Lambda Sigma Upsilon
Lambda Sigma Upsilon Latino Fraternity, Inc. is an American intercollegiate Latino Americans|Latino] oriented Greek lettered fraternity. It was founded in 1979 at Rutgers University–New Brunswick Livingston Campus in Middlesex County, New Jersey. Lambda Sigma Upsilon has chartered 84 undergraduate chapters and nine alumni chapters, and associations. The fraternity is a member of the North American Interfraternity Conference and a member of the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations. It is the brother organization of Mu Sigma Upsilon, a multicultural-based sorority.
History
In the mid to late 1970s, protests and acts of civil disobedience became commonplace at Rutgers University–New Brunswick as students asserted their disappointment with university, professors' tenure, national issues, and Latino student rights. In the spring of 1979, a group of students at the Livingston Campus in Middlesex County suggested the creation of a Latino social fellowship. After meeting regularly, they officially established the Latinos Siempre Unidos Latino Social Fellowship on April 5, 1979.The fellowship's twenty founders were men who believed that underrepresented groups, particularly ethnic minorities, at colleges and universities were not getting the attention or services needed to advance their academic successes. They created Latinos Siempre Unidos to act as a support group for these groups, as well as to provide a family away from home. The founders developed four goals of academic excellence, cultural awareness and diversity, being role models to the community, and brotherhood.
Initially, the fellowship expanded to other campuses in New Jersey. A second chapter was established at William Paterson University in 1982, followed by chapters at Stockton University in 1983 and Montclair State University in 1984. In the fall of 1987, the organization adopted the Greek letters of Lambda Sigma Upsilon and transitioned from a Latino social fellowship to a fraternity in order to gain recognition and access to rights, resources, and participation within the collegiate Greek system that were unavailable to fellowships on different campuses.
In 1995, the fraternity chartered its first chapter outside of New Jersey at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.Lambda Sigma Upsilon has been touted as being a "catalyst for change, and a vehicle for pertinent conversation regarding relevant issues between student and the university administration". It is a Member of the National Greek council North American Interfraternity Conference and the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations. Its national headquarters are at 344 Grove Street in Jersey City, New Jersey.