The University of North Florida recently welcomed the first Latino fraternity to both its campus and the city of Jacksonville. 

David Caceres, a UNF political science major and one of the chapter’s founding representatives, spoke about the significance of this milestone and the group’s vision for the future.

La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity Inc., focuses on brotherhood, academic excellence, and Latino culture, according to Caceres. The arrival of its chapter marks a historic shift in UNF’s Greek Life landscape.

Who’s leading this chapter?

Caceres will be serving as the Lambda Upsilon Lambda chapter’s Deuce, alongside Ace Daniel Velazquez and Anchor Michael Vega.

In fraternities and sororities under the National Pan-Hellenic and Multicultural Greek Councils, the Ace is the leader, the Deuce is the second person in the line, and the Anchor is the last person in the line.

Set to graduate in the fall of 2026, Caceres currently balances his academic and Greek Life with a career as a DJ. He said his business holds deep sentimental value because he built it from the ground up, and he plans to continue the venture after graduation.

However, Caceres said his path to Greek Life was born out of a gap in the available Greek Life organizations on campus.

“When I first came to UNF, I saw the only fraternities usually available to students were white fraternities or historically Black fraternities,” Caceres said.

Caceres said that as a Latino student, he often felt stuck in an “in-between space” because his community is perceived as neither white nor Black. While those organizations are inclusive, Caceres felt they were still majority-dominated by those specific demographics, leaving a void for Latino-centric spaces.

“The idea of a Latin American fraternity at UNF has been here since I first came here, but the initial organization that I wanted to charter wasn’t able to get a class going; their name was Lambda Sigma Upsilon,” Caceres said.

After a few years of distancing himself from the Greek process, Caceres met his current Dean of the Fraternity around one year ago. 

The two began discussing the possibility of bringing Lambda Upsilon Lambda to UNF, and eventually made it a reality.

Goals of this chapter

Beyond the UNF campus, the Provisional Chapter of La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity Inc., has local significance.

“Not only would it be the first Latin American fraternity at UNF, but also the first Latin American interest fraternity in Jacksonville,” Caceres said, noting that schools like Jacksonville University do not yet have similar organizations. 

According to Jacksonville University’s Fraternity and Sorority Life, the university does not currently list a dedicated Latin American or Latino fraternity among its recognized Greek organizations.

Since officially establishing the fraternity branch at UNF on March 28, the fraternity has hit the ground running, focusing on community impact. 

According to Caceres, one of their primary goals is to support the Latino community, and they have already established a relationship with San Jose Elementary. In this campus, 60% of the student body is Spanish-speaking. 

For Caceres, the fraternity’s mission is personal.

“Even prior to joining the organization, these were things that I cared about deeply,” he said. “When I saw that [empowerment] was a major pillar of the organization, it was a no-brainer.”

The chapter has several informational and community service events planned for the coming weeks, beginning Friday, April 10, according to Caceres.

Campus welcoming

A chapter of the Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority at UNF said they expect Lambda Upsilon Lambda to be a “staple in the community”.

“The new members of Lambda Upsilon Lambda have been working tremendously hard since chartering on campus to build meaningful connections, not only just within the Multicultural Greek Council, but with the other three Greek councils on campus,” said the representative of UNF Gammas.

Under the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life at UNF, there are four governing councils, including the Interfraternity Council (IFC), the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), the Multicultural Greek Council (MGC), and the Panhellenic Council.

Although they’ve been active for only a short time, the UNF Gammas said Caceres, Velazquez, and Vega are motivated to shape the local community.

“They have also been sharing their future initiatives to help better UNF and the Jacksonville community,” said the representative. “The three young men are exceptional people and real joys to be around.”

Although not a member of Greek Life herself, freshman Adyson Huston, said the presence of the Lambda Upsilon Lambda chapter on campus was important to every UNF student.

“It’s kind of like important for every student to find their group at college, especially in Greek life,” said Huston. “It’s important for everyone to feel represented and comfortable so it’s really cool they [Lambda Upsilon Lambda] chartered.”

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