Chapter History
In February of 2002, after realizing that Illinois State University had many different types of Greek organizations with the sole exception of ones that promote the Asian cultures, Christina Kai-Chi Yang and Elaine May Uy discussed the possibility of establishing an Asian-interest sorority. They believed that especially at Illinois State University, where the student body was not as diverse as other campuses, it was important to embrace the Asian culture as well as share it with those around them.
Karen Chang, Lisa Kim, Nikko Santiago, Hitomi Tsukioka, and Mandy Wong also shared the belief that by establishing an Asian-interest sorority, it would not only give them a means to promote their Asian culture in a visible manner; but would moreover allow them to grow and support each other as women. Together, the seven searched for a sorority that would best meet their needs. In May of 2002, Christina Kai-Chi Yang and Karen Lili Chang were introduced to Rachelle Garcia, who was a member of Delta Phi Lambda Asian-Interest Sorority. Later that month, the ISU Interest Group was approached by the founder and president of Delta Phi Lambda, Anh Ngoc Nguyen, who then asked the group to meet the other members at a Sisterhood Rally for a presentation of the sorority. After viewing the informative presentation and observing the strong bond between the sisters, the ISU Interest Group decided to pledge Delta Phi Lambda. After many months of hard work, on November 24, 2002 the seven crossed into the everlasting sisterhood of Delta Phi Lambda and they accomplished their mission of establishing the first ever Asian-Interest Sorority at Illinois State University. On April 16, 2003 Nikko Santiago and Christina Yang stood before the Illinois State Panhellenic Association and gave a presentation regarding the new establishment of Delta Phi Lambda at ISU. Every woman who pledges a sorority atomically becomes part of the Panhellenic Association. The association is governed by a council that composed of two representatives from each chapter and is responsible for deciding upon major policies and programs for the association. The ISU Delta Phi Lambda colony hoped that they could be a part of this council to the Greek community. On April 23rd, all the chapters voted and Illinois State Delta Phi Lambda was officially welcomed into the Illinois State Panhellenic Association. After ten years under the Panhellenic council, the members of Delta Phi Lambda found their needs differed from what Panhellenic provided. In Fall 2012, Delta Phi Lambda’s Jemi "Phrysia" Puno met with Krystal Orihuela of Alpha Psi Lambda and Ana Benitez of the Cygnets (now Gamma Phi Omega). The three ladies shared the belief that multicultural Greek organizations were underrepresented on-campus, thus hindering the growth of other multicultural social fraternities and sororities. In the Spring of 2013, the three organizations met bi-weekly. With the help of Michael Zajac, ISU’s Fraternity and Sorority Life Greek advisor, the three organizations came together to write a constitution and set plans for the Multicultural Greek Council in motion. Elections were held and Delta Phi Lambda sisters Diana “Syrinx” Qiao and Alysha “Midna” Biemolt were chosen to serve as the first Vice President and Public Relations chair respectively. Finally, on April 7, 2013, Delta Phi Lambda and Alpha Psi Lambda became the founding organizations of Illinois State University’s Multicultural Greek Council. |
The "Steadfast Seven"02 Nikko "J'ma" Santiago
03 Elaine "Serenity" Uy 04 Lisa "Nala" Kim 05 Christina "Mystique" Yang 06 Mandy "Chiquita" Wong 07 Karen "Wasabi" Chang 08 Hitomi "Taz" Tsukioka |