Disclaimer: This story originally ran on Out.com and was written by Mr. Benjamin Lindsay.

Traditionally, college Greeks are an archetypally masculine institution—about as butch as the Boy Scouts. Pledging a fraternity and being inducted as a brother is often an arduous process, one that is meant to separate the men from the boys. But where does the LGBTQ community fit into this macho niche?

Much like the world of professional sports, the world of campus Greek life is not often heralded as the epitome of acceptance. Locker room antics are an insidious fact of the frat house. No doubt about it.

Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule, which is what makes this story out of Emerson College particularly heartwarming: brothers in Emerson’s Alpha Chapter of Phi Alpha Tau have come together to raise funds for a new brother’s FTM top surgery (full disclosure: I’m a member of the PAT fraternity and currently a junior at Emerson).

Earlier this year, Visual & Media Arts sophomore Donnie Collins pledged as a prospective brother to Phi Alpha Tau, the nation’s oldest professional communicative arts fraternity. An Alexandria, Virginia native, Collins didn’t come out as transgender until age 17 while attending a boarding school in Windsor, Conn. Of his time in an all-girls dorm, he says in a recent interview, “They were really nice, but it was all horrible.”

Thus far, Collins has been taking his gender transition one step at a time. Barred from using his mother’s insurance to cover any physical transitions, he has singlehandedly covered the bulk of his hormone therapy since December 2011.

“I’d go to the endocrinologist and pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket, because, of course, I didn’t have insurance of my own,” he explains.

Collins now has a college health insurance policy through Emerson, a policy, like so many others, that is trans-exclusionary. It is common practice for insurance companies to deem female-to-male breast augmentation—or top surgery—as a cosmetic plastic surgery rather than a necessity. So Collins has been raising money for the procedure for months, but it seemed that one door after another would close in his face. His petition for a trans-inclusive policy was recently denied by the college’s insurance plan, and his personal Chipin fund will cease when the crowd-funding site shuts down next month.

In a time when his options were running out, Collins’s brothers in Phi Alpha Tau have rallied together to cover some of the surgery’s cost. Find their indiegogo fund here: Brothers of A Boston Fraternity – FTM: Top Surgery. The brothers’ fund has already surpassed the $2,000 they initially hoped to donate, but now they’re looking to cover even more of the procedure’s $8,100 cost.

Collins has been completely overwhelmed by the wave of support, admitting to have cried out of gratitude when he heard what his brothers were doing. But the thought that this is a fraternity raising money for him never even crossed his mind.

“I was just like, ‘Oh that’s such a Tau thing to do,’ and I didn’t even think it was that weird,” he says. “But then I started sending [the indiegogo link] out to people, and they were like, ‘Oh my god, that’s amazing! See, Greek Life isn’t bad; it’s amazing.’”

The brothers’ site says that they hope less to raise money with their efforts and more to spread acceptance, brotherhood, and love. “We are here… to tell a story. The story of transformation, the story of self-discovery, and the story of brotherhood.”

It seems that Donnie Collins and his brothers’ story is certainly one worth telling. Please consider donating to their cause.

1. Connect to: https://ecampus.emerson.edu/alumni/giving/index.cfm
2. Under how would you like your gift directed, scroll down to and select: Your Choice
3. In Comments About Your Gift: specify Phi Alpha Tau Scholarship and the gift will be allocated to the Phi Alpha Tau Endowed Scholarship Fund.

The Brothers of Phi Alpha Tau produced a video for the MacWade Challenge. Read on to see the video.

Paul Tetreault ’84, executive director of  Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., recently spoke with Emerson College Today on his experiences. Read the full story here.

The Phi Alpha Tau Fraternity was pleased to honor Chris Montan, president of Walt Disney Music on Wed. March 16 with the presentation of the 2011 Joseph E. Connor Memorial Award. Mr. Montan is the 36th recipient of the Connor Award, given to distinguished gentlemen who have made tremendous strides in the advancement of the communicative arts.

L to R: Connor Chair Braden Joyce-Schleimer, Connor Recipient Chris Montan, Phi Alpha Tau President Pat Lambert.

The ceremony, held in the Cabaret, was one of dignity and pride. Brother Braden Joyce-Schleimer ’12 delivered the opening remarks, followed by Emerson College President Jacqueline Liebergott, who spoke highly of the brothers of Phi Alpha Tau and Mr. Montan. Brother Kirk Miller ’12 delivered the keynote address, citing Mr. Montan’s work on the soundtracks of films such as “The Little Mermaid,” “Alladin,” and “The Lion King.” Mr. Montan, who also serves on the College’s Board of Trustees, has received numerous accolades, including Grammy and Emmy Award nominations.

Finally, the Connor Award was presented by Alpha Chapter President Patrick Lambert ’12 to Mr. Montan, who then spoke of his career at Disney which has spanned nearly three decades, giving career advice to his new brothers.

In addition to the active brothers of the Alpha Chapter, the following alumni brothers were also in attendance for the ceremonies: Anthony Goldman ’65, Eric Van Vlandren ’90 and Jesse Liebman ’11.  Honorary brothers present included fraternity advisor Jack Casey ’69, former advisor Anthony Bashir, Vice President for Communications and Marketing Andrew Tiedemann, Vice President for Institutional Advancement Robert Ashton, 2008 David Brudnoy Honorary Award recipient Peter Meade, and 1997 Connor Award recipient Gary Grossman ’70.

The Brotherhood, Sisters of Kappa Gamma Chi, and President Liebergott at the 2011 Connor Award ceremony.

The Connor Award was first given to broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow in 1953 to honor the memory of Brother Joseph E. Connor and his outstanding devotion to the fraternity and the communicative arts. Since then, the fraternity has sought out men who throughout a lifetime of service, have excelled in their chosen field and furthered the communicative arts on a national stage. The Connor Award is the fraternity’s highest commendation. All recipients are inducted into Phi Alpha Tau and bestowed Honorary Brotherhood.

Phi Alpha Tau is the oldest professional communicative arts fraternity in the United States, founded in 1902 by Walter Bradley Tripp at Emerson College in Boston, Massachussets. The fraternity remains the oldest continually active organization at the College, where it was founded to preserve the student-run debate society at the school.

Today, a worldwide brotherhood of artists, intellectuals, and gentlemen continue that tradition, seeking, both individually and together, to perpetually further the arts.

For Emerson College’s coverage of the event, click here.

Photo Credit: Grayson Breen

Peter Loge ’87, Prinicpal, Milo Public Affairs, received the 2011 Walter Littlefield Distinguished Speaker in Rhetoric and Communication Award on March 16.

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