Beta Theta Chapter History

In 1997, a young man by the name of David Johnson attended the University of Miami. Realizing that in South Florida's universities, there had been a lack of Latino organizations, he joined forces with a couple of young men from neighboring Florida International University to found a chapter of Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc. This chapter was known as Alpha Kappa Chapter, a joint metro-chapter between the two schools which were 15 minutes apart in driving distance. This chapter would be the third chapter in the state of Florida: the first being Phi Chapter at the University of Florida at Gainesville, and Alpha Alpha Chapter at the University of Central Florida at Orlando.

For a few years, Alpha Kappa did not grow. One reason being that the existing brothers transferred from FIU and UM. On paper, Lambda Theta Phi had a presence in South Florida, but in actuality, the fraternity was non existent ... until 1999.

In the fall of 1999, two men by the name of Andres Builes and Hernaldo Flores revived Alpha Kappa at FIU. With their dedication and love for the fraternity, they joined forces with Lambda Theta Phi alumni that were living in the area to establish a foundation. Some key alumni that played a role in reviving the chapter were the Lara brothers, Ronaldo and Arturo from Beta Alpha Chapter at California State University at Dominguez Hills; James Cueva from Phi Chapter; Ray Mirabal from Alpha Sigma Chapter at the University of Arizona; and even Founding Father Agustin "Gus" Garcia from Alpha Chapter at Kean College, Union, New Jersey. These men sparked some interest in FIU, and when revived, they came to the University of Miami to spread the Brown and White. At that time, Jayson Pagan, a pre-med student who was in the ROTC program had already talked to brothers from Lambda Theta Phi, including Founding Father Agustin Garcia. He and a group of men had attended an information session back in 1997, but for several reasons, they did not receive the opportunity to revive the chapter.

In the fall of 2000, James Cueva and Ray Mirabal continued their search for the right people to carry Lambda's torch in South Florida, and held several information sessions at UM. By this time, Alpha Kappa had been revived with their Beta Line (second line) and 5 men had founded Beta Gamma Chapter at nearby Nova Southeastern University. In one of the sessions at UM, there were a few interests present with all of the new brothers in South Florida. This made a lasting impression on the young men attending UM ... but in the end, only 3 had the right stuff.

Jayson Pagan, Eric Estevez, and Jim Torres pledged and crossed on April 16th, 2000 along with Sam Hamilton from FIU and Damien Turnquest from Nova Southeastern University. Because of the new hype created by these brothers, as well as the confidence of the Lambda Theta Phi National Board in these young men's futures, Jayson, Eric, and Jim were recognized as Founding Brothers of a new chapter, Beta Theta Chapter - The Liquid Swordz of the Hurricane. The metro chapter had been broken, but to this day, the two chapters remain inseparable