At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, there are plenty of ways for students to meet new people, from Big Red Welcome to joining a Greek organization.
Students have the opportunity to choose from the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the Multicultural Greek Council, the Interfraternity Council and the Panhellenic Association.
NPHC and MGC are two councils that are historically created by students of color. NPHC, also known as the Divine 9, is made up of the nine historically Black and African American fraternities and sororities. This fall, UNL has three active organizations: Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
MGC is the other council at UNL for Culturally-Based Fraternal Organizations. Anyone is able to join the organizations, regardless of their cultural backgrounds. The historically Latinx-interest organizations are Kappa Delta Chi Sorority, Inc., Lambda Theta Nu Sorority, Inc. and Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc. The Asian-interest organizations are Delta Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc., Lambda Phi Epsilon International Fraternity, Inc. and Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority, Inc.
The last two are a multicultural sorority, Delta Xi Nu Multicultural Sorority, Inc., and a multicultural fraternity, Omega Delta Phi Fraternity, Inc. These organizations do not have any historical ties to any culture and are open to anyone who would like to join.
Joining a Greek organization can benefit personal growth, friendships and, overall, finding a community in a new place.
Community and Values
There are different benefits to joining an organization. For MGC and NPHC, there is networking and alumni support through different national conferences and events on campus, like the Stroll-Off, where many alumni show up and support current members.
MGC and NPHC pride themselves on community and community service. Senior political science major, Omaima Lado, of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., feels that she is where she needs to be by having a community of women she’s found through the sorority.
”Being surrounded by women who are all dedicated to giving back to the community, being the best version of themselves and (embracing the) sisterhood is something that I really value,” Lado said.
For Lado, community and connections with women from her organization have truly helped her. She said the genuineness and compassion she’s experienced have made her feel welcomed.
“They come across as someone who cares about your well-being and (are) trying to see you succeed,” Lado said.
Senior nutrition and health sciences major, Teresa-Linh Tran-Le, is the MGC president and a member of Kappa Delta Chi Sorority, Inc. As president, she works side by side with the organizations as a council to make sure that the students’ voices are heard and seen on campus.
“We all really respect each other. Even though we are all in different organizations, at the end of the day, we all belong to the same council and go through similar things,” Tran-Le said.
