To the members Otterbein University s Tau Delta sorority, the university s gender-neutral sorority, the Hamlet adage, To thine own self be true, could not be a more perfect motto.
Tau Delta is open for all students regardless of how they identify themselves, what gender they are or what pronouns they use. The sorority, which currently has 16 members, was founded in 1921 and changed its constitution to include gender-neutral language in 2015.
Tau Delta President Reyana Bates, a senior studying public relations and communication, said the decision to become a gender-neutral sorority began in 2014 when a member came out as transgender. At the time that member joined Tau Delta, they identified as a female. But as they were coming into their identity as a man, they and other members expressed worries that they would be excluded from the chapter.