The primary roots of Lambda Sigma Upsilon began in 1978. During that time, Rutgers University was a hotbed of political and academic controversy. Minority students, in particular Latinos, felt that they were not getting the attention they so desperately needed to succeed in their academic endeavors. This negligence was most prevalent on the Livingston College Campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. During that time groups of students and protestors would conduct campus center sit-ins and take over university facilities such as the Livingston Library to make the university administration aware of their negligence. It is during these events where our founders met. 

 

In the spring of 1979, a group of students of Latino descent began talking about creating an organization that would represent and meet the needs of the Latino student population on campus, help students achieve their goals, and provide a sense of family to those away from home. They would meet regularly at the Livingston Student Center, where more gentlemen joined in on the discussions. Soon this small group of men reached 20 members. Some of these men recognized each other from the protests and knew that they had something in common and that united, as a group, would be able to best suit the needs of their fellow students. After speaking for a number of weeks, they suggested that the group form their own brotherhood, a Latino Social Fellowship. These men decided that a Social Fellowship would best provide a support group to other students and also provide a family away from their own. The excitement of these gentlemen grew daily, and they would conduct regular meetings to formalize the Fellowship. 

 

At the Final meeting, in Tillett Hall at Rutgers University, Livingston Campus on April 5th, 1979, Lambda Sigma Upsilon Latino Social Fellowship, Inc. was established. The official motto of the fellowship was "Latinos Siempre Unidos" (Latinos Always United), thus the acronym "LSU".

 

Proudly, this Social Fellowship was able to facilitate effective change as a liaison between Latino students and university bureaucracy. Throughout the 1980's Lambda Sigma Upsilon enjoyed steady growth, incorporating chapters throughout the state of New Jersey. In the fall of 1986 a group 10 of gentlemen at the New Jersey Institute of Technology established the Pioneros Chapter. The men who established this chapter were determined to ensure that Lambda Sigma Upsilon would continue to be a force on college campuses across the country for many years to come. 

 

Fellowship to Fraternity

The brothers from the Pioneros Chapter saw that the being under the fellowship designation was not being helpful to LSU because it would not allow them certain rights that other Greek organizations were receiving. They would also not be able to participate in any "Greek - Related" functions, which hurt the fraternity's ability to market itself. A proposal to change the designation of Lambda Sigma Upsilon from Latino Social Fellowship to Latino Fraternity was put for review by the State Board of Lambda Sigma Upsilon and the founding fathers. There was much controversy surrounding a possible change, after all, a fellowship, in the eyes of our founders and the brothers after them, was the closest thing to a family, and it also felt as if there was a surrendering to the traditional "Greek" system. The debate lasted for months, in the Fall of 1987 the brothers finally agreed to change the designation to fraternity, thus the name Lambda Sigma Upsilon Latino Fraternity, Inc. was adopted.