Lambda Theta Phi

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ΛΘΦ - Lambda Theta Phi, Latin Fraternity, Incorporated

Motto	Chivalry Above Self
Colors	Brown and White
Symbol	Conquistador
Flower	White Carnation
Founded	December 1, 1975 at Kean College
Type	Service
Scope	National
Headquarters	291 River Road, Suite 1 Clifton, New Jersey, USA
Chapters	87 undergrad and alumni associations
Homepage	www.lambda1975.org

Lambda Theta Phi, Latin Fraternity, Inc. (The Lambdas) was founded on December 1, 1975 at Kean College in Union, New Jersey. Lambda Theta Phi is a non-profit service/social fraternity emphasizing Latin unity and the celebration of the Latin culture.

With its acceptance into the National Interfraternal Conference in 1992, Lambda Theta Phi became the first nationally recognized Latino Greek letter fraternity.^{[citation needed]} In 1994, with the release of The History of Lambda Theta Phi, Latin Fraternity, Inc., the fraternity became the first Latino fraternity to publish a historical account about its organization.^{[citation needed]}

Lambda Theta Phi has also received commendations from the American Red Cross for its fundraising efforts on behalf of victims of earthquakes in Italy and Mexico, mud-slides in Puerto Rico, volcanic eruptions in Colombia, the homeless in the United States and Hurricanes in Florida. Lambda Theta Phi has also received commendations from the Division of Youth and Family Services, various other community service organizations as well as proclamations, resolutions and commendations from Congress and other State Legislatures.

Although Lambda Theta Phi is Latino by tradition, membership is open to all college males and the Brotherhood includes men representing nations of the world. Brothers of Lambda Theta Phi have gone on to become various professionals.

Since its founding, the organization has expanded across the United States. The organization strives to make an impact on not just undergraduate students, but also their surrounding community at large through positive social actions. The fraternity's goals are to promote scholarship, Latin unity, respect for all cultures and brotherhood.

1 History
2 Milestones and Awards
3 Los Conquistadores
4 Fraternal Fathers
5 Founding Fathers
6 National Board of Directors 2006-2008
7 Undergraduate Chapters
8 Colonies
9 Alumni/Graduate Chapters
10 Sectors
11 External links

[edit] History

In 1975, the organization's founders realized there was a need to unite the Latino students, develop their leadership skills, impart upon them the value of an education, and instill in them a commitment to their community and culture. The traditional student club would not suffice to accomplish such lofty goals. Hence, Latino unity and brotherhood would be achieved through a long recognized institution – the fraternity. This newest addition to the Greek system, by identity and by name was Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Incorporated.

The ideals of this brotherhood are the following: Academic Excellence; Brotherhood; Leadership; Latino Unity; Service. On a daily basis, our brothers live up to these ideals, as set forth by fourteen young Latino men decades ago.

At the undergraduate level, the brothers are active within the Fraternity and in other student organizations. The brothers perform community service, promote their culture by sponsoring events which highlight and celebrate their heritage, participate in educational workshops, and enjoy many social programs. As a result of their active participation in every aspect of college life, the undergraduate members are developing their organizational, communication, and leadership skills, all while pursuing their diploma. The younger members are receiving the training and competence to serve as the future leaders of the brotherhood, community, and nation.

At the professional level, among the membership are attorneys, doctors, and engineers. The brothers are shaping young minds as educators and as dedicated fathers. The brothers are teaching leadership as coaches, mentors, and community activists. The Lambdas are affecting policy and change as elected officials serving on City Councils, Boards of Education, U.S. House of Representatives, and U.S. Senate

Since it's founding, Lambda Theta Phi has established chapters in every region of the country at both the undergraduate and professional levels. The brotherhood continues to provide the necessary skills and resources for the advancement and empowerment of our people and for the betterment of this nation.

The organization's history is the guiding light to the future. Having guidance in our formative stages, we persevered and became stronger. Lambda is the product of vision, strength, and unity. Our history serves as a legacy and testament to our accomplishments and greatness.

[edit] Milestones and Awards

Over the years, the Fraternity has achieved many milestones in light of the contributions of other notable Lambdas. Among these milestones was Lambda Theta Phi becoming the first Latin fraternity to be accepted into the National Interfraternity Conference (NIC), the association composed of all national college fraternities of the United States and Canada.^{[citation needed]} The process to gain acceptance into the NIC began under former National President Carlos Rivera and was completed in May of 1992 under former National President Arcelio Aponte. This major accomplishment was due, in great part, to the efforts of former National President Jesus A. Peña, Esq. and Brother Sham Bacchus.

In 1994, another important moment in the history of the Fraternity occurred with the publication of The History of Lambda Theta Phi. Authored by former National President Jesus A. Peña, Esq., and now in its second edition, this book serves as the authoritative text on the history of Lambda Theta Phi. In addition, it is the first historical account of a Latin, Greek-letter organization to be published.^{[citation needed]} In 1995, during the presidency of Brother Reinaldo Cortés, the first national Lambda Theta Phi website went online. Since then various undergraduate and alumni chapters and sectors have posted sites.

The year 1998, witnessed the establishment of the Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity Educational Foundation. This entity would be separate and distinct from the Fraternity. On July 26, 1998, former National Presidents Jesus A. Peña, Esq. and Jorge Díaz established the Foundation. These two brothers wrote the Foundation’s initial constitution and set forth its purpose: “…to raise funds in order to award scholarships/grants to Latino high school and college students, including Lambda Theta Phi brothers, for their leadership and educational development.” The Foundation is recognized by the NIC and Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) entity. Through the years, Founding Father Agustín García has served as the Foundation’s Chairman.

In 2004, Lambda Theta Phi became a member of the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO) under the leadership of former National President Jorge Díaz. Lambda Theta Phi has taken an active role as a member of the Latino Greek Letter Organization (LGLO) community.

In addition to all that has been documented, the history of Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc. continues to be written each day by notable Lambdas across the country and in other parts of the world.

[edit] Los Conquistadores

As the Founders moved forward with the development of the Fraternity, many issues had to be addressed and the “culture” and symbolism of the Fraternity had to be created. The fraternity colors needed to be selected, a method of pledging determined, and the ritual associated with the brotherhood. One item which has generated controversy over the years has been the use of the Conquistador as the mascot of the Fraternity. Historically, the Conquistadors were responsible for bringing the yoke of Imperial rule to Latin America as well as the murder of thousands of indigineous people. For example Francisco Pizarro who conquered the Inca Emprire and Hernán Córtez who conquered the Aztec Empire. [[1]] The concept of the Conquistador as a symbol of the Fraternity was introduced by Founding Father Agustín García and Founding Father Wilfredo Ayes interjected the Conquistadores into the pledge process for the first pledge line in the spring of 1978.

[edit] Fraternal Fathers

Dr. Cayetano J. Socarres (1922-1994)

Dr. Cayetano J. Socarrás Fraternal Father Dr. Cayetano J. Socarrás provided most of the assistance in developing a truly “Latino” identity for the Fraternity. Knowledgeable in the art of heraldry (crest design), Fraternal Father Socarrás guided the brothers in designing the original shield in 1976. As Fraternal Father Socarrás focused on the symbolic aspects of the brotherhood, Fraternal Father José Quiles assisted with the organizational components, including the structure and administration of the Fraternity.

Jose A. Quiles

Fraternal Father José Quiles Experienced with and knowledgeable of fraternities and the Greek system in general, Fraternal Father José Quiles assisted the Founding Fathers to ensure the newly founded fraternity would fit into the Greek system on campus. Fraternal Father Quiles has often described his role in the Fraternity as a “technical resource” and continues to be a valuable asset to the brotherhood.

Cayetano Socarrás and José Quiles are the Fraternal Fathers of Lambda Theta Phi. The commitment and dedication they have given the Fraternity has earned them the love and admiration of all brothers.

In response to the title, José Quiles has stated, "I always felt I was a father of the Fraternity in the sense of being a technical resource, because a lot of the internal development was carried out by the Founding Fathers themselves." Founding Father Agustín García concurs: "These two men fathered the brothers. A father teaches and these two men had taught." The creation of Lambda Theta Phi was a learning process, and the two Fraternal Fathers were instrumental.

With numerous decisions to be made and strategies outlined, the brothers received guidance from two members of the Kean College faculty/administration. Specifically, Dr. Cayetano J. Socarrás, who passed away on January 24, 1994 and José Quiles, recognized within the brotherhood as the Fraternal Fathers of Lambda Theta Phi. Each of these men provided support, mentorship, and guidance to the Founding Fathers and have continued to do so as the Fraternity has developed. Their devotion to the ideals and brothers of Lambda extends far beyond what can be captured in a website.

[edit] Founding Fathers

From September to November of 1975, a group of students, from which would eventually emerge the Founding Fathers of Lambda Theta Phi, met to find the solution to uniting the different Latino groups on campus.

These meetings were initiated by Founding Father García, who had already spearheaded an important breakthrough for Latino students by becoming the first Latino elected to the Kean College student government. The major topics of discussion at these meetings were the need to become politically conscious and active as Latino students and the unification of all Latinos, since at the time "Latin Unity" was not common among students of different Latino national origins.

At a meeting on November 11, 1975, Founding Father García proposed the idea of founding a fraternity. Having become familiar with the workings of the college administration and student government he recognized that a fraternity could promote Latin unity through brotherhood. He also understood that fraternities were an organizational structure that college administrators acknowledged and one with which they were accustomed. Lambda Theta Phi was founded as a Latin Fraternity, which was specifically stated in its original constitution,

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Wilfredo Ayes
Hiram Cardona
Rafael Crespo
David Diaz
Agustin Garcia
Enrique Garcia
Jose Ginarte
Juan Hernandez
Rinaldo Lago
Luis Miranda I
Henry Munoz
Walter Pardo-Villa
Raul Roger
Raymond Rosa

[edit] National Board of Directors 2006-2008

President - Byron Bustos
Vice President - Alex Feliciano
Director of Finance - Kevin Jaime
Assistant Director of Finance - Francisco Lugo
Director of Communications - Anthony Perez
Assistant Director of Communications - Jose Martinez
Director of Information Technology - Steve O. Hernandez
Director of Induction - Marco Benavides
Director of Expansion - Francisco Guzman
Director of Programming - Carlos Mesa
Director of Collegiate and Academic Affairs - Mito Espinoza
Assistant Director of Collegiate and Academic Affairs - Gabriel Ortiz
Director of Alumni Affairs - Jose Morel
Historian - Engelbert Santana
Ex-Officio - Jesus A. Pena, Esq.
National Interfraternal Council (NIC) Representative - Augustin Garcia

[edit] Undergraduate Chapters

Alpha Chapter:

Kean University, Union, NJ

Beta Chapter:

Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

Gamma Chapter:

The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ

Delta Chapter:

Upsala College

Epsilon Chapter:

Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ

Zeta Chapter:

Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ

Eta Chapter:

New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ Rutgers University - Newark, Newark, NJ

Theta Chapter:

Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Pomona, NJ

Iota Chapter:

Rider University, Lawrenceville, NJ

Kappa Chapter:

Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ

Lambda Chapter:

University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT

Mu Chapter:

Rutgers University-Camden, Camden, NJ

Nu Chapter:

St. Peter's College, Jersey City, NJ

Xi Chapter:

William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ

Omicron Chapter:

Rowan College of New Jersey, Glassboro, NJ

Pi Chapter:

Monmouth University, Long Branch, NJ

Rho Chapter:

West Chester University, West Chester, PA

Sigma Chapter:

Farleigh Dickinson University, Madison/Teaneck, NJ

Tau Chapter:

Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT Yale University, New Haven, CT, University of New Haven, New Haven, CT

Upsilon Chapter:

University of Hartford, Hartford, CT

Phi Chapter:

University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Chi Chapter:

Cornell University, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY

Psi Chapter:

Trinity College , Hartford, CT

Omega Chapter:

University of Delaware, Newark, DE

Alpha Alpha Chapter:

University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL

Alpha Beta Chapter:

Syracuse, NY

Alpha Gamma Chapter:

West Virginia Wesleyan University, Buckhannon, WV

Alpha Delta Chapter:

California State Polytechnic University at Pomona, CA

Alpha Epsilon Chapter:

Bloomfield College, Bloomfield, NJ

Alpha Zeta Chapter:

University of California, Riverside - Riverside, CA

Alpha Eta Chapter:

University of Texas at Austin, TX

Alpha Theta Chapter:

Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

Alpha Iota Chapter:

California State University, Long Beach, CA

Alpha Kappa Chapter:

Florida International University, Miami, FL

Alpha Lambda Chapter:

University of California, Los Angeles, CA

Alpha Mu Chapter:

LeMoyne College, Syracuse, NY

Alpha Nu Chapter:

Penn State University, University Park, PA

Alpha Xi Chapter:

James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia

Alpha Omicron Chapter:

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

Alpha Pi Chapter:

New Jersey City University, Jersey City, NJ

Alpha Rho Chapter:

Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA Temple University, Philadelphia, PA

Alpha Sigma Chapter:

Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ

Alpha Tau Chapter:

University of North Texas, Denton, TX

Alpha Upsilon Chapter:

University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

Alpha Phi Chapter:

Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL

Alpha Chi Chapter:

University of Illinois, Chicago, IL

Alpha Psi Chapter:

University of South Florida, Tampa, FL

Alpha Omega Chapter:

California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, CA

Beta Alpha Chapter:

California State University, Dominguez Hills

Beta Beta Chapter:

University of Texas - Arlington, TX

Beta Gamma Chapter:

Nova Southeastern University, Florida

Beta Delta Chapter:

Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Florida

Beta Epsilon Chapter:

University of Detroit Mercy, Michigan

Beta Zeta Chapter:

San Jose State University, CA

Beta Eta Chapter:

Vanderbilt University, TN

Beta Theta Chapter:

University of Miami, FL

Beta Iota Chapter:

Florida State University, FL

Beta Kappa Chapter:

California State University - San Bernadino , CA

Beta Lambda Chapter:

University of Southern California, CA

Beta Mu Chapter:

University of Maryland - Baltimore County, MD

Beta Nu Chapter:

Fairleigh Dickinson University - Madison, NJ

Beta Xi Chapter:

Florida Atlantic University, FL

Beta Omicron Chapter:

California State University - Fresno, CA

Beta Pi Chapter:

Texas Christian University - Fort Worth, TX

Beta Rho Chapter:

Texas State University - San Marcos, TX

Beta Sigma Chapter:

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Beta Tau Chapter:

Texas Wesleyan University - Fort Worth, TX

Beta Upsilon Chapter:

University of California, Davis - Davis, CA

Beta Phi Chapter:

Ramapo College, NJ

Beta Chi Chapter:

University of California, Berkeley - Berkeley, CA

Beta Psi Chapter:

Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL

[edit] Colonies

San Francisco State University/University of San Francisco - San Francisco, CA

California State University - Los Angeles, CA

University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Iona College, White Plains, NY

Wayne State University, MI

California State University, Fullerton - Fullerton, CA

Tarleton State University - Stephenville, TX

Humboldt State University - CA

University of California - Santa Barbara, CA

City University of New York - John Jay College - NY

Eastern New Mexico University - NM

University of Arizona - Tucson, Arizona

Miami International University - Miami, FL

Barry University - Miami Shores, FL

University of Houston - Houston, TX

State University of New York at Stony Brook

University of Wisconsin - Madison, WI

[edit] Alumni/Graduate Chapters

Lambda Alpha - NY Alumni Chapter
Lambda Beta - FL Alumni Chapter
Lambda Gamma - NJ Alumni Chapter
Lambda Delta - NM Alumni Chapter

[edit] Sectors

(Regional Governing Bodies)

Arizona Sector 1
California Sector 1 - Alpha Delta, Alpha Zeta, Beta Kappa, CSU Fullerton Colony
California Sector 2 - Alpha Omega, Beta Zeta, Beta Omicron, Beta Upsilon, Beta Chi, San Francisco Colony, Humboldt State Colony
California Sector 3 - Alpha Iota, Beta Alpha, Beta Lambda, CSU Los Angeles Colony, UC Santa Barbara Colony
Connecticut Sector 1
Florida Sector 1 - Phi, Alpha Alpha, Alpha Psi, Beta Iota
Florida Sector 2 - Alpha Kappa, Beta Gamma, Beta Theta, Beta Xi, Miami International University Colony, Barry Univerity Colony
Illinois Sector 1
Michigan Sector 1
New Jersey Sector 1
New Jersey Sector 2 - Beta, Gamma, Theta, Iota, Mu, Omicron, Pi, Rho, Omega, Alpha Rho, Beta Mu, Towson Colony
New Jersey Sector 3
New Jersey Sector 4 - Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Nu, Alpha Pi
New York Sector 1
Tennessee Sector 1
Texas Sector 1 - Alpha Eta, Alpha Theta, Beta Rho, University of Houston Colony
Texas Sector 2 - Alpha Tau, Beta Beta, Beta Tau, Beta Pi, Tarleton State University Colony