Beta Chi Theta

Beta Chi Theta (ΒΧΘ, also Beta Chi) is a South Asian interest collegiate social fraternity in the United States. It is the largest South Asian Fraternity in the United States.

History
Beta Chi Theta originated with eight students at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the spring of 1999. On June 2, 1999, Beta Chi Theta officially received recognition by the university and was granted membership into the UCLA Inter-Fraternity Council. Its eight founders were: • Abu Mathew Abraham

• Hashu Datwani

• Samir Khandhar

• Ankur Kumar

• Ashish Nagdev

• Ankur Parikh

• Roshan Patel

• Ali Zhumkhawala The fraternity's founding principles are creating and maintaining a strong, close-knit brotherhood, honoring tradition, pursuing service to humanity, increasing cultural awareness, promoting academic excellence, and building a unified nationwide network.

The Beta chapter was formed at Baylor University in 2001, making Beta Chi Theta a national fraternity. After adding more chapters, the organization held its first national convention in 2003, where the fraternity's constitution and bylaws were adopted and a national board was established. The group was incorporated as Beta Chi Theta National Fraternity, Inc. in 2004.

On April 23, 2006, Beta Chi Theta became the first nationally recognized South Asian-based fraternity to become a member of the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC). At the time, it was the youngest fraternity to become a member of the NIC in its 100-year history.

Beta Chi Theta now has chapters and colonies located all over the United States. Although its members are primarily from South Asian backgrounds, membership in Beta Chi Theta has become diverse, with brothers from all backgrounds, races, cultures, religions, and sexual orientations.

Symbols and traditions
The fraternity's colors are black, silver, and white. Its symbol is the rampant lion. Its motto is "Above all else, Brotherhood".

Beta Chi Theta's pillars are Academic Excellence, Brotherhood, Nationwide Network, Service to Humanity, South Asian Awareness, and Tradition.

Philanthropy
The fraternity has two national philanthropy initiatives: Beating Heart Disease and Be the Change.

Beating Heart Disease
In 2009, the fraternity selected cardiac health awareness as its national philanthropy because this is the number one cause of death in the world and it is especially rampant amongst the South Asian population. Since then, it has partnered with the American Heart Association to teach communities how to live a heart-healthy lifestyle and to raise money for cardiac research and education. The Beating Heart Disease program is a series of week-long events held by chapters in the spring of each year to educate students on cardiac health and to raise money for the American Heart Association. An additional aspect of this partnership involves the participation in Heart Walks, which are hosted annually across the nation by the American Heart Association.

Be The Change
Beta Chi Theta partners annually with SAALT (South Asian Americans Leading Together) to host Be The Change service day on university campuses. Be The Change takes place annually in the fall and pays tribute to the life of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi once said to "be the change you wish to see in the world."

Men's Mental Health
In 2023, Beta Chi Theta announced a new philanthropic focus on raising awareness and funding resources for men's mental health. While there's been an increased focus on mental health in recent years, men continue to be an underserved demographic.

Chapters
Following is a list of Beta Chi Theta chapters and colonies. Active chapters and colonies are indicated in bold. Inactive chapters are in italics.