Our History

The primary roots of Lambda Sigma Upsilon began in 1978. At that time, Rutgers University was a hotbed of political and academic controversy. Minority students, particularly Latinos, felt that they were not getting the attention they 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 protesters would conduct campus center sit-ins and take over university facilities such as the Kilmer 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 Latino students began sharing ideas of forming a student 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 met regularly at the Livingston Student Center to further develop these ideas, and at each meeting, more Latino men that shared these common interest of change joined in on the conversation

After speaking for a number of weeks, it was suggested that the group form their own brotherhood–a Latino Social Fellowship– to better organize these ideas into action and to create that support system. The excitement of these gentlemen grew daily, and the regular meetings continued to formalize the Fellowship.

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