Editor’s Note: The interested ladies of Lambda Theta Alpha, Latin Sorority Inc. is not the first Latina sorority. Latinas Promoviendo Comunidad/Lambda Pi Chi Sorority, Inc. was founded on March 30, 2003, as the first Latina-based sorority at N.C. State.
An interest group has formed on N.C. State’s campus in hopes of becoming a sorority.
This group, the interested ladies of Lambda Theta Alpha, Latin Sorority Inc., is hoping to be an official N.C. State sorority by next year.
The interest group requires a minimum of seven interested members, as well as meet other standards, according to Ana Murillo, the interest group chair.
“It’s a big process we have to go through in order to cross over to be a sorority,” Murillo said. “We have to have community service events, fundraisers, social events and academic events as a group.”
According to the Lambda Theta Alpha web site, the goals of this sorority are scholarly excellence, empowerment of Latinas and the universal woman, cultural and political awareness and community activism.
“Since we’re an academic and community service oriented group, we are focusing more on the academic and community activism part of the requirements,” Murillo said. “We have requirements by N.C. State we have to meet, and more requirements from the official Lambda Theta Alpha sorority. Our goal is not only to meet these requirements, but to exceed these requirements.”
Lambda Theta Alpha has already participated in multiple service activities including volunteering with Service Raleigh, volunteering with the Latino Visitation Day and volunteering with El Pueblo in the Triangle area.
“We also work with other groups for our service activities,” Murillo said. “We helped out with the Hispanic Cultural Show on campus.”
Murillo, a senior in biological sciences, said she was appointed the chairperson for The Interested Ladies of Lambda Theta Alpha.
“We have to have an organization, but we work together as a team,” Murillo said. “No one person makes the decisions and dictates how the group runs. We make all the decisions together. But we have to have a structure, so we have our officer team.”
Currently, there are nine girls that are members of the interest group. The requirement is only seven. Berenisse Lopez, Dayna Principe and Blanca Cohen are all members of the interest group, as well as officers.
“We are really a group of diverse, strong individual women who embrace Latino culture,” Principe said. “We are a group for everyone that has an appreciation for the Hispanic values. We also strive for academic excellence.”
There are different reasons why anyone can get involved in the interested ladies of Lambda Theta Alpha. Lopez, a junior in civil engineering and the co-chair of the group, said she got involved with this group for a variety of reasons.
“The group concentrates on academics, which is a big thing to me,” Lopez said.
“There are also a lot of scholarship opportunities, and it gives girls a chance to find a sisterhood at N.C. State, which I think is important too. The group is also really active in the community.”
There are freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors involved in this interest group.
“Since this is an academic group, there are minimum GPA requirements. The minimum for an individual is 2.5, but overall, the group has to have a GPA of at least 2.8,” Cohen said.
“Also, members have to attend our weekly meetings and be involved in the Latino community at N.C. State.”
According to Murillo, there are two ways to get involved in the group.
The first way is to attend the weekly meetings, which are held on Thursday and the other way is to email any of the officers of the group.
“Anyone of any background can join,” Cohen said. “You don’t have to be Hispanic; anyone of any background can join. You just have to appreciate Hispanic values.”
