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Beta Chi Theta
ΒΧΘ
FoundedJune 2, 1999; 24 years ago (1999-06-02)
University of California, Los Angeles
Type Social
Affiliation NIC
EmphasisSouth Asian
ScopeNational
Motto"Above All Else, Brotherhood"
PillarsAcademic Excellence, Brotherhood, Nationwide Network, Service to Humanity, South Asian Awareness, and Tradition.
Colors Black   Silver   White 
SymbolRampant Lion
PhilanthropyMen’s Mental Health
Chapters20
Colonies6
Members2,500+ collegiate
NicknameBeta Chi
Headquarters5868 E. 71st Street, #E-120
Indianapolis, Indiana 46220
United States
Website Official website

Beta Chi Theta (ΒΧΘ, also Beta Chi) is a South Asian interest collegiate social fraternity in the United States. [1] It is the largest South Asian Fraternity in the United States.

History

Beta Chi Theta originated with eight students at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the spring of 1999. [2] On June 2, 1999, Beta Chi Theta officially received recognition by the university and was granted membership into the UCLA Inter-Fraternity Council. [2] Its eight founders were: [2]

  • Abu Mathew Abraham
  • Hashu Datwani
  • Samir Khandhar
  • Ankur Kumar
  • Ashish Nagdev
  • Ankur Parikh
  • Roshan Patel
  • Ali Zhumkhawala

The fraternity's founding principles are creating and maintaining a strong, close-knit brotherhood, honoring tradition, pursuing service to humanity, increasing cultural awareness, promoting academic excellence, and building a unified nationwide network.

The Beta chapter was formed at Baylor University in 2001, making Beta Chi Theta a national fraternity. [1] After adding more chapters, the organization held its first national convention in 2003, where the fraternity's constitution and bylaws were adopted and a national board was established. [2] The group was incorporated as Beta Chi Theta National Fraternity, Inc. in 2004. [2]

On April 23, 2006, Beta Chi Theta became the first nationally recognized South Asian-based fraternity to become a member of the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC). [2] At the time, it was the youngest fraternity to become a member of the NIC in its 100-year history. [2]

Beta Chi Theta now has chapters and colonies located all over the United States. [1] Although its members are primarily from South Asian backgrounds, membership in Beta Chi Theta has become diverse, with brothers from all backgrounds, races, cultures, religions, and sexual orientations.

Symbols and traditions

The fraternity's colors are black, silver, and white. [3] Its symbol is the rampant lion. [3] Its motto is "Above all else, Brotherhood". [3]

Beta Chi Theta's pillars are Academic Excellence, Brotherhood, Nationwide Network, Service to Humanity, South Asian Awareness, and Tradition. [4]

Philanthropy

The fraternity has two national philanthropy initiatives: Beating Heart Disease and Be the Change.

Beating Heart Disease

In 2009, the fraternity selected cardiac health awareness as its national philanthropy because this is the number one cause of death in the world and it is especially rampant amongst the South Asian population. [5] Since then, it has partnered with the American Heart Association to teach communities how to live a heart-healthy lifestyle and to raise money for cardiac research and education. [5] The Beating Heart Disease program is a series of week-long events held by chapters in the spring of each year to educate students on cardiac health and to raise money for the American Heart Association. [5] [6] An additional aspect of this partnership involves the participation in Heart Walks, which are hosted annually across the nation by the American Heart Association.

Be The Change

Beta Chi Theta partners annually with SAALT (South Asian Americans Leading Together) to host Be The Change service day on university campuses. [5] Be The Change takes place annually in the fall and pays tribute to the life of Mahatma Gandhi. [5] Gandhi once said to "be the change you wish to see in the world."

Men's Mental Health

In 2023, Beta Chi Theta announced a new philanthropic focus on raising awareness and funding resources for men's mental health. While there's been an increased focus on mental health in recent years, men continue to be an underserved demographic.

Chapters

Following is a list of Beta Chi Theta chapters and colonies. [1] [4] Active chapters and colonies are indicated in bold. Inactive chapters are in italics.

Chapter Charter date and range Institution Location Status References
Alpha June 2, 1999 University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, California Active
Beta 2001 Baylor University Waco, Texas Active
Gamma 2001 California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Pomona, California Active
Delta 2002 University of Oklahoma Norman, Oklahoma Active
Epsilon 2002 University of California, Riverside Riverside, California Active
Ζeta 2003 University of California, San Diego San Diego, California Active
Eta 2003 University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas Active
Theta 2004 Vanderbilt University Nashville, Tennessee Active
Iota 2004 Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana Active
Kappa 2005–20xx ?; 20xx ? Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida Colony
Lambda 2006 University of Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota Active
Mu 2008 University of Florida Gainesville, Florida Active
Nu 2009–20xx ?; 20xx ? University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison, Wisconsin Colony
Xi 2009–200x ?; 20xx ? University of Houston Houston, Texas Colony
Omicron 2010–200x ?; 20xx ? Emory University Atlanta, Georgia Colony
Pi January 31, 2010 Texas A&M University College Station, Texas Active [5]
Rho 2010 University of Tennessee Knoxville, Tennessee Active
Sigma September 10, 2010 Rutgers University New Brunswick, New Jersey Active
Tau 2010–20xx ?; 20xx ? University of South Florida Tampa, Florida Colony
Upsilon 2010 University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, Texas Active
Phi December 4, 2010 University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign Champaign, Illinois Active [3]
Chi – Reserved Memorial
Psi 2011–20xx ?; 2023 ? University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut Colony
Omega 2011 University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, Alabama Active
Alpha Alpha 2011 Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts Active
Alpha Beta 2014 Drexel University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Active
Alpha Gamma 2014 University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, Massachusetts Active
Alpha Delta 2017 Indiana University Bloomington Bloomington, Indiana Active
Alpha Epsilon 2017 University of Georgia Athens, Georgia Active
Alpha Zeta 2018 Arizona State University Tempe, Arizona Colony
Alpha Eta 2019 Binghamton University Binghamton, New York Colony
Alpha Theta 2024 University of California, Davis Davis, California Colony

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Lurding, Carroll and Becque, Fran. (August 1, 2023) "Beta Chi Theta". Almanac of Fraternities and Sororities. Urbana: University of Illinois. Accessed August 27, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Our History". Beta Chi Theta. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  3. ^ a b c d "Beta Chi Theta National Fraternity, Inc. | Fraternity and Sorority Affairs". University of Illinois. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  4. ^ a b "Beta Chi Theta". Beta Chi Theta. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Beta Chi Theta". Texas A&M University. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  6. ^ Black, Jake (February 25, 2014). "Heart Art". The Independent Florida Alligator. Retrieved 2023-08-27.

External links

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