Gamma Beta

Gamma Beta, or GBs, is one of the youngest and fastest growing Asian-Interest fraternities in the Unites States. Since its inception at the University of Texas in 2000, Gamma Beta has spread to five campuses in two states. Though founded as a primarily social fraternity for Asian-American males, in recent years Gamma Beta has shifted its focus towards more service-oriented goals, spearheading and participating in more community service and philanthropy events every year.
History
Founding Fathers
Gamma Beta was founded by nine men at the University of Texas in 2000 as the third and newest Asian-Interest Fraternity on campus. Rather than joining an existing Greek-Lettered Organization, they decided to address what they believed to be a disparity in the Asian-American Greek community: A lack of unity within the Asian-American Greek community. The goal of these nine men was to found a fraternity that would attempt to address issues affecting the Asian-American community while providing an alternative (to the traditional houses) for individuals seeking to join a Greek organization. These men were:
*Mr. Thomas Cho
*Mr. Chinh Doan
*Mr. Phi Doan
*Mr. Andrew Lee
*Mr. Daniel Lee
*Mr. Xuan Du Nguyen
*Mr. Thien Pham
*Mr. Long Phan
*Mr. Jeffy Thomas
Going National
The process of growing from one chapter in Austin, Texas to a national organization was slow at first. Initially, the fraternity rejected requests from interest groups from others universities asking to be initiated into Gamma Beta and to start new chapters. After almost 8 years of a closed-door policy on expansion, Gamma Beta opened its doors to expansion and the Founding Fathers of Beta Chapter were initiated at the University of Texas at San Antonio in the spring of 2008. In the fall of 2007, the fraternity further expanded its presence across Texas colonizing Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University, as well as starting a colony at The University of Oklahoma.
Philanthropy
Gamma Beta sponsors a Philanthropy Week every year to raise awareness about an issue that affects the Asian-American community. In the spring of 2008, they supported the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The next year, in the spring of 2009, the brothers voted to support the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation to battle cervical cancer, a condition that is 5 times more likely to occur in Vietnamese women alone than white women. In conjunction with their annual Philanthropy Week, Gamma Beta Fraternity also co-sponsored the annual Miss UT Asia Cultural Pageant with the Student Events Center Asian American Culture Committee.
In addition to its national philanthropy, individual chapters of Gamma Beta participate in their own local philanthropies including Habitat for Humanity, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Adopt-A-Street, and assisting and tutoring elementary students. The fraternity on many occasions teams up with other student organizations to help fundraise and bring awareness for various charities.
Chapters
Gamma Beta consists of 5 chapters across 2 states.
*A - University of Texas - Austin, TX
*B - University of Texas at San Antonio - San Antonio, TX
*Γ - Texas A&M University - College Station, TX
*Δ - University of Oklahoma - Norman, OK
*E - Texas Tech University - Lubbock, TX

 
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