Latinos take first steps toward becoming fraternity

The smell of spices and melting cheese wafted through the air. Salsa music permeated in the background, giving a few people with happy feet the chance to show off a dance move or two. \nLast night, a group of men interested in founding a new Latino-interest fraternity at IU held its first fundraiser by cooking an ethnic dinner at The Latino Cultural Center (LaCasa), 715 E. Seventh Street.\nThe men also received assistance from the members of the Latina-interest sororities Gamma Phi Omega and Sigma Lambda Gamma in organizing the event.\nThe dinner provided a good turnout and a profit for the group, sophomore Melvin Tejada said.\nTejada and a group of five other IU students are currently attempting to establish a colony of the Lambda Theta Phi fraternity at IU. Lambda Theta Phi is a national fraternity founded in 1975 at Kean College in New Jersey. The fraternity now has more than 50 chapters nationally.\nTejada got the inspiration to start a fraternity after transferring to IU from DePaul University in Chicago this year. When he saw that two Latina sororities were successfully operating on campus, Tejada decided to take action and e-mailed Latino men to see if there would be interest in starting a fraternity.\n"We want to try to get more expanded diversity on campus," Tejada said.\nThe group will first have to meet several requirements that will be necessary for the group to receive recognition as a fraternity on both the national and University levels. \nThe group must have at least five members, meet a minimum grade point average standard and inform the national organization of their intention to form a chapter.\nTo earn recognition from the University, the Student Activities Office will have to first acknowledge the potential fraternity as a special interest group. Then, the group must receive a two-thirds vote from the IU Panhellenic Council, Multi-Cultural Greek Council, Panhellenic Association and the Interfraternity Council.\n"Reaching chapter status might take a year," Tejada said.\nSo far, the group has received assistance from other minority groups and the president of the Multi-Cultural Greek Council in its efforts to organize.\nWith a total of 723 students on campus that have identified themselves as being of Hispanic origin, LaCasa director Lillian Casillas said it was important to have a group with a strong voice representing Latino interests.\n"It gives an opportunity for people to have a collaborate voice," Casillas said.\nCasillas also emphasized that it is essential that such a group demonstrate that Latinos are not homogenous but rather a diverse collection of ethnicities and cultures. \nGamma Phi Omega president Stephanie Santiago, a senior, said there is a common misconception that these organizations are only open to Hispanics. In reality, they are open to anyone interested in Hispanic culture.\n"People are sometimes hesitant to participate, but we promote cultural awareness," Santiago said.