A poster of the white Bengal tiger that hangs in a house on Cross Street may not mean much for most people, but for four Wesleyan women it represents their new mascot and a year-long effort to bring a multicultural sorority to the University.
On the verge of having their chapter be officially recognized by a national board, the four female students hope that their sorority, Lambda Psi Delta, will find a home at Wesleyan. The adventure began when Gabriel Tynes-Labonte ’06 searched the Internet for a multicultural group and found Lambda Psi Delta, a community service-based sorority that was founded in 1997 by nine women from Connecticut.
An information session held on campus last spring by national treasurer of the sorority, Sabreena Davis, inspired Tynes-Labonte and three of her friends, Alana Liskov ’06, Vladrose Petit-Frere, ’05 and Naja Alvarado ’05, to found a chapter at Wesleyan.
Despite thinking that she would not like a sorority atmosphere, Alvarado “fell in love with the organization.”
“I was so surprised and touched by all the women who came here to meet with us,” she said.
After a spring full of pledging and interactions with current members—including five of the nine founders—the four Wesleyan women have come together and applied to become a formal chapter. The multicultural sorority, whose motto is “Sovereignty to the Community,” will be the ninth ethnic Greek organization on campus and the tenth national chapter of Lambda Psi Delta. Other chapters exist at colleges in the Connecticut area as well as in New Jersey, Texas and Florida.
Although Wesleyan already has several ethnic sororities, Alvarado said Lambda Psi Delta hopes to attract empowered women who are looking to explore their entire heritage.
“A lot of organizations have you focus on one part of who you are. We get to share and celebrate everything about who we are,” Alvarado said.
The other three sorority members echoed Alvarado’s sentiments. Both Tymes-Labonte, who is currently studying abroad in Ecuador, and Petit-Frere have Haitian backgrounds and have explored those roots in the process of joining the sorority.
“I have a larger appreciation for [my heritage] now,” Petit Frere said. “The organization gave me a space to learn about my culture, and where I fit in it.”
Apart from talking about self-identity, the organization had the four women speak to a member of their family to find out more about their collective heritage.
All four members of the sorority agreed that they have become much closer as a result of the experience of pledging. While they are unable to discuss the details of the process they admit that it was challenging.
“It was tough but it was worth it,” Leskov said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without [the other] girls.”
Now, with only some paperwork and a final vote from the National Board Council of Lambda Psi Delta left in the process, the four members have begun discussing plans for the semester. According to Petit-Frere, the group hopes to inaugurate their chapter on campus on “Coming Out Day” that takes place in mid-October, a sign of the group’s commitment to diversity.
Wesleyan’s chapter will be the fifth new chapter of Lambda Psi Delta in the past year, a sign of growth for the sorority, but also a challenge to continue to engender student interest. Since most of the members are seniors, the Wesleyan members expressed a desire to attract an enthusiastic group to follow them next year.
“I would really like to see it grow and see kids pledge. I would love to keep it intact,” Liskov said.
According to Petit-Frere the organization strives for quality over quantity and will look for women who are genuinely interested in multiculturalism and finding their own identity.
To learn more about Lambda Psi Delta, please contact Vladrose Petit-Frere at vpetitfrere@wesleyan.edu or the Lambda Psi Delta website at http://www.lambdasidelta.org
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