Asian-interest sorority brings a new perspective to American University

Luisa Lobo, a founding member of Kappa Phi Lambda, wears her sorority’s letters. She came to American University from Hong Kong and had been searching for a strong Asian-American community until she found the sorority.

WASHINGTON – Bright red Greek letters stitched onto a white trim distinctly identify the sisters of Kappa Phi Lambda, American University’s first Asian-interest sorority. The sorority was founded to meet student demand for a community for Asian women on campus.

Alpha Kappa Alpha, a historically black sorority, has been at American since 1977 and Lambda Pi Chi, a Latina-based sorority, has been at the university since 1996. However, it wasn’t until April that the first Asian-interest sorority was officially brought to campus.

As a member of the Intercultural Greek Collective, Kappa Phi Lambda is open to women of all races and ethnicities. It strives to raise awareness for Pan-Asian culture, as well as promoting service and sisterhood.

This past semester, the sorority has worked on creating a stronger presence on campus. It has hosted events centered around combating Asian stereotypes, screened the movie “Crazy Rich Asians” and participated in the campus-wide Greek Weekend.

“Being able to educate others on Pan-Asian culture is really important and something we hope to do through our events,” said Luisa Lobo, a senior and one of the founding members of the sorority. “There’s a lot that people don’t know about Asian cultures … and how they’re different.”

In addition to education, Kappa Phi Lambda hopes to foster a stronger community among Asian women, women interested in Asian culture and the rest of the university.

“I think it’s really unique that they’re the only Asian-interest sorority that we have here on this campus,” said Nadir McCoy, the coordinator of fraternity and sorority life and leadership in American’s Office of Student Activities. “They’re able to connect to a different population and different part of AU that other organizations cannot connect to in the same way.”

American has a small population of Asian and Asian-American students. According to the university’s website, the freshman class was 7.4 percent Asian in 2016, 10 percent in 2017 and 7.2 Asian this year.

Lily Wong is an assistant professor in the literature department and the faculty advisor of the Asian American Student Union. She explained that when she came to the university six years, American lacked support for Asian American and Pacific Islander students, specifically women.

However, over time, Wong has noticed an increase in support systems and student mobilization, despite the small Asian student population on campus.

“AU has a lot to do to catch up to how demographics are shifting,” said Wong. “But students are demanding more representation in the curriculum and campus resources, which is wonderful.”

For example, take Kirsten Jay, a 2018 graduate who spearheaded the move to bring an Asian-interest sorority to campus in the fall of 2016.

Jay came to Washington from a majority Asian community, just south of San Francisco, and was shocked by the small Asian population at American.

“When I first got to AU, I was extraordinarily taken aback by how small the Asian community was,” said Jay. “I felt like I had to go from who I was with my Asian friends back home, to kind of a different … less Asian form of me.”

At the time, Jay had been president of the Asian American Student Union but was still searching for a smaller, more intimate community. After chatting with a friend in Alpha Kappa Alpha, she was left confused and wondering why she had never heard of an Asian sorority.

Jay was intrigued by the sisterhood and deeper connections that a sorority would offer. She decided to meet with Colin Gerker, the former assistant director of fraternity and sorority life in the Office of Student Activities, to propose an Asian-interest sorority.

“She was really looking at … where are there spaces for Asian and Asian-American individuals,” said Gerker. “What her organization can do, but also what can the possibility of other organizations do to support the idea of belonging?”

After receiving a green light from Gerker, Jay plastered flyers in almost every women’s bathroom stall on campus to gauge interest in the possibility of an Asian-interest sorority. Word spread quickly and the first meeting on Nov. 7, 2016, was a success.

Lobo, who came to American from Hong Kong, had been looking for an Asian-American community on campus. When she saw the flyers, she decided to attend the first interest meeting on a whim.

“Moving from a predominantly Asian culture to a predominantly white culture … that’s why I dove headfirst when I found this group,” said Lobo. “It was something I’ve been looking for on this campus for a really long time.”

The attendees continued to meet and eventually transformed into an interest group called AU Squared. It met with several Asian-interest sororities and ultimately decided to seek a charter from Kappa Phi Lambda because the sorority’s three pillars – sisterhood, service and cultural diversity – deeply resonated with the group.

In January, AU Squared received official permission from the national Kappa Phi Lambda organization to begin the chartering process.

Over the spring semester, Kappa Phi Lambda hosted events and initiated eight women. Despite being new, the sisters quickly bonded over common interests, cultural backgrounds and the process of starting a chapter.

“It's a place where you can exist as an Asian-American woman,” said Jay, on what having an Asian-based sisterhood means to her. “People who you can just exist with and not have to explain yourself or modify yourself.”

Danielle Vinales, a senior and the president of the Intercultural Greek Collective, knows how important this can be. She’s bonded over culture with her Lambda Pi Chi sisters who grew up eating the same food and dancing to the same music as she did.

“I know KPL is the same way,” said Vinales. “I saw so much of their culture and deeper experiences as they were going through the (chartering) process.”

Kappa Phi Lambda has not only found support from the Intercultural Greek Collective, but also from the large Washington-area alumni chapter, and local chapters at George Washington University; the University of Maryland, College Park; and George Mason University. It is currently preparing to recruit a new class next spring semester.