National APIA Panhellenic Association
Alpha Phi Gamma is one of 18 organizations apart of the National APIA Panhellenic Association. The National Asian Pacific Islander American Panhellenic Association (NAPA) began in the summer of 2004 when a group of 14 APIA fraternities and sororities joined together to form the APIA Greek Alliance (AGA). Formed as a partnership in a grassroots “Get Out the Vote” campaign with APIA Vote, an organization that promotes civic participation among Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, the members of the AGA registered over 8,000 new voters. Seeing the successful collaboration’s potential impact on the APIA community and on college/university campuses, the group collaborated on further projects, including Tsunami Relief and Hurricane Katrina Relief.
History of APIA Greeks
Many people are surprised to learn the rich history of Asian and Pacific Islander (APIA) fraternities and sororities dates back to the early 20th Century.
Between 1916 and 1930, the first APIA fraternities and sororities were created as support groups for small ethnic minorities (Chinese or Japanese) on predominantly White college campuses. They mirrored their White counterparts by adopting Greek letters, forming a chapter, incorporating secret rituals, and developing their own traditions (Kimbrough, 2003). Organizations of this early era include:
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1916 – Rho Psi Fraternity at Cornell University (Chinese)
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1929 – Pi Alpha Phi Fraternity at University of California, Berkeley (Chinese)
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1929 – Chi Alpha Delta Sorority at University of California, Los Angeles (Japanese)
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1930 – Sigma Omicron Pi Sorority at San Francisco State University (Chinese)
The number of Asian Interest Greek Lettered organizations of that era are much smaller than our peer organizations, such as “white” and “black” fraternities and sororities. There may be many reasons for this, but one primary factor are the tight immigration policies such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the Gentleman’s Agreement of 1907, and the Immigration Act of 1924, which made it very difficult for those of Asian origin to come to this country and access the higher education system.
Beginning in the late 1980s, an exploding Asian American student population, the rise in multiculturalism, and the advancement of technology combined to help usher in a fast growing, national, Asian fraternity/sorority movement. For the first time since Rho Psi Fraternity began at Cornell University, Asian fraternal organizations were chartered outside of California. Existing organizations such as Lambda Phi Epsilon fraternity, Pi Alpha Phi fraternity, and alpha Kappa Delta Phi sorority began chartering chapters in states such as Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.
Pi Delta Psi Fraternity, Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority, and Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority were founded on New York campuses, and within 5 years, each had chartered several chapters. With the development of the Internet in the 1990s, it became easy for these new groups to find other organizations that shared similar ideals.
The mid-1990s also saw the birth of Greek lettered organizations focused on South Asian Americans. By the end of the 1990s, at least 35 organizations with over 140 chapters had been established.
In the 2000s, these fraternities and sororities sought organizational development with the goal of improving the fraternal experience for their members. In 2005, nine of the largest and most prominent APIA fraternities and sororities created the National Asian Pacific Islander American Panhellenic Association (NAPA) to promote and foster positive relations among its member organizations and the community. As of 2013, there are over 65 Asian American fraternities and sororities exist totaling over 450 total chapters.