On Friday, November 1, the founding 10 members of the Lambda Theta Phi fraternity at Georgia Tech were presented. Lambda Theta Phi is the largest Latin fraternity in the United States, though it is open to all interested students who demonstrate the characteristics of the fraternity.
For third-year students and inductees Kevin Rangel and Oscar Guerrero, the fraternity is a gateway to building community and giving space to Latino students on campus.
“One of the biggest things this fraternity stands for is pride. And as a Latino in the United States, if you’re not taught to embrace your roots, sometimes you want to repress it, to try and hide it, become ashamed of it,” said Rangel. “And while anyone is welcome to join, it’s important to emphasize that Latinos have a space at Tech. Latinos go into STEM. Latinos go to college. We don’t just survive, we thrive. This fraternity gives us a space to celebrate that.”
Leri Argueta, senior assistant director for access and inclusion in the Office of Undergraduate Admission and the staff advisor for the fraternity, notes his excitement to see another opportunity for students to connect with one another on Tech’s campus.
“I’ve had the opportunity to meet and these young men before starting the steps to join Lambda Theta Phi, and they represent Latino excellence. With stories of grit and overcoming hardships, they exemplify the values of brotherhood, culture, scholarship, and chivalry,” said Argueta. “As an alumni member of the organization that joined in 2013, it brings me great joy to see the expansion of our fraternity to Georgia Tech as we continue to grow as an organization that empowers Latino men.”
Throughout the informational process, which began last November to educate potential members, brothers and alumni from other Lambda Theta Phi chapters around the state and country arrived to share support and insight. For Guerrero, this was a demonstration of the strong support network present in the organization and cemented the founding line’s decision to bring the fraternity to campus.
“It shows the strong support system behind this fraternity,” said Guerrero. “If brothers from entirely different states are willing to drive to Georgia just to see us through the pledging process, that shows how deep the brotherhood is.”
The new member presentation to induct the founding line of 10 brothers involved a salute and reveal of the new members, known as neophytes.
With the ceremony complete, the founding line turns their focus to philanthropy efforts, hosting elections to fill leadership positions, and cementing the fraternity’s place on Tech’s campus for the years to come.
Lambda Theta Phi joins two other Latin panhellenic organizations already on campus: the Gamma Omega chapter of Lambda Theta Alpha, a Latin sorority, and the Alpha Sigma chapter of Lambda Upsilon Lambda, a Latin fraternity.
The founding line (left) with other Lambda Theta Phi brothers (right) after their presentation on Friday, November 1.