New Latino-based frat makes quick mark on community

The unusual thing about members of Nu Alpha Kappa isn't that they are all first-generation college students.

It's more that their ranks include a Protestant, a Jew and a Muslim.

All eight members of the year-old fraternity at the University of Northern Colorado are Latino, but the similarities end there.

The three newest brothers each belong to denominations other than Roman Catholic -- by far the dominant religion of Latin America. Some brothers are from small towns, others from big cities.

And yet, "we work together, eat together. We get along perfectly," said Rigo Rangel, the Muslim member. "We're all brothers."

The fraternity, the nation's 19th chapter of Nu Alpha Kappa, has academic excellence, culture and brotherhood as its pillars. So a mix of cultures and backgrounds is squarely in NAK's wheelhouse.

"We value and encourage all cultures, not just the Latino culture," said member Nelson Rodriguez.

The fraternity, not yet big enough for an off-campus house, is the second Latino-based fraternity at UNC.

The brothers have quickly spread themselves across the community, coaching basketball, tutoring kids in reading, mentoring at-risk students, helping build Habitat for Humanity homes and volunteering at the Rodarte Center. They organize cultural events, such as today's Danza Azteca Tlaloc performance at University Center.

"We're really not your typical fraternity as what people portray fraternities to be," said Rodriguez, pointing out that the members carry a cumulative 2.84 grade-point average, one of the top Greek GPAs on campus. "We really focus on the advancement of Latinos as a whole. And we really want to impact the lives of youth so they can one day do what we do -- come onto campus and hopefully help people out."

The Nu Alpha Kappa brothers show a free movie each month on campus and will celebrate Dia De Los Niños, a children's carnival, on April 27.

The all-day event at UNC's Garden Theatre will feature games, prizes, entertainment, food and dances -- all free.

"Another thing we're trying to do on this event is promote literacy," Rodriguez said. "We could have picked a park anywhere in Greeley, but by bringing it on campus we want to encourage kids to want to pursue education when they get older. So bringing it onto campus gives them a college-type atmosphere."

UNC has about 850 Latino students, or 7 percent of the student population. The six-year graduation rate for the group, as reported to the Consortium for Student Retention Data Exchange, is 46 percent compared with 49 percent for students overall.

It's still not ingrained in the culture for Latinos to pursue higher education, as evidenced by the fact that no parents of Nu Alpha Kappa members graduated from college.

While Rodriguez said his parents encouraged him and his siblings to go to college, "I didn't really get that mentorship or guidance as an adolescent, and that's what I'm trying to do" through the fraternity.

Rodriguez, a sophomore majoring in sociology and criminal justice, followed his older brother Jesus to UNC. They are both founding members of Nu Alpha Kappa.

Rangel, a cousin to Nelson and Jesus Rodriguez, is unlike them, a Mexican native. He moved to the United States when he was 8.

After graduating from Brighton High School, he first went through the College Assistance Migrant Program, which helps students from low-income migrant families go to college. A few years older than the Rodriguez brothers, he's a junior studying history and sociology at UNC.

He feels the cultural climate in Greeley is improving, but has a ways to go.

"Greeley has a bright future for Latinos, but right now it's still developing, it's still challenging for Latinos in Greeley," Rangel said. "At least for the students, (our fraternity) wants to be that buffer, that buffer area."

-- Chris Casey is a reporter at the Greeley Tribune. He covers immigration, diversity and higher education. To reach him, e-mail ccasey@greeleytribune.com or call (970) 392-5623.

MORE INFORMATION

Nu Alpha Kappa, a Latino-based fraternity at the University of Northern Colorado, will host Danza Azteca Tlaloc, a traditional Aztec dance demonstration in the University Center ballroom at 6 p.m. today.

The performance is free and includes Enrique Maestas, a UNC professor who is a member of the dance group.

Information: Nelson Rodriguez, (303) 847-7042.