Lambda Chi Alpha

Lambda Chi Alpha was founded by Warren Albert Cole, a student at Boston University, on November 2, 1909 with the expressed objective purposes of:  brining about the association together of college students of good moral character in the various collegiate institutions within the United States and Canada, to foster a high Christian standard of life and ideals, to promote honorable friendship, to cultivate intellectual excellence, to secure for members the greatest advantages in college life, to establish brotherly love, mutual aid, close personal connection between alumni, undergraduates and college, and to bind them together for mutual pleasure and interest in college as well as after life by testing each with courage, self-control, obedience, democracy and courtesy toward all with whom they may come in contact.
Today, Lambda Chi Alpha is one of the largest men’s general fraternities in North America with more than 247,000 initiated members and has held subsidiaries (called chapters) at more than 300 colleges and universities.  Lambda Chi Alpha was the first fraternity to eliminate pledging and remains a leader in the fight against hazing, alcohol abuse, and other challenges facing today’s college student.  Lambda Chi Alpha serves to complement higher education by providing opportunities for academic achievement, leadership development, and lifelong friendships.

Associate membership replaced pledging in Lambda Chi Alpha in 1972.  Since that time, associate members have had full and equal rights in the chapter, including voting privileges and the ability to hold office, attend all meetings and functions, and wear the letters and regalia of the Fraternity.  The Fraternity replaced pledge education with fraternity education, which dictates ongoing education for all members throughout their college years.  New members are integrated immediately into the chapter.  A big brother is assigned to each new member, and he teaches the essentials of chapter operations to the new member.  Each week throughout the school year, education sessions are held for all members, which are either internal (history, ritualism, risk management, goal setting, recruitment skills, etc.) or external (study skills, current topics, alcoholism, date rape, CPR, etc.).

Through Lambda Chi Alpha, you will: develop life-long friendships, engage in responsibilities managing and governing chapter affairs, have a chance to develop your leadership talents, receive the help needed to expand your mind, establish a favorable atmosphere for academic achievement, and gain self-confidence, a sharpened sense of human relations, and a mature sense of justice.  Lambda Chi Alpha is a very personal thing that will provide you a storehouse of memories and experiences.  It will create for you a family relationship with your fellow members.  It will incorporate you into a brotherhood which will be congenial, loyal, and helpful to you during some of the best years of your life- your college years.  Thus, Lambda Chi Alpha will offer you the nearest possible equivalent to home that can be found on the college campus, and this close tie will bind you in friendship with your fellow members for a lifetime.