College is a time when many are on their own for the first time, ready to start afresh and join different organizations that reflect their interests, will benefit them in the future, and will help them form lifelong friendships. One type of organization that meets all these standards and that many end up joining is Greek Life.
I’m sure many of you must have ended up on Bama Rush Tok at the same time every single year and have seen the expensive outfits, the dance routines, and bid day reveals. Yes, that is the traditional Greek Life experience, specifically within the Panhellenic council, but the type of Greek Life I will be focusing on is cultural Greek Life, which many are unaware of.
I’ll be honest: coming into college, I would have never thought of joining Greek Life, but that was before I was aware that, in addition to the traditional sorority experience you often see portrayed on social media, there’s a whole other category of Greek Life that helps you bond with Sisters of a similar ethnic background, whether that be South Asian, East Asian, Latin/Hispanic, or many others. With this cultural Greek Life, it feels like a much more inclusive community on campus, especially at PWIs, where you might feel that the traditional Panhellenic sorority experience isn’t for you. With these cultural Greek Organizations, many still make those long-lasting friendships and learn about important values while also becoming more in touch with their own cultures as well as others. Once I learned more about cultural Greek organizations, I found myself being more interested in them and eventually ended up joining the South Asian interest sorority, Delta Phi Omega, through which I have gotten to know so many members of the other cultural Greek organizations and have made some incredible connections that I know will last a lifetime.
Here at UConn, these cultural Greek organizations fall under a council called the Intercultural Greek Council. This council consists of twelve organizations in total and includes seven sororities and five fraternities of various ethnic backgrounds. As this is HER Campus, I will specifically be talking about the sororities we have.
The first sorority I will be discussing that we have here at UConn is Delta Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc. Delta Phi Lambda, or DPhiL for short, is an Asian-interest sorority initially founded on December 5, 1998, at the University of Georgia by seven Founding Mothers. One of the main goals of DPhiL is to create Dedicated Female Leaders who excel both academically and professionally. To ensure this, they have seven virtues that they expect all their members to exhibit: Loyalty, Honesty, Respect, Dedication, Integrity, Discipline, and Academic Excellence. In addition to creating strong female leaders, DPhiL also values giving back to the community and does so through various fundraising events nationwide for their philanthropy, Osteoporosis Awareness, and Prevention. Currently, DPhiL has initiated over 2000 members and has 26 chapters across the country.
Kappa Phi Lambda, Sorority Inc, or KPL for short, is another Asian-interest sorority founded on March 5, 1995, at the State University of New York (SUNY) Binghamton by seven Founding Mothers. According to their National website, the main mission of KPL is that they “…strive to strengthen Sisterhood amongst women by providing Service and promoting Cultural Diversity to our members and our community, thus securing the bond of kinship for posterity. Kappa Phi Lambda exists to further educate individuals about Pan-Asian culture while keeping our own identities.” To ensure they follow through with this mission, KPL has three values that all the Sisters cherish: Sisterhood, Service, and Cultural Diversity. With one of KPL’s major values being service, the main philanthropy they fundraise for is The Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE). CARE is a major humanitarian organization that strives to fight global poverty. KPL currently has over 4,100 Sisters and 33 Chapters.
There are also several South-Asian interest sororities. Currently, at UConn, we have two: Delta Phi Omega Sorority, Inc. and Kappa Phi Gamma Sorority, Inc.
Delta Phi Omega, or DPO for short, was founded on December 6, 1998, at the University of Houston by sixteen Founding Mothers. According to their National website, “The Purpose of Delta Phi Omega shall be to foster unity among South Asian women, build community awareness, and gain a greater understanding of oneself of others. The sorority aspires to instill leadership traits, excel in all academic endeavors, to encourage an active relationship between the Sorority and its respective university, and shall do so with the utmost compassion, dignity, and fortitude.” To make sure this mission is followed through, DPO has five Pillars they cherish, which include Sisterhood, Honesty, Loyalty, Respect, and Friendship. To help build community awareness, as stated in their purpose, DPO’s philanthropy is Children’s Education and Literacy, and our beneficiaries here at UConn are Asha for Education and Nanubhai Education Foundations. These two organizations are specifically focused on improving access to education in less fortunate communities in India. Currently, DPO has over 2,600 Sisters and 25 Chapters across the United States.
Kappa Phi Gamma, or KPhiG for short, is the first South-Asian interest Sorority established in the United States on November 8, 1998, by twenty-seven Founding Mothers. According to their National website, KPhiG’s purpose is to,”…create a Sisterhood directed towards the advancement of women. Kappa Phi Gamma aims to instill integrity of character and trust as components of personality. The Sorority shall encourage bonding of women in order to strengthen Sisterhood. We shall render service to the community and the university, thus supporting the betterment and unification of society. The Sisterhood shall develop leadership skills and high academic standards that follow into the professional world. Kappa Phi Gamma shall promote pride of culture, womanhood, and self.” To follow through with this purpose, KPhiG has eight principles each Sister lives by. These principles are Character, Leadership, Scholarship, Sisterhood, Service, Culture, Womanhood, and Self. With Service as one of the main principles they live by, they give back through their philanthropy of cancer awareness. Currently, KPhiG has over 850 Sisters and a presence at over 20 undergraduate universities.
In addition to Asian-interest Sororities at UConn, we also have both multicultural and Latin/Hispanic interest sororities. Currently, at UConn, we have one multicultural Sorority, Mu Sigma Upsilon Sorority, Inc., and two Latina/Hispanic Sororities, Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc. and Sigma Lambda Upsilon/Señoritas Latinas Unidas Sorority, Inc.
Mu Sigma Upsilon, or MSU for short, was founded on November 21, 1981, by five Founding Mothers at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. MSU is especially significant as they are the first Multicultural Sorority in the United States. MSU has three main goals they always hope to achieve. These goals include Academic Excellence, Unity Amongst All Women, and University and Community Service. With University and Community Service as one of their main goals, MSU gives back to their community by picking a new beneficiary to fundraise for every year. Unlike other cultural Sororities discussed in this article so far, they don’t have one main philanthropy they fundraise for. Instead, they try their best to fundraise for several organizations that each help make the world a better place in their unique ways. Currently, MSU has over 1,800 Sisters and 67 established Chapters across the nation.
Lambda Theta Alpha, or LTA for short, was the first Latina Sorority in the nation, founded on December 1, 1975, by seventeen Founding Mothers at Kean University in Union, New Jersey. LTA has four main goals they focus on. These goals are Scholarly Excellence, Empowerment of the Universal Woman, Political & Cultural Awareness, and Community Activism. With an emphasis on Community Activism and helping those in need, LTA’s national philanthropy is St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Today LTA has over 10,000 Sisters and over 175 established Chapters all over the United States and Puerto Rico.
Finally, Sigma Lambda Upsilon, or SLU for short, was founded on December 1, 1987, at Binghamton University by four Founding Mothers. Though the Sorority is Latina-based, it isn’t Latina-exclusive and accepts people from various cultural backgrounds. SLU was founded with the mission of providing a long-lasting Sisterhood and creating a sense of pride among the members through intentionally contributing tools to distinguish themselves. The organization is also dedicated to empowering traditionally marginalized groups, but, more specifically, Latinx people and women. SLU has five main goals they aspire to achieve, and these are Sisterhood, Academic Excellence, Leadership, Service to the Community and Campus, and Cultural Enrichment. In addition to these goals, they have three ideals that all Sisters showcase, and these are Sincerity, Loyalty, and Unity. With Service as one of their main goals, SLU gives back to the community by fundraising for their philanthropy of Literacy, which they believe to hold so much power and freedom. Currently, SLU has over 60 established Undergraduate and Graduate chapters across the country.
Overall, as a minority on campus hoping to join Greek Life but not wanting to be a part of the traditional Sorority experience often portrayed in Western media (as I was), cultural Greek Life is a great alternative. Often more underrated and lesser-known, cultural Greek Life gives you the same long-lasting friendships many hope to find while also helping you feel more in touch with your culture and roots. In addition to helping you learn more about yourself, cultural Greek Life also exposes you to many different cultures that you might not be as familiar with or don’t have much exposure to. Generally, cultural Greek Life is also extremely tight-knit, as there tend to not be as many cultural Greek organizations on the traditional college campus. With this article, I hope that during your college experience, you can find a home within these organizations. No matter what your cultural background is, there will always be a place for you.