FGCUBETAS

It all started with one man, and his dream to create an organization that not only recognized the culture of Latinos, but also accepted those from any and every background in the world. Today, the dream is alive and well. The Fraternity represents hundreds upon hundreds of nationalities from all over the globe. Not only that, but there are fifteen alumni organizations in place and more than 100 universities in over 29 states from coast to coast have an entity of Sigma Lambda Beta on their campus. 

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It was the Fall semester in the year 1985 when Founding Father Baltazar Mendoza Madrigal started pondering the idea of creating a Fraternity that was Latino-based at the University of Iowa. He gathered a large amount of detailed research over the course of a few months and on March 7, 1986, a meeting was held with some students of Latino descent at the Chicano Indian American Cultural Center. The current name for building is the Latino Native American Cultural Center. The main idea of the meeting was to talk about the importance of generating a social Fraternity that heavily emphasizes on the culture of Latinos.

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Those who were present at the meeting knew that they wanted to make the Latino community a more engaged and cohesive group, all while creating a positive representation of Latinos at the University. The Latino community was unfortunately separated into different subgroups and the Caucasian race was more than dominant on campus. This however, did nothing but motivate these men to achieve their ultimate goal. There was great interest throughout the University about this Fraternity being formed. Word was spreading around campus rapidly and people knew that greatness was about to happen. After weeks upon months of meetings and planning sessions, the eighteen Founding Fathers established the Alpha Chapter on April 4th, 1986. This date is the official founding date of Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Incorporated.

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