(U-WIRE) AMES, Iowa – A new greek colony was recently accepted at Iowa State University.

Delta Lambda Phi, a fraternity focused on supporting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community, made a presentation before the InterFraternity Council on Dec. 3 and was unanimously accepted as an organization.

“I was definitely a little bit skeptical about starting it,” said Brian Olechnowski, president of the ISU colony. In September, Olechnowski and other group members formed an interest group. At the end of October, the interest group became a colony. Olechnowski said the ISU colony is working with the University of Minnesota chapter to gain fraternity status.

Olechnowski, a graduate student in ecology, evolution and organismal biology, said the fraternity does not exclude members based on sexual orientation.

“We’re here to overcome stereotypes,” he said. “We’re willing to work with others and want to be integrated and foster our own sense of identity.”

Group members hope the fraternity will impact the campus.

“We want to make a difference at Iowa State,” said Phil Hernandez, Delta Lambda Phi vice president. “It’s not about our orientation, it’s not about those narrow confines that I think some people may perceive that to be. Honestly, I believe if people do their homework and visit Delta Lambda Phi’s Web site, they will see that our sincerity is there. We want an inclusive community at Iowa State, just like any other organization.”

Hernandez, a graduate student in educational leadership and policy studies, said the members did not ask for special consideration when going before the InterFraternity Council.

“We fulfilled the duties expected of us,” said Hernandez. “We didn’t come in demanding anything.”

According to the fraternity’s national Web site, the organization began in 1986 in Washington as a social organization that did not discriminate on sexual orientation.

“Our mission statement may stand out from other fraternities, but we want to work with ISU Homecoming and things like that,” Olechnowski said. “We don’t really like to think of ourselves as an outside fraternity. We want to have other people know that, while we do want to be integrated, we would like to go in the direction of activist work.”

– Jessica Anderson

The group’s 11 members range from freshmen to grad students.