Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 11:56, 7 June 2007

Lambda Phi Epsilon
ΛΦΕ
Founded	(1981-02-25) February 25, 1981 (age 43) UCLA
Type	Leadership, Philanthropic, Social
Scope	National
Motto	To be Leaders Among Men ΗΓΕΜΟΝΕΣ ΕΝ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΟΙΣ ΕΙΝΑΙ
Colors	Royal Blue and White
Chapters	46
Nicknames	Lambdas, LPhiE, LFE
Headquarters	105 Kerckhoff Hall Los Angeles, California USA
Website	Lambda Phi Epsilon, Inc

ΛΦΕ (Lambda Phi Epsilon, also known as Lambdas, LPhiE, LFE) is a nationally-recognized Asian-interest fraternity based in the United States. Lambda Phi Epsilon is dedicated to servicing the community through various philanthropies, increasing Asian awareness, promoting academic scholarship, and strengthening the Asian-American voice on campus. Lambda Phi Epsilon is the largest Asian-interest fraternity with a total of 46 chapters in the United States and Canada, and continues to expand to other campuses every year.

History

Founding Fathers

Not satisfied with the single Asian fraternity on the campus of University of California, Los Angeles, principal founder Mr. Craig Ishigo and a group of eighteen other dedicated men decided to form Lambda Phi Epsilon on February 25, 1981. Noting that Asian fraternities and sororities at the UC campuses were recognized only as service organizations due to their memberships focus on specific Asian groups and to the exclusion of other ethnic groups, the goal of the founders was to transcend this limitation. The founders hoped to set new and higher standards of excellence for all Asian-interest organizations to follow, while feeling a need to offer a fraternity that would be recognized by the IFC and the Greek system. While the original charter focused on Asian-Pacifics, people from all ethnic backgrounds were welcome to join and support the brotherhood of Lambda Phi Epsilon. Their vision was that the members would eventually become the leaders of their respective communities and bridge the gaps that divided the Asian American community through an affiliation with a common organization. Mr. Craig Ishigo and Darryl L. Mu signed the charter as president and vice-president, respectively.

• Mr. Hunter Chang
• Mr. Randy Fujimoto
• Mr. John Hanvey

• Mr. Craig Ishigo (Principal founder)
• Mr. Jeff Kaku
• Mr. Bobby Kawai
• Mr. Dean Kumagawa
• Mr. Jim Lee
• Mr. Bruce Mau
• Mr. Ted Mihara
• Mr. Neil Miyazaki
• Mr. Darryl L. Mu
• Mr. Kelvin Sakai
• Mr. Kevin Shida
• Mr. Albert Sun
• Mr. Weyton Tam
• Mr. Jamie Watanabe
• Mr. Bennett Wang
• Mr. Fred Wong

National Expansion

Ever since its founding at the University of California, Los Angeles, Lambda Phi Epsilon has continued to grow and establish presence at campuses all over the nation. Within a few years, the fraternity had chartered to the University of Texas, Austin (Zeta Chapter), the State University of New York, Buffalo (Nu Chapter), and the University of Michigan (Xi Chapter). In 1990, the organization was recognized by the North-American Interfraternity Conference, being the first Asian Interest fraternity to do so. The fraternity has since expanded to all corners of the United States and beyond.

On a side note, Nu Chapter was the Lambda Phi Epsilon's first chapter chartered on the American East Coast. Starting as Delta Gamma Tau, on September 15, 1992, this fraternity merged with Lambda Phi Epsilon (effectively taking on Lambda Phi Epsilon's letters) to unify organizations with identical purposes and to strengthen the Asian-American voice in the campus community.

In December 2004, Lambda Phi Epsilon established a chapter at the University of Toronto, thereby granting Lambda Phi Epsilon unofficial status as an international fraternity.

Philanthropy

For a patient living with leukemia or any other blood disorder, the odds of finding an appropriate match are already slim; their best chance of finding a matching donor lies within their own ethnic community. Unfortunately, Asian donors make up just a small fraction of the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). Because of this, every chapter of Lambda Phi Epsilon hosts several bone marrow drives in conjunction with the Asian American Donor Program, the Cammy Lee Leukemia Foundation, and Asians for Miracle Marrow Matches, to inform, educate, and recruit potential marrow doners for the NMDP. By increasing the number of Asian donors in the national registry, Lambda Phi Epsilon hopes to better the chances of Asian patients finding donors that they are compatible with.

In addition to hosting bone marrow drives on a national level, individual chapters of Lambda Phi Epsilon participate in their own local philanthropies including Habitat for Humanity, AIDS walks, beach clean-ups, and assisting the elderly community.

Chapters

Lambda Phi Epsilon has a total of 46 chapters in North America. More than half of its chapters are concentrated in California (13 chapters), New York (8 chapters), and Texas (4 chapters). A complete list of Lambda Phi Epsilon's chapters can be found at the link given above.

National Convention

Every year, Lambda Phi Epsilon holds an annual convention during Memorial Day weekend at various locations around the nation. Convention is a national event for members to get together for business and pleasure, and is one of the largest Asian-American gatherings in the United States. Parties and after-parties are held all weekend as well as Brotherhood showcases where members from their respective chapters can perform a dance or step. The winning chapter is awarded a sword called "Keight," a figurative trophy passed down from the previous year's winner. Meetings are held to elect national board members and review current policies, and career development workshops are set up to help current members develop skills used in the professional world. The weekend is closed off with a final banquet.

In 2006, Lambda Phi Epsilon's UCLA chapter hosted Convention XVII which marked the twenty-fifth (silver) anniversary of the fraternity and was held in the fraternity's founding city, Los Angeles. Over 90% of the original founders were confirmed to attend.

Noted Alumni

• Yul Kwon - winner of Survivor: Cook Islands and one of People magazine's Sexiest Men for 2006

Controversy

San José State University

In January 2003, Lambda Phi Epsilon member and junior at SJSU, Alam Kim, was killed in a fight between members of Lambda Phi Epsilon and Pi Alpha Phi. Alam Kim was an alumnus of Lowell High School in San Francisco, California, where he commanded the Lowell Boys Drill Team. Friends say Alam was trying to stop the fight between the two fraternities before he was killed by getting stabbed through his heart. Although a homicide suspect has not been singled out, a $1 million warrant was issued for Long Duy Tran, a 20-year-old San Jose man who is considered a major suspect in the incident.

UC Irvine

In 2005, the UC Irvine chapter was officially suspended due to an open investigation surrounding the death of a Cal Poly Pomona pledge. On August 8 2005, pledges attempting to establish a chapter of Lambda Phi Epsilon at Cal Poly Pomona were participating in a football game with actives from UC Irvine. One pledge, Kenny Luong, was injured and died in the hospital on August 30 2005. Police reported they had no evidence of any criminal activity that led to Luong's death, but still decided to conduct an investigation . In April 2007, Luong's family sued Lambda Phi Epsilon and the University of California, although no criminal charges have been filed in the case.

A participant described the incident as “a hazing disguised as a football game .” According to two witnesses who participated in the football game, the football game consisted of forty Lambda Phi Epsilon alumni and active members against ten pledges. The pledge team was also significantly smaller and less physically fit than the bigger, more numerous UCI Lambdas. Players wore no helmets or pads, and were allowed access to water only at halftime.". After the incident, the remaining pledges decided to forego the plans for a new chapter and instead started a campus community service group in honor of Luong.

University of Texas at Austin

In December 2005, Phanta Phoummarath, a new member of Lambda Phi Epsilon, died at the University of Texas at Austin due to alcohol poisoning. Reportedly, it was the night of "installation," a post-crossing celebration. After ingesting large amounts of alcohol (the medical examiner reported his blood-alcohol content was more than five times higher than the level needed to prove intoxication in Texas), other party-goers defaced his body with anti-gay epithets and obscene drawings. According to a probable cause affidavit, Phoummarath died after a heavy night of drinking in which fraternity members chanted for him and six other new members to finish as many as eight bottles of vodka, whiskey, rum, and other drinks being passed around. The university suspended Lambda Phi Epsilon's status as a registered student organization until December 19, 2011. Phoumarrath's family is also suing the fraternity .

External links

• Lambda Phi Epsilon National Website
• Lambda Phi Epsilon - Nor Cal Regional Website
• Lambda Phi Epsilon - Northeast Regional Website
• Lambda Phi Epsilon - Southeast Regional Website
• Lambda Phi Epsilon - Southwest Regional Website
• Lambda Phi Epsilon - Midwest Regional Website

• 1981 establishments
• International student societies
• North-American Interfraternity Conference
• United States student societies
• Asian American organizations