Lambda Alpha Upsilon
American Latino-interest college fraternity
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Latino America Unida, Lambda Alpha Upsilon Fraternity, Inc. (ΛΑΥ or LAU, also known as Condors) is a Latino oriented Greek letter intercollegiate fraternity founded in 1985, at the State University of New York at Buffalo. In 1998, it became the first East Coast based fraternity to join the majority West Coast and Mid-West based conference of the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO) instead of the majority East Coast based ConcÌlio Nacional de Hermandades Latinas.
| Lambda Alpha Upsilon | |
|---|---|
| ΛΑΥ | |
 | |
| Founded | December 10th, 1985 State University of New York at Buffalo |
| Type | Social |
| Affiliation | |
| Status | Active |
| Emphasis | Latino |
| Scope | National |
| Motto | ¡Venceremos porque Nacimos para Triunfar! |
| Colors | Red, Yellow, White and Black |
| Mascot | Andean condor |
| Chapters | 25 undergraduate, 7 alumni |
| Colonies | 10 |
| Nickname | Lethal Lambdas |
| Headquarters | 1162 St. Georges Avenue Suite #258 Avenel, New Jersey 07001 United States |
| Website | www |
History
Latino America Unida, Lambda Alpha Upsilon Fraternity, Inc. is a Latino oriented Greek letter intercollegiate fraternity founded on December 10, 1985, at the State University of New York at Buffalo.[1][2] In the fall of 1985 at the University at Buffalo, sixteen young men of various ethnic backgrounds decided to form a support group that would provide a social and cultural outlet for students of Latin American descent. The university's Greek system lacked an organization dedicated to the needs of the Latino community. To meet those needs, the group chose to pursue recognition as the first Latino-oriented Greek-letter organization on campus.
The founding fathers are recognized by the fraternity as:
- Antonio Adorno
- José Betances
- Miguel Buitrago
- Manuel Cáceres
- José Chiu
- Ronald Ellín
- Daniel Figueroa III
- Victor Gutiérrez
- Justo León
- Julio Martínez Jr.
- José Núñez
- Antonio Rodríguez
- Daryl Salas
- Manny Sánchez
- José Soto
- Simón Vélez
After a brief period of time of being recognized as a colony of La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda fraternity by their institution, the individuals who had joined the group would go on to secede from the rest of Lambda Upsilon Lambda in 1988. In the process of which, they founded the Alpha chapter of Latino America Unida, Lambda Alpha Upsilon Fraternity, Inc., with them choosing the establishment date of the former colony as the founding date for the fraternity as a whole.[3][4]
In 1998, it became the first East Coast based fraternity to join the majority West Coast and Mid-West based conference of the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO) instead of the majority East Coast based ConcÌlio Nacional de Hermandades Latinas.[5]
Symbols
The fraternity's motto is ¡Venceremos porque Nacimos para Triunfar!. Its colors are red, yellow, white, and black. Its mascot is the Andean condor. Its nickname is Lethal Lambdas.
Chapters
Undergraduate chapters
Lambda Alpha Upsilon reserves the Lambda chapter designation for deceased Hermanos.[6] In the chapter list below, active chapters ae indicated in bold and inactive chapters are in italics.[1][7]
- This chapter was initially established as a colony of Lambda Upsilon Lambda in 1985. It would go onto rebrand itself as the Alpha chapter of Lambda Alpha Upsilon in 1988.
Alumni chapters
Iterations beginning with the letter Lambda are reserved for alumni chapters as described below.[1] The alumni chapters of Lambda Alpha Upsilon consist of working professionals and graduate-level students who were inducted as undergraduate members and are established in the workforce or continuing their education while deciding to remain active within the fraternity. Lambda Alpha Upsilon also inducts interested men with at least a bachelor's degree into one of the alumni chapters through the Graduate Induction Process. Lambda Alpha Upsilon officially recognizes the following alumni chapters:
| Chapter | Charter date | Region | Status | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lambda Alpha | 2005 | Connecticut | Active | [7] |
| Lambda Beta | 2005 | New York City Metro | Active | [7] |
| Lambda Gamma | 2010 | Washington, D.C. Metro | Active | [7] |
| Lambda Delta | 2012 | Rochester/Buffalo | Active | [7] |
| Lambda Epsilon | 2017 | South Florida | Active | [7] |
| Lambda Zeta | 2015 | Wisconsin | Active | [7] |
| Lambda Eta | 2017 | Pennsylvania | Active | [7] |
| Lambda Theta | 2024 | New Jersey | Active | [7] |
| Lambda Iota | 2024 | Colorado | Active | [7] |
Affiliations
The fraternity is a founding member of the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations.