Omega Delta Phi Fraternity, Inc. (), also known as ODPhi is an American multicultural

fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

. It was established on November 25th, 1987 at

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

and has chartered chapters at more than seventy campuses, predominantly centered in Texas and the Southwest. Although founded mainly by Latinos, the fraternity has traditionally been open to men of different backgrounds. Omega Delta Phi is a member of the

North American Interfraternity Conference The North American Interfraternity Conference (or NIC; formerly known as the National Interfraternity Conference) is an association of college, intercollegiate men's List of social fraternities and sororities, social Fraternities and sororities ...

and was a founding member of

National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations The National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO) is an umbrella council for seventeen American Latino fraternities and sororities. It was established in 1998. The purpose of NALFO is to promote and foster positive interfraternal ...

History

Founding

Omega Delta Phi was the brainchild of Joe Cereceres, a student at

. Cereceres recruited six other students and held weekly organizational meetings. At the time, not everyone was on board with starting a fraternal organization because of the negative stigma surrounding fraternities. However, the group decided that they could change that stigma through positive actions such as a focus on graduation and service. Much of the organization's founding was assisted by other local fraternities and sororities, most importantly by Kappa Delta Chi Sorority, Inc., which was founded earlier in 1987 and with whom Omega Delta Phi shares its pillars. On November 25, 1987, the group was officially recognized as a fraternity and granted charter status from Texas Tech University. Its founders were Joe Cereceres, Arturo Barraza, Juan Barraza, Elliot Bazan, Eugene Dominguez, Dwight Christopher Forbes, and Tommy Hurtado. In 1988, Omega Delta Phi initiated its first pledge class with twelve members which would later be known as the Charter Class.

Early history

Omega Delta Phi's early years dealt with finding an identity, including adopting a crest, sacraments, and motifs. One issue that arose was whether or not the organization would identify itself as a social or service organization, In the end, the organization identified itself as a "service/social" organization. The fraternity also adopted a policy forbidding the consumption of alcohol while wearing Omega Delta Phi paraphernalia. Jaime Mendez started ''Beta chapter'' of Omega Delta Phi at the University of Texas at El Paso without the consent of the original Texas Tech chapter. After some minor controversy, the chapters reconciled their differences and set up an expansion strategy that spread across the country.

Expansion

By the early 1990s, Omega Delta Phi chapters were established in

Texas A&M University System The Texas A&M University System is a state university system in Texas and is one of the state's seven independent university systems. The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the United States, with a ...

University of Texas System The University of Texas System (UT System) is a public university system in the U.S. state of Texas. It includes nine universities and five independent health institutions. The UT System is headquartered in Downtown Austin. It is the large ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

and

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

systems. Later, the fraternity founded chapters in cities such as the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex area,

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. It established a short-lived international colony in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. The main archive URL i
The Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage
In 1998, Omega Delta Phi was a founding member of

(NALFO). It withdrew its membership in June 2000 to join the Latino Fraternal Council (LFC). When LFC went defunct in June 2001, the fraternity rejoined NALFO. However, it withdrew its membership in December 2008. It is currently a member of the

. In 2000, Omega Delta Phi founded an

alumni Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...

association to provide a support group for its alumni base. The fraternity now has several alumni chapters throughout the United States.

Honors

The

named Omega Delta Phi the ''Fraternity of the Year'' for 2003, 2004, and 2005. In the summer of 2002,

honored the fraternity by dedicating a conference room to Omega Delta Phi.

Symbols

Omega Delta Phi's motto is ' or "It grows as it goes". The fraternity's slogan is "One Culture, Any Race". Its sacraments or pillars are Unity, Honesty, Integrity, and Leadership. The fraternity's nickname is ODPhi. The fraternity's colors are scarlet, silver, and black. Its mascot is the Knight. Its flower is the silver rose. Its publication is ''Seven Visions Magazine''.

Chapters

Activities

Each summer, Omega Delta Phi hosts an annual national conference. Brothers participate in meetings, workshops, networking sessions as well as showcases where teams from entities compete in various competitions. The National Alumni Association and board of directors also host meetings. Each winter, Omega Delta Phi chapters hold a national undergraduate conference, known as NUC. The conference focuses on meetings and workshops to prepare for the upcoming spring semesters.

Philanthropy

Wounded Warrior Project

On December 6, 2022, Omega Delta Phi announced a new philanthropic partnership with the

Wounded Warrior Project Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is an American charity and veterans service organization that operates as a nonprofit 501(c)(3). WWP offers a variety of programs, services and events for wounded veterans who incurred a physical or mental injury, ...

that is set to begin in January 2023. The philanthropy was chosen primarily due to the large number of veterans and servicemen within the fraternity.

Previous philanthropies

In 2009, Omega Delta Phi became the second Greek letter organization to officially partner with

Court Appointed Special Advocates Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) is a national association in the United States that supports and promotes court-appointed advocates for abused or neglected children. CASA are volunteers from the community who complete training that ha ...

(CASA). Omega Delta Phi provide CASA with manpower at local CASA events and raised funds for CASA. Before CASA, Omega Delta Phi has also partnered with

Boys and Girls Club Boys & Girls Club may refer to: * Boys & Girls Clubs of America * Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada * Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Clubs, Bronx, United States * Essex Boys and Girls Clubs, in Essex and East London, England * The Boys' and Girls' Clubs ...

and

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...

Hazing allegations and member misconduct

Omega Delta Phi Fraternity, Inc. has faced allegations of misconduct, particularly related to hazing and sexual misconduct. In 2015, the chapter at

California State University, Stanislaus California State University, Stanislaus (Stanislaus State, Stan State) is a public university in Turlock, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. It was established in 1957 and offers 45 bachelor's deg ...

was investigated for hazing activities. A sophomore member reported that the initiation process involved blindfolding, verbal abuse, and personal property being taken and relocated without consent. These actions led the member to leave the fraternity and prompted a university investigation which led to the chapter's suspension. In 2020, Omega Delta Phi addressed allegations of sexual misconduct within the organization. The fraternity released a statement acknowledging the allegations brought forward by survivors and emphasized their commitment to addressing such issues. Additionally, the

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

chapter responded to the sexual assault allegations highlighted by the national body by expelling three members and suspending eight others.

References

{{National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations North American Interfraternity Conference Student societies in the United States Hispanic and Latino American organizations Youth organizations based in Arizona Organizations based in Phoenix, Arizona Student organizations established in 1987 1987 establishments in Texas Former members of National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations