Georgia State’s Multicultural Greek Council is the largest Greek council on campus. The MGC is home to many of Georgia State’s ethnically and culturally based sororities and fraternities.
There are 13 Greek organizations under the council, five fraternities and eight sororities.
The fraternities are Alpha Iota Omicron, Delta Epsilon Psi, Lambda Theta Phi Latin, Lambda Upsilon Lambda and Pi Delta Psi.
The sororities are Delta Phi Lambda, Delta Phi Omega, Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Omega Phi Beta, Sigma Alpha Omega Christian Sorority, Sigma Lambda Upsilon, Sigma Sigma Rho and Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority.
The passion and focus for fraternities and sororities under the MGC rest on bringing together people from similar backgrounds, especially in minority communities.
Work
Fraternities under MGC, such as Delta Epsilon Psi, focus on brotherhood, philanthropy and maintaining healthy relationships.
“We’re all so extremely different, yet I can genuinely say we all love each other,” Chelsey Kelly, president of Sigma Alpha Omega Christian, said.
A very purposeful goal many of these organizations have is to create a “safe space” for those of similar backgrounds to find themselves.
“However, we all strive for one ultimate mission which is the empowerment of minorities. As the motto states, ‘Unique in culture, united in purpose,’” Leslie Garcia, president of Sigma Lambda Upsilon, said.
The Multicultural Greek Council has a philanthropic duty to their community, like the other councils, but more specifically to the minorities they represent.
“We are here to serve the minority community at large as we all face similar struggles and hurdles and to lead the next generation of leaders,” Daniel Almaguer-Gaspar president of Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity said.
Leadership
Every MGC organization has a standard framework of a president, vice president, treasurer, secretary and historian.
However, there are some organizations, who have additional leadership positions such as a financial advisor or a public relations chair.
“Through Alpha Iota Omicron, I felt I had found an organization that shared the same vision,” Aiyar said.
Shyam Dhanani ran for president of Delta Epsilon Psi because he felt their support for their community wasn’t where it should be and wasn’t proud of the way things were being run.
“I am very passionate about guiding my brothers from men into leaders,” Dhanani said.
When President Shadia Khan joined Delta Phi Omega, she felt it would allow her to pay give back to her South Asian community.
Khan started her sophomore year in college by becoming the secretary first, then vice president.
Mariana Ortiz and her sorority sisters are activist for the rights of female, DACA recipient and immigrant students.
“Our past president did an amazing job and I wanted to continue that role but also add some things that could make our chapter even more amazing,” Ortiz, president of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, said.
Daniel Almaguer-Gaspar is the outgoing president of Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity.
“I saw being president as the chance to see others hone their skills and become active in their respective communities,” Almaguer-Gaspar said.
Lambda Upsilon Lambda is the only Latino fraternal organization to be chartered at all Ivy League schools, according to the current president Pablo Delao.
Delao grew up the son of first-generation Mexican immigrants and didn’t feel like he found his crowd until he arrived at Georgia State. His organization gave him the reality check he needed and ignited his passion for correcting misrepresentations of minorities.
Omega Phi Beta aims to empower women and aid in the elimination of violence against women.
“Since joining Omega Phi Beta, I have seen incredible leadership by past presidents and felt the need to rise up to the position,” President Yesenia Gonzalez said.
Throughout his time in Pi Delta Psi, an Asian culture-based fraternity, President Minh Ngo learned how to embody the four pillars it was founded upon: academic achievement, cultural awareness, righteousness and friendship and loyalty.
Chelsey Kelly, president of Sigma Alpha Omega Christian Sorority, joined in search of friends; she found them and a support system too.
Sigma Lambda Upsilon advocates for financial, political and health literacy. President Leslia Garcia joined her organization as a freshman in 2016, started as a secretary and then became vice president.
“SLU has given me so much,” Garcia said. “It was only fair for me to give back to an organization that has allowed me to grow.”
Theta Nu Xi is founded on the principles of scholarship, service, sisterhood, leadership and multiculturalism.
“Recently, I realized that I need to step out of my comfort zone and do the best that I can,” President Jasmine Barnett said.
Future Plans and Changes
In the fall, the brothers of Delta Epsilon Psi said they will continue to raise money and awareness for their philanthropy, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
“Our chapter at Georgia State is also planning a national formal for chapters all over the country to attend in the fall,” Dhanani said.
President Khan has two goals for this year: foster relationships with her sisters and other MGC organizations and diversify beyond the South Asian focus.
“With such a diverse campus like Georgia State, we hope in the upcoming year to recruit confident women of all cultures and backgrounds,” Khan said.
Ortiz also plans to diversify and expand the reach of recruitment.
“We are setting our calendar for the upcoming school year, [including] to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month,” Almaguer-Gaspar said.
Delao said that focusing on recruitment and intake alone is not enough and wants to focus on relationships that last past graduation.
Omega Phi Beta is still fairly new to Georgia State campus and Gonzalez hopes to gain more visibility on campus.
“As of now, we are mainly focusing on growing and building ourselves since we are the first chapter in Georgia,” Gonzalez said.
The past brothers of Pi Delta Psi were working towards trying to create an office for Asian students, Ngo hopes to make this a reality.
“We plan on making a large impact with community service, specifically catering to ovarian cancer patients and survivors and homeless women,” Kelly said.
Nationally, Sigma Lambda Upsilon holds mentorship programs that encourage young women and minorities to further their education; Garcia wants to bring these to Georgia State as well.
Theta Nu Xi plans to continue their annual events such as “My Blank is Beautiful” and the “Tea Walk.”
“But if I’m being honest, we are still planning events for the fall, so you’ll just have to stay tuned,” Barnett said.
- Alpha Iota Omicron
- President Ashish Aiyar
- Vice President Krishna Musunuri
- Head of Internal Operations Brandon Sadhra
- Head of External Operations Miten Shah
- Delta Epsilon Psi, Inc.
- President Shyam Dhanani
- Vice President Dillan Kumar
- Treasurer Kashav Patel
- Secretary Daivik Patel
- Delta Phi Omega, Inc.
- President Shadia Khan
- Other positions: Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Historian
- Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc.
- President Mariana Ortiz-Padilla
- Vice President Amy Gonzales
- Secretary Guadalupe Arteaga
- Treasurer Jacqueline Mora
- Chapter Recruitment and Retention Advisor Ana Pedraza
- Chapter Orientation Advisor Jasmine Jimenez
- Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc.
- President Daniel Almaguer-Gaspar
- Other positions: Vice President, Secretary, Historian, Financial Officer, Induction Officer, Public Relations chair, Community Service Chair, Academic Chair, Social Chair
- Lambda Upsilon Lambda
- President Pablo Delao
- Vice President Charlie Reyes
- Treasurer Jorge Vazquez
- Secretary Jose Hernandez
- Omega Phi Beta, Inc
- President Yesenia Gonzalez
- Other positions: Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Membership Chair, Social Chair, Public Relations, Academic Chair, Community Service Chair
- Pi Delta Psi, Inc.
- President Minh Ngo
- Vice President Jason Tat
- Treasurer Chris Sananikone
- Warden Bobby Park
- Recorder Tommy Nguyen
- Sigma Alpha Omega Christian Sorority, Inc.
- President Chelsey Kelly
- Vice President and Secretary Midgena Auguste
- Treasurer Caresse Venable
- Sigma Lambda Upsilon, Inc.
- President Leslie Garcia
- Vice President Yajaira Vanegas
- Secretary/Treasurer Stephanie Brito
- Recruitment Chair Autumn Stephens
- Social Chair Aushailene Ragin
- Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, Inc.
- President Jasmine Barnett
- Vice President Amiah Smith
- Secretary Alexis Hill
- Treasurer Elaina Nyandat
- Parliamentarian Jasmine Munevar
- Dean of Intake Jensen Vandiver
- Assistant Deans of Intake Tahryah Wheeler & Nisha Chun-Smith
- Social Chair Amiah Smith
- Publicity Chair Brie Conners
