Lambda Chi Alpha
| Lambda Chi Alpha | |
|---|---|
| ΛΧΑ | |
| File:Lxa coat.gif | |
| Founded | November 2, 1909 Boston University |
| Type | Social Fraternity |
| Motto | Every Man a Man.
Naught Without Labor. Crescent through the Cross. |
| Colors | Royal Purple, Kelly Green, and Old Gold |
| Symbol | Cross and Crescent |
| Flower | White Tudor Rose |
| Headquarters | 8741 Founders Rd. Indianapolis, Indiana USA |
| Website | http://www.lambdachi.org |
ΛΧΑ (Lambda Chi Alpha), headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, is one of the largest men's general fraternities in North America with more than 250,000 initiated members and chapters (called Zetas) at more than 300 universities. It was founded by Warren A. Cole, while he was a student at Boston University, on November 2, 1909. The youngest of the twenty largest social fraternities, Lambda Chi Alpha has initiated the third highest number of men ever.
It was the first fraternity to abolish pledging and remains a leader in the fight against hazing, alcohol abuse, and other challenges facing today's college students.
Lambda Chi Alpha seeks to promote higher education by providing opportunities for academic achievement, leadership, and lifelong friendships. Its open mottos are Vir Quisque Vir (Latin) Every Man a Man; Per Crucem Crescens (Latin) Crescent through the Cross; and Χαλεπα Τα Καλα (Greek) Naught Without Labor. Its members are often referred to as Lambda Chis or Choppers.
Creed
The Creed of Lambda Chi Alpha
We believe in Lambda Chi Alpha, and its traditions, principles and ideals. The crescent is our symbol; pure, high, ever growing, and the cross is our guide; denoting service, sacrifice, and even suffering and humiliation before the world, bravely endured if need be, in following that ideal.
May we have faith in Lambda Chi Alpha and passion for its welfare. May we have hope for the future of Lambda Chi Alpha and strength to fight for its teachings. May we have pure hearts that we may approach the ideal of perfect brotherly love.
History
Founding
Unlike most fraternities, Lambda Chi Alpha began as the dream of one man, Warren Albert Cole. He was born in Swansea, Massachusetts, and attended high school at Taunton and Fall River. While in high school, he was involved with a preparatory fraternity. He entered Brown University for a few weeks, but eventually transferred to Boston University's Law School in the fall of 1909.
One of his earliest ventures of starting a fraternity took place at a meeting with his first cousin and a more distant relative on November 2, 1909. The date was later selected as the first formal step in Lambda Chi Alpha, but in later years, Cole said that the date had little significance.
He was a young man of pleasing personality, ordinary means, limited experience, and no unusual talents except a dogged determination to found an international college fraternity. It is hard to believe that all alone he deliberately set out to challenge the prestigious fraternity world which already boasted 46 strong, well-established organizations. His unquestioning faith in himself and unwavering belief in his mission are the only explanations for his remarkable achievement.
Cole first made some unsuccessful attempts at starting a fraternity, about which we know little more than names: "The Lodge," "Tombs," "Lambda Pi," then it was Lambda Chi Alpha—"Loyal Collegiate Associates," until a new meaning was adopted in 1913.
Cole boldly approached many local groups at colleges and universities throughout the Northeast in hopes of finding others willing to join his new fraternity. Before the acquisition of Lambda Chi Alpha's first functioning chapter, Cole had corresponded with or visited 117 institutions.
Expansion
Early in 1912, Warren Cole, as was his custom in attempting to establish a chapter at a school, wrote to a student at Massachusetts Agricultural College (MAC) in Amherst (now the University of Massachusetts) asking the names of the Greek-letter fraternities on campus and the names of at least two "good, non-fraternity men." Herbert E. Cole responded with the names of six Greek-letter groups and two names, including that of Lewis Drury. Warren Cole wrote to Drury asking if he was interested in forming a Greek-letter society. Apparently Drury was quite interested, as he had his agronomy professor write a letter of recommendation to Warren Cole.
The MAC petition was duly submitted and quickly approved—after all, it was Cole's first success in attracting a group after more than one hundred futile efforts. Lambda Chi Alpha's first established chapter, Gamma Zeta, was born.
During the spring of 1912, Albert Cross, a student in the department of civil engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, received a letter from Warren Cole indicating that he had received Cross' name from a mutual acquaintance and that he would like to form a chapter of Lambda Chi Alpha at Pennslyvania.
Cross liked Cole's idea and began talking with some of his friends. One of these friends was John E. "Jack" Mason, whom Cross had met in a French class that summer. Mason, who had hardly been interested in existing fraternities at Penn, suggested to another friend, Raymond Ferris, that they "take a shot at" establishing a chapter of Lambda Chi Alpha.
Thus, with colossal nerve, Cross, Mason, Ferris, and five other men dared to launch a fraternity chapter on a campus with an abundance of long-established national fraternities. But with determination, Epsilon Zeta began.
Following the addition of Zeta Zeta at Penn State, the infant fraternity now felt confident in contacting established local groups. Cole made the acquaintance of members of Sigma Phi Delta at Brown and won its affiliation. A "picked delegation" at MIT proved successful. By the beginning of 1913, Delta Kappa at Maine was admitted as the seventh chapter.
Theta Kappa Nu
As the Great Depression was drawing to a close, many fraternities were struggling in terms of membership and finances. Theta Kappa Nu began seeing its chapters shut down for the first time in the early 1930s, and was forced to reduce fees in 1933 and again in 1935 to maintain its membership. Meanwhile, Lambda Chi had lost one third of its membership. In 1938 a merger committee was formed.[1]
In 1939, Lambda Chi Alpha merged with the Theta Kappa Nu Fraternity at Howard University, now known as Samford University, in Birmingham, AL. The merger increased the number of chapters from 77 to 105 and the number of members from 20,000 to 27,000. At the time, this was the largest merger in fraternity history.[2] All Theta Kappa Nu chapters became Lambda Chi Alpha chapters and were given Zeta (chapter) designations that began with either Theta, Kappa or Nu.[3]
Associate Membership and Fraternity Education
Perhaps the most fundamental change which was made at this Assembly was the complete elimination of pledgeship, and the adoption of fraternity education to replace pledge education. … We feel in fact that this action is one of the most significant changes by any fraternity in the past fifty years. — George W. Spasyk following the 1972 General Assembly
When Lambda Chi ended its pledging program in 1972, it was the first fraternity to do so. The Associate Member program was created to take its place. An Associate Member (AM) of Lambda Chi is entitled to all of the rights and privileges of a fully initiated member. Accordingly, he also bears the same responsibilities as a brother. An AM is prohibited from few things before he is initiated: he may not run for the office of Ritualist (High Phi); he may not serve as the Official Delegate to the General Assembly, and he may not vote on his own initiation or the disassociation of an initiated member. Unlike most pledge programs, however, AMs do not have separate meetings or officers. Indeed, there is no "Associate Member Class," as the entire concept of the AM program is designed to encourage chapter, rather than class, unity. That principle also implies that there is no separate dress code or work responsibilities for AMs.
Similarly, the concept of "fraternity education" replaces "pledge education." The fraternity education program is designed to include all members of the chapter equally. There are no separate tests or quizzes for AMs. The program of fraternity education should be designed to integrate the new member into the chapter as a whole, develop a standard of treatment that treats associate members and initiates completely equally, and should continue throughout a member's undergraduate years.[4]
Hazing
Lambda Chi prohibits hazing of any form, on or off campus, by any of its members. The fraternity's definition of hazing is broadly defined as "any action taken or situation created intentionally to produce physical discomfort or mental discomfort by embarrassment, harassment, or ridicule.”[5] Activities involving all members equally (brothers and associates) are not considered hazing.
North American Food Drive
The North American Food Drive is Lambda Chi's nationally sponsored philanthropic event. It is possibly the largest charitable single-day event organized by any collegiate organization. This event was modeled after Theta-Eta Zeta's (Millsaps College) "Pantry Raid". [6] Since its creation in 1993, this international event has raised over 21.3 million pounds of food for the hungry. Annually, over 100 chapters bring in more than 2 million pounds of food. In 2004, 142 chapters collected 2.928 million pounds of food.[7]
Notable members
Lambda Chi Alpha has many members who have gone on to great professional distinction in nearly every major field.
Chapters
Chapter naming
Chapters of Lambda Chi are interchangeably referred to as Zetas.
Most Greek societies name their chapters using the Greek alphabet. The order usually follows one of two patterns: one which names chapters alphabetically nationally e.g. Alpha-Beta chapter, the other by state e.g. Indiana-Alpha chapter. Lambda Chi Alpha is unique in its naming scheme. The order in which they are named is not alphabetical, but, rather, a variation on the Greek alphabet. When the fraternity was founded, Warren Cole assigned Greek letters to groups that had not yet been chartered. Predictably, not all of these groups were chartered. As a result, the first seven Zetas were designated: Α, Γ, Ε, Ζ, Ι, Λ, and Β, in that order. Jack Mason created a twenty-four word mnemonic device with words representing each Greek letter once — the first seven words were in the order that the Zetas were already named. “A good energetic Zeta is Lambda's boast ‘Strength from Delta Pi’ our motto to each through union; excellent character only, knowing no retreating steps.” Therefore, the chapters are named in the order: Α, Γ, Ε, Ζ, Ι, Λ, Β, Σ, Φ, Δ, Π, Ο, Μ, Τ, Η, Θ, Υ, Ξ, Χ, Ω, Κ, Ν, Ρ, Ψ. After the twenty-fourth chapter, the sequence was continued with a prefix (Α-Α, Α-Γ, Α-Ε..., Γ-Α, Γ-Γ, Γ-Ε, ..., Ε-A, etc.)
When Theta Kappa Nu merged with Lambda Chi in 1939, a scheme was adopted to name the new chapters, and the original scheme was modified, as well. The former Theta Kappa Nu chapters were all given Zeta designations prefixed with Θ, Κ, or Ν. The second letter of their chapter name was assigned in the order mentioned above and applied to the chapters in order of their precedence in Theta Kappa Nu. On twenty-one campuses, chapters of both Lambda Chi and Theta Kappa Nu existed. In those cases, the chapter of Lambda Chi kept its original designation, and the letter which would have been assigned to the chapter of Theta Kappa Nu was permanently retired.
A singular exception, the chapter at Georgia Tech, Β-Κ Zeta, was named in recognition of its existence as a chapter of the national fraternity Beta Kappa, whose other existing chapters merged with Theta Chi in 1942.[8]
Chapter locations
Chapters of Lambda Chi represent the fraternity in all of the forty-eight contiguous United States, with a colony in Alaska. Four of Canada's ten Provinces also are home to several chapters and/or colonies.
- 1909: Swansea, MA
- 1920: 261 Pierce St, Kingston, PA 18704
- 1920: 160 S Main St, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701
- 1920: 30-40 N Pennsylvania St, Indianapolis, IN 46205
- 1923: 136 E Market St, Indianapolis, IN 46204
- 1930: 55 Monument Cir, Indianapolis, IN 46204
- 1940: 2029 N Meridian St, Indianapolis, IN 46202
- 1954: 3434 N Washington Blvd, Indianapolis, IN 46205
- 1974: 8741 Founders Rd, Indianapolis, IN 46268
Contact information
Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity 8741 Founders Road Indianapolis, IN 46268 (317) 872-8000
Notes and references
- ^ Lambda Chi Alpha History Timeline: The Union
- ^ Bly, Betsy K. (Ed.) (2000). The Paedagogus (48th ed.), p. 57. Indianapolis, Lambda Chi Alpha.
- ^ Bly, Betsy K. (Ed.) (2000). The Paedagogus (48th ed.), p. 120. Indianapolis, Lambda Chi Alpha.
- ^ Bly, Betsy K. (Ed.) (2000). The Paedagogus (48th ed.), pp. 10-11. Indianapolis, Lambda Chi Alpha.
- ^ Constitution and statutory code of the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity Code VI-10
- ^ [1]
- ^ History of the North American Food Drive
- ^ Leonard, Edward F., George W. McDaniel, Charles S. Peyser (Eds.) (1987). Ritual: What and Why, p. 28. Indianapolis, Lambda Chi Alpha.
External links
- Lambda Chi Alpha International Fraternity — official home page.
- Cross & Crescent — alumni magazine.
- General Assembly Resolutions of Lambda Chi Alpha — a listing of resolutions adopted between the thirty-ninth and forty-fifth General Assemblies.
- Famous Lambda Chi Alpha brothers at Lambda Chi Alpha's George Washington University chapter web site.
- Famous Lambda Chi Alpha brothers at Notable Names Database.
- The Political Graveyard:Lambda Chi Alpha — a partial listing of U.S. politicians who were Lambda Chis.
- Current list of Congressional Greeks
- From Congress to Campus - an article on former Senator Trible with a sidebar of former Lambda Chis who served as U.S. Senators.