One of the Tech community’s most recent additions is a Latino fraternity, Lambda Theta Phi. Although the chapter is new, the fraternity was founded on Dec. 1, 1975, at Kean University, New Jersey, being the first-ever Latino fraternity in the nation. It now consists of over 150 chapters, including nine within Georgia, and has brothers from every field of study. The founding members of the Tech chapter are ten students of Mexican, Puerto Rican and Guatemalan ethnicities.
As of Fall 2024, 8.3% of the Institute’s undergraduate student body were Hispanic, but Lambda Theta Phi is only the third panhellenic organization on campus dedicated to Latino culture, following in the steps of the Lambda Theta Alpha sorority and the Lambda Upsilon Lambda fraternity. This means that with over 50 fraternities and sororities, around 5% of the organizations are Latino-led, making Lambda Theta Phi a step toward including more Hispanic students on campus.
Oscar “Dionysus” Guerrero, fourth-year BA and chapter president, explained the importance of establishing a Lambda Theta Phi chapter at Tech.
“Being able to leave a huge legacy, such as being a founding brother at Georgia Tech, was what kept me pushing to get established here, but also the idea of being able to provide and make a space for Latino men to feel that unity within each other,” Guerrero said.
Leri Antonio Argueta, the Senior Assistant Director for Access and Inclusion at Tech, first introduced the idea of forming a chapter for the founding members. They decided that academic excellence, brotherhood, leadership, Latino unity and service would be the key principles that guided their new organization. “The most rewarding part about being in Lambda so far has been the times where we are doing community service work and can see the actual impact that we have made on certain communities due to our voluntary work we put in,” Guerrero said.
They have already hosted their first tailgate along with the University of Georgia chapter for last semester’s final game of the season on Nov. 29. They also displayed their commitment to service when they went to Hopkins Elementary School for Computer Science Week to expose high school students to the career possibilities for Computer Science majors.
The process of creating the fraternity was complicated, as the founding members had to complete paperwork with the national leadership of the fraternity as well as with the Institute. With the Tech’s rigorous courseload balancing administrative processes to start out was a challenge.Ethnically Puerto Rican Kevin “Aquaman” Centeno-Rivera, second-year ME, also shared his experience being involved with the new chapter.
“At the time, I was interested in becoming a member of the fraternity, it was one of the hardest moments in my college experience where I was trying to find myself. … I feel at home here,” Centeno-Rivera said.
Centeno-Rivera is not involved in any other boards of Latino organizations, but he tries to be involved with the community around campus. Just like Guerrero, they share the goal of creating a space for Latino men to feel included within the Institute.
Founding members hope to collaborate with other Hispanic organizations and push the Latino image at the Institute forward as part of their goal to establish themselves as a safe haven for Latinos around campus.