Lambda Theta Phi, Latin Fraternity Inc., was Founded on December 1, 1975 by eleven students at Kean College in New Jersey, in response to the needs of the Latino student population at the college.  Since that time, the fraternity has started chapters at 52 institutions across the United States.

Lambda Theta Phi is a non-profit service/social fraternity.  Emphasizing Latin unity and the celebration of the Latin culture, it is the oldest and largest fraternity of its kind in the United States.  With its acceptance into the National Inter fraternal Conference in 1992, Lambda Theta Phi became the first and only national recognized Latino greek letter fraternity in the country.

The fraternity's goals are to promote scholarship, Latin unity, respect for all culture and brotherhood.  Lambda Theta Phi has set out to accomplish these goals through responsible political and social action.  By working in the community, the fraternity hopes to not only provide service, but to also enhance the image of Latin culture and provide positive role models in the Latino community.  Lambda Theta Phi has been involved in numerous voter registration drives, operated free citizenship registration assistance days, Hispanic college days ( introducing thousands of high school students to college), been active in anti drug rallies, brought noted speakers to college campuses, marched in parades and programmed various cultural, educational and social events.  The fraternity has also received commendations from the American Red Cross for its fundraising efforts on behalf of victims of earthquakes in Italy and Mexico,  mudslides in Puerto Rico, volcanic eruptions in Columbia, 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 and resolutions from Congress and the New Jersey State Legislature.

Membership is open to all college males and the brotherhood includes men of African, Argentinean, Colombian, Costa Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Ecuadorian, Guyanese, Honduran, Italian, Mexican, Palestinian, Panamanian, Peruvian, Puerto Rican, Salvadorian and Spanish Descent working together to realize the organization's goals.  Brothers of Lambda Theta Phi have gone on to become lawyers, scientist, accountants, engineers, recording artist, entrepreneurs, politicians and leaders in various areas.  Brothers of Lambda Theta Phi have held such positions as President of the New Jersey Hispanic Bar Association, State Senator, Executive Director of ASPIRA Inc. of New Jersey, National Director of the Cuban Voters' League and Congressman.
 

Our Fraternity has grown to become the oldest and largest Latin Fraternity in the U.S.  As Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. was the first fraternity founded to enlighten African American males in 1906, Lambda Theta PHi arose as the first Latin Fraternity in 1975.  With its acceptance into the National Inter fraternal Conference in 1992, Lambda Theta Phi became the first nationally recognized Latino Greek Letter fraternity in the county.  Since its inception, Lambda Theta Phi has established over 48 chapters throughout the East Coast and California and continues growing.  The fraternity's goals are to promote scholarship, Latin unity, respect for all cultures, and to cultivate a strong brotherhood.  In essence, the fraternity hopes to raise the social and cultural conscience of the Latin male college student.  The fraternity has set out to accomplish these goals through responsible political and social action.  Furthermore, by working in the community, the fraternity hopes to provide service and enhance the image of all Latinos.

A Brief History of Gamma Chapter

On April 27, 1980, the Gamma Chapter of Lambda Theta Phi, Latin Fraternity, Inc., in its fifth year of existence, was established on the campus of Trenton State College.  Ten Latino men were instrumental in the procreation of the third established chapter of Lambda Theta Phi.  The ten men responsible were:

With extensive assistance from the Alpha (Kean University, then Kean College) and Beta (Rutgers University) chapters, these ten individuals responded aggressively to the distinct needs of the Latino student population at Trenton State College.  Since that time, fifteen pledge classes have successfully entered the ranks of the Lambda brotherhood.

The Gamma Chapter at Trenton State College has been exemplary in promoting and practicing the ideals of Lambda Theta Phi.  The fraternity's ideals are brotherhood, Latin unity, pride in our own cultures, respect for all cultures, scholarship, and addressing the needs of our Latino community.  In its nineteen years of existence, the brothers of Gamma Chapter have worked diligently in maximizing the goals of the fraternity through numerous community and social service projects, ongoing campus involvement emphasizing Latino advocacy and awareness, and reaching our highest academic potential.

INDIVIDUAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Gamma Chapter has always vehemently stressed uniformity in all our endeavors.  During its duration, however, individual Gamma Brothers have garnered impressive accolades both in the professional and civic arena.  Gamma alumni, many of whom continue to be considerably active in current chapter activities, have greatly succeeded in their own vocational endeavors.  Gamma Brothers currently hold positions in state and city government, the private and public sector, college administration, secondary and elementary education, law enforcement, and social services.  The accomplishments of Gamma Brothers have been and continue to mark significant precedents in their respective Latino communities.  To outline some of the accomplishments:

·  Several Gamma chapter Brothers have been included in Who’s Who Among American College Students.

·  Only Latino students to be named to Trenton State College Student Leader of the Year,  Billie Aponte and 
   Arcelio Aponte.
·  Will Feliciano was the only ever Latino student to be the student representative to the Trenton State College 
   Board of Trustees, Student Government Association.

·  Fransisco Hernandez is the first Latino appointed to the Trenton Affirmative Action Advisory Board.

·  Billie Aponte is the only Latino individual to be selected as the director of the College Union Board, Trenton 
   State College.

·  Jorge Cruz is the only Latino student ever to be selected Senior Class President, Student Government 
   Association.

·  Three different Brothers have garnered the prestigious national Undergraduate Brother of the Year.

·  Since its inception in 1980, Gamma undergraduates and alumni have been involved with the Fraternity on a 
   National Executive Board, including two being elected National Board president.

·  Several brothers have graduated from the Hispanic Interns in Community Service and Latino Leaders 
   Fellowship Institute, sponsored by the Center for Hispanic Policy, New Jersey Department of Community 
   Affairs.

·  Several brothers have had internships in Fortune 500 companies such as First Union, GMC, Ortho-McNeil, and Lucent Technologies.

As the aforementioned material will indicate, Gamma Brothers have made significant contributions to the community and to Trenton State College.  More importantly, we have made progression in enhancing Latino representation in the higher levels of administration, both in the student and professional context.  We have made it a strong point to challenge the status quo and attempted to alleviate the great inequalities existent in our communities and campus.  Representing the needs of our Latino student and community populations have always been the primary thrust behind all our endeavors.  Individual recognition has been secondary to our strive to enhance Latino equality and mobility.  We firmly believe that we have made significant progressive steps in ascertaining and addressing the needs of our Latino brothers and sisters.  Gamma Brothers continue to persevere in the path of Latino progression.

CHAPTER ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Combining the dedication and abilities of our talented Brothers, the aggregate Chapter has excelled in obtaining the predetermined objectives.  For this, the chapter itself has harvested numerous awards.  To outline only a few:

·  National Board Chapter of the year, three (3) times

·  Student Life Award for Hispanic College Day Program, Trenton State College, 1989-1990

·  Numerous community citations for service from such organizations as the American Red Cross, American 
   Cancer Society, the Rescue Mission of Trenton, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and ASPIRA

·  Numerous campus citations for services and programming from President Eickhoff (former president of Trenton 
   State College), Educational Opportunity Fund program, College-bound Program, Office of Hispanic Affairs, 
   Office of Student Life, Union Latina, and the Black Student Union.

In a Greek-letter organizational community that consists of thirty-two separate fraternities and sororities, being the only Latino fraternity has been an ongoing challenge.  Many times, the fraternity had to justify its mere existence to the Greek and greater campus community.  However, we continue to combat the strongholds of oppression and prejudice utilizing scholarship and higher learning as our weapons of defense.

With the certification of charter officially submitted on February 1, 1981, the Chapter has directly confronted many of the inequities prevalent to the Latino student population.  The Chapter has been involved extensively within the administration to address these inequities.  On several occasions, Chapter Brothers have met with former President Eickhoff to discuss these issues.  Other involvement include petitions, the development of ad hoc committees specifically designed to address these needs, and bringing in outside officials to absolve these problematic issues.  We are one of the few yet strong vehicles for support and advocacy for Latino students on campus; a position we take very seriously.

COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL SERVICE PROJECTS

The significance of serving and empowering our Latino communities cannot be overstated.  Community and social service has always been highly prioritized.  We offer a unique conception of the Fraternity, one that focuses more on volunteerism rather than socializing.  We realize the deprive conditions of our Latino communities; however, we firmly believe that our consistent contributions can make significant enhancements.  There is not enough time and space to document all of our projects.  To outline a few: 

• Proyecto Centro America - Goods drive that benefited the victims of a catastrophic hurricane.

• Numerous food, clothing, and furniture drives benefiting organizations that serve the needy such as the Salvation Army, the Rescue mission of Trenton, Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, martin house for runaways, YWCA Juvenile Shelter, Lifeties, and many more.

• Several workshops and rap sessions with youth organizations and schools such as ASPIRA, Inc., Elizabeth Day School for Juveniles, and the Young Scholars Institute.    Goods drive for victims of Hurricane Hugo in Puerto Rico.

As previously indicated, these are only a few of our community service endeavors.  There is no equal sense of fulfillment and unconditional achievement to that of serving those in need. 

Enhancing the recruitment of Latino students to our institution as well as other higher learning institutions has been an ongoing battle.  In 1980, in response to increasing the amount of Latino students attending college, our Chapter, with the assistance of several campus offices, developed Hispanic College Day, a program designed to expose the Latino students, who predominantly reside in urban districts, to the college environment and provide them with the necessary information and motivation to attend college.  On a yearly basis, Hispanic College Day has drawn 125-300 Latino high school students.  The entire day, constructed in a symposium-like structure, consists of the proper admission procedures, information pertaining to all the financial aid packages and sources of college finance, and all the proper steps to take in the college admission process.

Furthermore, the high school students are given tours of our campus and are allowed to interact with the Latino college students.  We attempt to serve as effective mentors for these young people who represent the next generation of our Latino college students.  We attempt to serve as effective mentors for these young people who represent the next generation of our Latino leaders.  Most importantly, the significance of higher education is immensely emphasized to the students, the significance to their own personal and professional goals, and the significance to their respective communities.

Hispanic College Day has been greatly successful in enhancing the amount of Latino secondary students going on to higher education.  In fact, the Office of Community Development Services awarded the chapter Student Life Award in 1990.  This award is given to the program that best exemplifies responsible and productive community service.  This program continues to prevail as Hispanic College Day.  

SOCIAL EVENTS

The aforementioned information may allude to the misconception that we have no desire or time for fun.  However, this is far from the truth.  Our Chapter, on a semester basis, holds social space events are always a great attraction for the campus community, the general public, and other college campuses.  Our sister sorority, Lambda Theta Alpha, Latin Sorority Inc., has generally been a significant contributor to our social success.  Additionally, we hold a number of Greek mixers with other fraternities and sororities.  Along with the goal of relaxation, these mixers serve to promote multiculturalism and harmonious cultural relations.

We have also been frequently involved with intramural activities, Greek Week, Homecoming Week, Greek Display day, and many more.  Our Chapter has effectively integrated itself with the overall Greek community, and these social events have been a potent force in doing so.

NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION/PLEDGING

As with the majority of Greek organizations, membership into Lambda Theta Phi requires full participation in our new Member Orientation Season.

Our Pledge Season attempts to introduce the ideals and goals of the fraternity into each participant.  Each activity pertaining to pledging has a distinct and vital purpose.  The most significant objective of each Pledge Season is to instill the concept of unconditional brotherhood within the pledge participants, or line brother, and with the active brothers.

During the Pledge Season, the following characteristics are the ones ingrained into the pledge class members:

 DISCIPLINE RESPONSIBILITY
 SELF-AWARENESS & IDENTITY  EDUCATION
 CULTURAL AWARENESS   CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
 TRUST DEVELOPMENT   BROTHERHOOD
 POLITICAL AWARENESS

Each pledge program is systematically structured into a framework where each of these characteristic will be consistently emphasized.  Our pledge program is an extremely vital component of our fraternity as a whole.  We see the pledge season as the planting of the seed, the seed of brotherhood.

BROTHERHOOD

All in all, the most important aspect of our fraternity is brotherhood.  This chapter and the entire fraternity is a special bond men of incomparable to any relationships outside of immediate family ties.  Lambda Theta Phi is an extended family that has constructed an established union of brotherhood, a brotherhood that is unconditional, a brotherhood that is permanent.  We all have special, unique feelings for each other, feelings that are truly indescribable.

LAMBDA THETA PHI 'TIL THE DAY WE DIE!

IN UNITY THERE IS STRENGTH, THAT IS THE ONLY WAY WE CAN SURVIVE