Sorority chapter aims for comeback at JCSU

LAMBDA THETA ALPHA SORORITY

Lambda Theta Alpha sorority’s Zeta Theta chapter was founded in 2015 at Johnson C. Smith University. It shuttered in 2019.

In 2015, Johnson C. Smith made history by adding a Latin sorority, a rarity at historically Black colleges.

Zeta Theta chapter of Lambda Theta Alpha was founded by nine women who wanted their culture represented on campus.

“We saw other colleges had LTA, so we wanted to bring what they had to campus to add some diversity,” said Norma Zuniga, a chapter founding member.

Although Zeta Theta was shuttered in 2019, the sorority is working to re-establish it at JCSU. Candidates for membership must have a minimum 2.5 grade point average and at least 15 credit hours.

“I've been meeting with the organization, and we've had a couple of meetings in reference to their calendar,” said Anthony Brown,” JCSU’s director of student leadership and engagement. “I’m planning a calendar where they could actually get out and meet the students and the students meet them.

“They've also had an opportunity to host a virtual meet and greet and so I’m not really sure the exact number of students that I got on the meet and greet, but they did have one and so the next step is for them to maybe set up a table just to kind of place a name with the face.”

A year before the Lambda Thea Alpha chapter was established, Lambda Theta Phi Latin fraternity launched a chapter at JCSU. It no longer has a campus presence. Both organizations were founded in 1975 at Kean University in Union, New Jersey, and were the first Latin Greek organizations established in the U.S.

Lambda Theta Alpha was founded by 17 women of Latin, Caribbean and European decent, with many of them Afro-Latinas. One goal was to establish a support system for women in higher education.

“Our founding mothers were a part of the women's movement, part of Civil Rights Movement, like they came up in that era,” said Valerie Berkeley, the organization’s regional recruitment and regional supervisor.

“Then on top of that being a woman going to get hired to pursue higher education and pursue a career was not the thing back in the day. So being that you are around this environment that you just want better you want to aspire, but you want to create a space that's your own, that it really uplifts not only your people but people of diverse backgrounds.”

Before going dark, Zeta Theta chapter initiated new members in spring 2016 and 2018.

JCSU has a rich history when it comes to Greek organizations. The campus is home to Divine 9 chapters, most established decades earlier. It made Zeta Theta chapter’s inclusion a challenge in terms of recruiting, members say.

“It was challenging because we had to make sure we had enough interest that were going to stick through it,” Zuniga said. “We also didn’t want to be an outcast or disrespect the campus in any way.”

Like other members of Zeta Theta, Berkeley is working to get the chapter back on campus.

“For me it was more so able to be connected into something bigger than myself,” said Berkeley, who identifies as an Afro-Latina and pledged Lamba Theta Alpha in 1999 at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. “Also, I love that we are Latin by tradition and not by definition. We are also huge on the universal woman. What does that mean? I just don’t check off one box as being a proud Latina. I am many things, I wear many different hats, and I feel like when you get boxed into one space, it limits you,”

Although she is connected to Latin culture, Berkeley said it is not a requirement to join the sorority. But why is there need for a Latin organization at a historically Black college?

“Because we're so rich in our diversity being that we have a mix of African and European descent; a mix of indigenous descent from the Dino and others as well from other parts of Latin America,” she said. “With that richness comes this beautiful, unique experience of being Latino, which is no different than those who go to an HBCU because they want to be connected to the African American experience.

“It doesn't matter if as an Afro Latino, my ancestors were dropped off in Puerto Rico as opposed to any other part of the United States as opposed to others, so there's no difference, just that we have different influences, that's all.” 

That is something JCSU welcomes.

“We love the diversity and what it stands for all,” Brown said. “Our students here come from all different types of backgrounds, and we want organizations to be able to speak to every student on our campus. Although we know that Lambda Theta Alpha does not discriminate based off race, however they do provide opportunities for all students and so that's one of the reasons that we love that organization.”

There is no timeline when the chapter will return to JCSU’s campus but sorors and university staff are actively trying to make it happen.

“It means a lot to want to bring it back after 10 years, because we put so much work when we started and never wanted it to die out,” Zuniga said. “So, hopefully soon, it’ll be back.”

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