Lambda Pi Upsilon

Lambda Pi Upsilon Sorority, Latinas Poderosas Unidas, Inc (ΛΠΥ, LPiU), is a Latina oriented national sorority founded in 1992 at the State University of New York at Geneseo.^[1][2][3] Its founders believed that the problems of womanhood, particularly those of Latinas, needed to be addressed and resolved on campus by seeking unity and cultural identity.^[4][5]

Lambda Pi Upsilon
ΛΠΥ
Founded	November 6, 1992; 31 years ago (1992-11-06) SUNY Geneseo
Type	Social
Affiliation	NALFO
Emphasis	Latina
Scope	National (United States)
Motto	Con Amor, Dignidad, y Orgullo (With Love, Dignity and Pride)
Pillars	Family, Advancement, Education, Motivation, Learning, and Exposure
Colors	Red   White   Gold   Black
Flower	Fire and Ice Rose
Jewel	Emerald
Mascot	Spotted Jaguar
Philanthropy	Children and Asthma Awareness
Chapters	20
Colonies	4
Nickname	Lambda Divas LPiU
Headquarters	New York City, New York United States
Website	Official website

The sorority is a member of the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO).^[6]

History

Lambda Pi Upsilon began with six women at the State University of New York at Geneseo who sought to fight and address increasing social issues involving women in their community, particularly Latina women.^[4][5] Located on a predominantly caucasian campus, these six women were driven to find a sense of unity and commonality by approaching the ideas of cultural identity and growth of mind.^[7][5] They created Lambda Pi Upsilon Sorority Inc. on November 6, 1992.^[7][5] Referred to as the Six Pillars of Strength or the Founding Mothers, these women were:^[7][5]

• Sandra Mosquera-Valerio
• Lisette Pineda
• Maria Fritz-Rodriguez
• Glorivy Arce
• Ebony Robinson
• Nancy Martinez^[8]

Lambda Pi Upsilon seeks to "empower initiates to educate others about the fallacy of the negative stereotypes that surround Latinos, to act as a role model, to work for the advancement of women, and to emphasize the importance of higher education."^[9]

The sorority is a member of the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO).^[6] It is overseen by a national board of directors based in New York City.^[10][11] Leaders meet at the Empowerment Conference which is a convention held each January.^[12]

Symbols and traditions

The sorority's colors are red, white, gold, and black.^[13][14][8] Its mascot is the spotted jaguar and its gemstone is the emerald.^[13][14][8] Its flower is the "Fire and Ice" rose, a white rose with red tips.^[13][14][8] Members are referred to as Lambda Divas and experience a sisterhood or Hermandad.^[5][8]

The motto of Lambda Pi Upsilon is "Con Amor, Dignidad, y Orgullo" or "With Love, Dignity and Pride".^{[13][14][8][15]} The sorority's six founding principles or pillars of strength are family, advancement, education, motivation, learning, and exposure or the acronym F.E.M.A.L.E.^[7][5]

Membership

Lambda Pi Upsilon Sorority, Latinas Poderosas Unidas, Inc. welcomes women who are interested in a young and developing organization who also want to become leaders within their communities. Although the sorority is Latina-based, membership is not exclusive to Latina women.

Activities

Members of Lambda Pi Upsilon host numerous annual events for members and other people to attend. The Sisterhood Retreat is a legacy that was started by the founding mothers to help members of the sorority to bond with each other over a weekend of workshops and storytelling each August.^[12] The first Sisterhood Retreat was held on August 4–6, 1995 in SUNY Geneseo.

The Emerald Gala is an event hosted in New York City every five years to celebrate the growth and accomplishments of the organization.^[12]

Chapters also help with campus celebrations of Hispanic Heritage Month.^[16][17]

THe sorority also has a national step team, PODER.^[10][2][11]

Philanthropy

As an organization, Lambda Pi Upsilon adopted children as its national philanthropy.^[14][18] However, with the death of one of their members from asthma, Lambda Pi Upsilon has also focused its attention on asthma awareness as part of their philanthropic work and also partner with the American Lung Association for various awarenss activities.^[14][18]

At a local level, chapters and members of Lambda Pi Upsilon also participate in other events and support other charities, including the AIDS Walk, autism awareness, Breast Cancer Walk, and the March of Dimes.^[18]

Chapters

Collegiate chapters

Following is a list of Lambda Pi Upsilon collegiate chapters.^[1][10][11] Active chapters are indicated in bold. Inactive chapters are in italics.

Chapter	Chartered	Institution	Location	Status	References
Alpha	November 6, 1992	State University of New York at Geneseo	Geneseo, New York	Inactive	^[5]
Beta	1994	Buffalo Region (University of Buffalo and Buffalo State College)	Buffalo, New York	Active	^[19]
Gamma	199x ?–200x ?	Rochester Region	Rochester, New York	Colony	^[10]
Delta	1996	Columbia University	New York City, New York	Active
Epsilon	1997	St. John’s University	New York City, New York	Active	^[20]
Eta	1999	Westchester Region	Westchester County, New York	Active
Theta	2000	University of Connecticut	Storrs, Connecticut	Active
Iota	2003	New York University	New York City, New York	Active
Kappa	January 2, 2005 – 2007	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	Urbana, Illinois	Inactive	^[21]
Lambda	2005	Syracuse Region	Syracuse, New York	Active
Mu	2007	New York City Metropolitan Region	New York City, New York	Active
Nu	2008	Boston Region (Newbury College, Boston College, Boston University and Northeastern University)	Boston, Massachusetts	Active
Xi	2009	Southern Connecticut State University	New Haven, Connecticut	Active
Omicron	April 2010	State University of New York at New Paltz	New Paltz, New York	Active	^[22]
Pi		Perpetual		Memorial	^[10]
Rho	2011	Fairleigh Dickinson University Metropolitan Campus	New Jersey	Active
Sigma	2013	University of Bridgeport	Bridgeport, Connecticut	Active
Tau	2014	New Jersey City University	Jersey City, New Jersey	Active
Upsilon	2015	University of New Haven	West Haven, Connecticut	Active
Phi	2017	State University of New York at Plattsburgh	Plattsburgh, New York	Active
Chi	2019	Wichita State University	Wichita, Kansas	Active	^[14]^[15]
Psi		Binghamton University	Binghamton, New York	Colony
Omega		Pittsburg State University	Pittsburg, Kansas	Colony	^[9]^[a]
Alpha Alpha		Trinity College	Hartford, Connecticut	Colony

Notes

1. Colony was established in 2019.

Graduate chapters

Following is a list of Lambda Pi Upsilon alumnae chapters.

Chapter	Chartered	Region	Location	Status	References
Zeta Alpha		New York City Region	New York City, New York		^[10]
Zeta Beta		New York Upstate Region	Rochester, New York		^[10]
Zeta Gamma		South Florida Region	Florida		^[10]
Zeta Delta		Connecticut Region	Connecticut
Zeta Epsilon		Service Members Division
Zeta Zeta		Illinois Region	Illinois
Zeta Eta		Massachusetts Region	Massachusetts
Zeta Theta		New Jersey Region	New Jersey

See also

• Cultural interest fraternities and sororities

References

1. Lurding, Carroll and Becque, Fran. (December 3, 2022) "Lamba Pi Upsilon". Almanac of Fraternities and Sororities. Urbana: University of Illinois. Accessed October 13, 2023.
2. Fine, Elizabeth Calvert (2003). Soulstepping: African American Step Shows. University of Illinois Press. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-252-02475-7 – via Google Books.
3. Torbenson, Craig LaRon; Parks, Gregory (2009). Brothers and Sisters: Diversity in College Fraternities and Sororities. Associated University Presse. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-8386-4194-1 – via Google Books.
4. "History". Kataclysmic Kappa Chapter Lamba Pi Upsilon Sorority University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
5. . Lambda Pi Upsilon Sorority. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
6. "Member Organizations – National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations". nalfo.org. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
7. "Six Pillars of Strength". Outrageous Omicron Divas of Lambda Pi Upsilon Sorority. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
8. "Facts". Kataclysmic Kappa Chapter Lamba Pi Upsilon Sorority University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
9. Younker, Emily (2019-12-07). "As Hispanic enrollment grows, universities explore strategies to help them succeed". Joplin Globe. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
10. "Entities". Kataclysmic Kappa Chapter Lamba Pi Upsilon Sorority University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
11. . Lambda Pi Upsilon Sorority. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
12. . Lambda Pi Upsilon Sorority. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
13. . Lambda Pi Upsilon Sorority. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
14. "WSU Welcomes New Sorority Lambda Pi Upsilon Sorority, Latinas Poderosas Unidas, Inc" (PDF). Wichita State University. Student Involvement. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
15. Robinson, Drake (September 25, 2018). "Wichita State welcomes new Latina-oriented sorority". The Sunflower. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
16. Gerdelmann, Marybeth. "Lambda Pi Upsilon and L.A.S.O. team up to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month". The Torch. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
17. Montner, Marshall (September 23, 2021). "John Quiñones Kicks Off Latine Heritage Month at Trinity College". Trinity College. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
18. . Lambda Pi Upsilon Sorority. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
19. Cady, Ben; Lewis, Jeff; Burns, Adam (2005). SUNY Buffalo: Off the Record. College Prowler, Inc. p. 106. ISBN 978-1-59658-168-5.
20. McDonald, Mark (2011-03-15). St. John's University 2012. College Prowler. ISBN 978-1-4274-9750-5 – via Google Books.
21. "Chapter History". Kataclysmic Kappa Chapter Lamba Pi Upsilon Sorority University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
22. "Home". Outrageous Omicron Divas of Lambda Pi Upsilon Sorority. Retrieved 2023-10-14.

External links

• National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations, Inc.,