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
12. Pride, Campus (2010-01-28). . Campus Pride Blog. Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2010-02-02.
13. Gamma Rho Lambda. "Gamma Rho Lambda Fact Sheet". Retrieved 2009-12-07.
14. Lurding, Carroll and Becque, Fran. (December 2022) Almanac of Fraternities and Sororities. Urbana: University of Illinois. Accessed January 23, 2023.
15. "Chapters". Gamma Rho Lambda. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
16. "Inactive Chapters". Gamma Rho Lambda. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
17. "Omega Chapter". Gamma Rho Lambda. Retrieved 2023-01-24.