Alpha Zeta () Fraternity is the first-known fraternity in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

founded by international

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

students. It was established in 1890 at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

Ithaca, New York Ithaca () is a city in and the county seat of Tompkins County, New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, Ithaca is the largest community in the Ithaca metrop ...

. It went inactive in 1894. Alpha Zeta Fraternity

History

Alpha Zeta was founded at

on January 1, 1890. In the fall of 1889, international Latin American students decided to establish a fraternity that would cater to their needs. Since traveling was more of a challenge in 1889–1890, during the winter break, the organization's founders stayed in

. On New Year's Day in 1890, at a meeting on campus, the founders created the first Latin American student fraternity in the United States. Alpha Zeta had students from the Caribbean, Central and South America. The first members were noted in the 1893 ''Cornellian yearbook'' as coming from Nicaragua, Honduras, Puerto Rico, Brazil, and Argentina. The fraternity's yearbook listing, provided by the organization itself, labeled Alpha Zeta as a "Foreigners' Fraternity", indicative of its intent to serve as a meeting place for sojourning students. It ceased operations four years after it had begun. But Alpha Zeta had, perhaps unknowingly, led a movement of international Latin American fraternities that existed in the early part of the 20th century before they too became defunct. This was long before the establishment and quick expansion of today's Latino, Asian or other cultural-affinity or

Multicultural Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''ethnic'' or cultural pluralism in which various e ...

Fraternities and Sororities. These constitute a second wave of cultural-affinity fraternal growth. To explore further the initial wave of cultural-affinity fraternities,

Psi Alpha Kappa Psi Alpha Kappa () was an American fraternity started by international Latin American students at Lehigh University in October of 1900. It has the distinction of being the first inter-collegiate Latin American fraternity in the United States and t ...

, founded at Lehigh University in the fall of 1900, was the first ''inter-collegiate'' Latin American fraternity to be established in the United States. This movement of fraternities that catered to international Latin American students included Phi Chi Delta,

Sigma Iota Sigma Iota () was the second Latin American–based Greek lettered inter-collegiate fraternity established in the United States after Psi Alpha Kappa. The organization traces its origins to 1903 to a social club for Latin American students know ...

Phi Lambda Alpha Phi Lambda Alpha () was the first Latin American–based Greek lettered collegiate fraternity in the Western United States. It was established on November 26, 1920. It merged to form Phi Iota Alpha in 1931. History Phi Lambda Alpha was a local ...

, Lambda Sigma Alpha Fraternity, Phi Beta Mex,

Phi Iota Alpha Phi Iota Alpha (), established on December 26, 1931, is the oldest active Latino fraternity in the mainland United States, and works to motivate people, develop leaders, and create innovative ways to unite the Latino community. The organizat ...

, and many others.

References

{{Fraternities and Sororities , collapsed Latino fraternities and sororities Hispanic and Latino American organizations Fraternities and sororities in the United States Student societies in the United States International student societies Student organizations established in 1890 1890 establishments in New York (state) Cornell University Defunct fraternities and sororities

History

See also

References