Multicultural council looks to expand

The Multicultural Greek Council, one of four greek associations on campus, is less well-known than the rest, but its chapters are working to change that.

MCGC is the general council that governs the nine off-campus multicultural greek chapters at IU, and its members have been working to add chairs and opportunities to the executive board, junior and MCGC President Kevin Zhang said.

Zhang also said in the future, MCGC hopes to expand with more chapters and maybe houses on campus.

Like all greek organizations, each of the nine chapters has its own philanthropies and events and also works closely with the different culture centers on campus, including the Asian Culture Center and La Casa Latino Cultural Center.

There are currently multicultural, Asian, Indian and Latino-specific chapters, but Zhang emphasized that race should not be a determining factor in joining a multicultural chapter and that anyone can rush.

“Even though each of our individual chapters has a stigma of a different race, and just because there’s a stigma or a false representation of a chapter doesn’t mean they’ll only recruit a certain kind of people,” Zhang said.

Junior member of Sigma Lambda Upsilon Alma Figueroa said her sorority focuses on the Latino language and culture and serving the Latino community rather than race.

“Because we’re Latino-based, we want to involve members who want to provide for the Latino community specifically because we go through the same things,” Figueroa said. “We’re passionate about their cause, so we want to help them more.”

While each chapter has its own rush process, most chapters will not be recruiting new members until the fall.

Zhang said MCGC has also been working with other greek councils, such as the Interfraternity Council, the Panhellenic Association and the National Panhellenic Conference, to develop and expand the multicultural community and create more consistency among the houses.

“We work together with the other greek councils like IFC, Panhellenic and NPHC to improve the entire greek community and improve the environment on campus,” Zhang said.

Some members said their chapters keep them linked to their homes.

Sophomore and member of Lambda Upsilon Lambda Omar Gama, an international student from Mexico, said his experience with his chapter has helped him make more friends and get to know other international students on campus.

“The chapter establishes brotherhood or sisterhood within the community,” Gama said.
Junior and member of Gamma Phi Omega Andrea Zambrano is an international student from Columbia and said her sorority has become her family.

“A lot of Latinos here at IU are first-generation college students or have parents that came to this country and have no idea what the American college experience is like,” Zambrano said. “So it’s coming into that environment without that experience or the guidance from your parents and trying to create that environment with your sisters or your brothers that you can relate to them and get that support.”

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOUR MCGC CHAPTER?

“I think one of the things that I gained the most is professionalism. Not only am I growing up as a woman; I’m growing up on a professional level, and that’s something growing up at home in an underprivileged school, I wouldn’t have had that. I don’t have that connection back at home.”
- Sigma Lambda Upsilon junior Alma Figueroa

“Throughout my whole entire life, I went to really small schools, so it actually made IU a lot smaller for me. It was also an outlet for me to actually start doing community service again and start being more active in the community. It also gave me a home away from home. As an international student, it was really hard for me to move away from my parents. Because it’s such a small chapter, it creates a really strong bond. They’re your family. You’re always with them.”
- Gamma Phi Omega junior Andrea Zambrano

“Joining a chapter, I think, has given me a sense of belonging. On a 40,000-student campus, sometimes you want to feel like you belong to something. Just knowing that I can call or reach out to one of my brothers, it’s just a great experience and we have such a strong bond.”
- Lambda Upsilon Lambda sophomore Omar Gama