La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Inc.

La Fraternidad

Our Story - The Movement Starts at Cornell University

The Idea
A conversation was started by a group of Latinos on campus in the summer of 1981which brought up the fact that there was a need for a Latino fraternity at Cornell University. At the time, there was little choice for Latinos who wanted to join a fraternity; you either joined a traditionally white fraternity or a traditionally black one. This group of Latinos began not only to talk about the idea of creating a Latino fraternity, but to take some steps towards building one. From that summer conversation sprung informal meetings to discuss the idea.

Everyone during the Minority Summer Program agreed that there was a need for brotherhood and unity as well as a need for more cultural expression and exchange of ideas between Latinos at Cornell, but very few were willing to commit to more than words. This new fraternity was to not be a typical fraternity - less Animal House and more one of true Latino Unity and Culture and academic excellence. This new fraternity needed to shine for its Latino pride and represent all that is good in our people and culture.

The Early Days
That following semester (Fall 1981) the work began on organizing the Latino fraternity. The organizing was slow. Most people indicated an interest in the mission, but few committed themselves. The first few meetings were attended by only a handful of people. After the fourth meeting, the core group had expanded. A club, La Unidad Latina was registered with the university on 9/15/81. The intent was to register first as a club and then officially become a fraternity. After much work at recruiting people, the fraternity started to gain form. From approximately 30 interested men, La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity was formed with 13 members:

• Hernando Londono	Sophomore Engineering
• Victor Silva	Sophomore Pre-Medicine
• Jesse Luis	Sophomore Engineering
• Jose Torres	Junior Pre-Medicine
• Henry Villareal	Faculty Advisor
• William Barba	Senior Pre-Medicine
• Dennis DeJesus	Sophomore Pre-Medicine
• Samuel Ramos	Senior Engineering
• Edwin Rivera	Junior Engineering
• Tomas Rincon	Sophomore Engineering
• Mario Rivera	Junior Engineering
• Victor Rodriguez	Senior Economics
• Jim Ziebell	Cornell Administrator

La Unidad Latina is Established

It was very tough to get engineers and pre-meds to give up any of their free time, but in spite of this, we marched forward. The fraternity was finally registered as an official fraternity with the university in the beginning of the second semester, January 1982. On Friday, February 19th 1982, an initiation ceremony was held at Henry Villareals (our faculty advisor) home, and we became the Founding Fathers (Los Fundadores) of La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity. La Fraternidad uses the February 19, 1982, as the founding date because it was at this ceremony, that the group formally took their oaths and became Hermanos of La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Inc.

At the inception of La Fraternidad, Faculty Advisor Henry Villareal and Cornell Administrator Jim Ziebell, asked to become Hermanos. This was very important to, because it showed that what the members were doing was something special. Being primarily a group of sophomores and juniors, it was an honor when these two faculty members asked to join. Henry helped to provide a foundation for the young organization. He also provided much needed guidance and counseling to the group as well as to all Hermanos individually.

The Future
The real test of a successful organization is what happens after the founders are no longer running the day to day activity.

We are now going into our 25th year anniversary and LUL is going strong and leading as the premier Latino/Greek organization. There are of course still many growing pains and we are still evolving.

The fact of the matter is that as a group, Latinos have many formidable challenges. One of the biggest is in the area of education. We feel obligated to give back to the community and hopefully inspire or be a role model to a young brother or sister to help them realize that they too can excel at whatever they set their mind to. We believe that there is room for various types of organizations, alumni, professional, cultural, etc. as well as fraternities and sororities. What sets the fraternities/sororities apart, is the level of interaction and commitment of its members. There is a much deeper experience when someone considers the other person an Hermano, in comparison to just another member of an organization. That is not to say that a Fraternity can or should replace those other organizations. On the contrary, both can benefit from their mutual existence.

With this said, we believe that we really have an obligation to get involved and do what we can to help out and give back some of our time and resources to help those that come behind us. weI would also like to invite you to explore the possibilities of joining LUL, at the professional level, where the focus is on networking/mentoring and community service, and of course, experiencing that extra special feeling of being an Hermano. For the women reading this, there are of course many Latina Sororities that would love to have you and your experiences and expertise. The bottom line is we need to get involved and give.

La Hermandad

Brotherhood
La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Incorporated recognizes the importance of focusing the strength of many on a common purpose. As a result, the Brotherhood emphasizes community involvement, with an eye towards leading by example. By organizing and encouraging participation in volunteer efforts, La Hermandad increases the effectiveness of its ability to provide services to those most in need. As it forges a new and difficult path, Lambda Upsilon Lambda welcomes the participation of everyone with a legitimate desire to help the Latino community.

In the cultural arena, every chapter of La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Incorporated dedicates itself to exploring and propogating the vast richness of the Latino heritage. By sharing our history and culture with each other and those in the more general community, the Brotherhood gains a much better understanding of itself, while at the same time, raising public consciousness. In addition, La Unidad Latina ensures that as the organization advances and grows it does not forget the roots from which it came.

Finally, La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Incorporated functions socially in a unique and positive manner and providing an atmosphere in which each Hermano can be himself and relate to others who share similar backgrounds and experiences. Most importantly, in creating a feeling of familia, every Hermano has a place which he can truly call home, a place where he will be respected and supported. In doing so, La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Incorporated redefines the concept of Brotherhood.