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The Hermandad on Campus

They call one another hermanas.  There are nine of them.  Each one has a different ethnicity, which includes Irish, African American, Puerto Rican, German and a few others.  Who are these “hermanas”?  They are the nine women members of the sorority Latinas Promoviendo Comunidad/Lambda Pi Chi Sorority, Inc.

This is the newest sorority at our C.W. Post campus, as it was introduced this past spring.  This particular chapter is Upsilon, and was founded by nine students; Megan Williams, Alexandra Hochstrasser, Dana Munoz, Neidylin Morales, Nhya East, Lana Rosado, Kimberly Hughes, Melissa Herrera, and Vanessa Aden.

Latinas Promoviendo Comunidad/Lambda Pi Chi Sorority, Inc., or as the members like to call it, LPC, was originally founded at Cornell University on April 16, 1988.  It was the first Latina sorority to be founded at an Ivy League institution.  However, although “Lambda Pi Chi was Latina-founded, it is not Latin-exclusive,” said Nhya East, one of the founding members at Post.

LPC’s main focus is on the professional and academic advancement of all ethnicities, combined with community service.  “We like to make our community aware of social and cultural issues affecting the community at large,” East said.  “But specifically the Latina community.”  They focus on empowering women.  “A lot of cultural organizations use numbers for their pledges,” said Alex Hochstrasser, vice president of LPC.  “But we don’t.  We never want you to forget who you are during your process and identify yourself as a number.  We want to empower you from who you already are.”

The idea of bringing LPC to Post was brought by a fellow hermana of the sorority, Janine Morgan.  “She was formally the Resident Hall Director of Kings and Suffolk halls,” Hochstrasser said.  “She had no intentions of bringing the sorority here, but after more and more women came to her asking questions about it, she gave us the email of the expansion committee of the sorority.”  Well, the rest is history!

Since LPC is new to Post, the hermanas are still promoting their sorority and making their presence known here on campus.  “We have felt very welcomed by the C.W. Post community,” said Megan Williams, President of Upsilon chapter.  “We hope to continue to grow as an individual organization as well.”  East added that they are doing everything they can. “This semester is like our trial run,” East said.  “People are starting to see our letters and starting to know who we are.”

This sorority has held numerous events already, including the “Flea Market,” which was co-sponsored with other Greek organizations; the dance-athon held in the Tilles Atrium a few weeks ago; and a “Friend or Foe” game show, which was co-sponsored with Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity.

“Community service is big for us,” East said.  LPC has dedicated and continues to dedicate much of their time towards events such as the blood drive, homeless awareness week, and Homecoming, among a few others.  East continued to say that contributing to the community in this way her sorority fulfills its main message to Post students.  “We want people to know not only what’s going on with Post life, but what’s going on in the outside world.  It’s important to be aware the professional world too because that’s what’s waiting for us outside of Post.”

But LPC has characteristics that are unlike any other sorority or fraternity on campus.  Many of the Greek organizations are centralized on one ethnicity or culture. “I respect all of the Greek orgs. but I just didn’t have a connection with the ones already here,” East said.  “So when I found out that other women were trying to bring this [LPC] to campus, I thought it’d be more of a diverse group to choose from.”

“Every organization has its own special aspect to it,” Hochstrasser added.  “Every organization is different from one another here at Post, it just all depends on which one fits you.”

 

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