Dozens of members of the Delta chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi at Tufts University quit in protest after its national headquarters denied a prospective member because they identified as transgender.
One member, Kristin Reeves, told New England Cable News that the national headquarters told the Tufts chapter that accepting a transgender student would’ve infringed on the organization’s Title 9 status as a single-sex organization. Reeves and 46 others decided to quit in protest.
"The reality is they threatened to sue us," Reeves told the station. "They had to question whether or not they wanted to allow a transgender woman." She added that the headquarters eventually had allowed the transgender student to join the chapter, but the damage was “already done.”
However, Alpha Omicron Pi denied threatening to sue the Tufts chapter and denied that they discriminated against the transgender student.
"We're hoping to move on from this event and that we will come with a very well-researched and organized policy in the future," spokesperson Courtney West said.
The anonymous student wrote an op-ed piece in the Tufts Daily, the school’s newspaper, thanking the sorority who stood up for her.
Alpha Omicron Pi is a Tennessee-based and has 139 chapters in the U.S. and Canada.
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