By Karina Perez, September 9, 2025
“Meet the Greeks,” an opportunity for students to meet and learn about Cal Poly Pomona’s sororities and fraternities during Weeks of Welcome, was overshadowed by an email announcing law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, would attend the career fair originally scheduled for Sept. 18 and 19.
Students and alumni flocked to social media in an uproar of panic and disappointment, which ultimately led CPP’s Interim President Iris Levine to postpone the career fair till a later date. Many of the sororities and frats at Meet the Greeks, including Sigma Alta Beta, Alpha Delta, and Gamma Upsilon, which are all or predominantly Latino organizations, also reacted with concern over the safety of students.
“Granted, yes, (U.S. Customs and Border Patrol) has always been here on campus during the career fair, but I think it’s a ‘read the room’ situation,” said Treasurer Alfred Hernandez Jr. of CPP’s Alpha Delta Chapter. “Like, you’re going to allow them to come here and still do it during these rough times?”
Hernandez shared the same sentiment that the university’s choice to promote the career fair, with our political climate, seems odd.
Because CPP is considered public property, many students grew wary of the potential presence of ICE with the invitation of the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. CPP responded to students’ concerns over their invitees with although U.S. Customs and Border Patrol were invited, ICE was not, and does not allude to their attendance at all.
“For me personally, it’s very terrifying to think that ICE can come here at any given moment, and honestly Cal Poly Pomona should do a really good job at securing that,” said Sigma Alta Beta President Alex Moreno.
Moreno expressed concern over the safety of students, especially of those undocumented.
CPP offers Undocumented Students Sources where students can access a variety of programs, including free immigration legal services and scholarships.
Despite CPP’s promise to provide resources to students, the question of the security and integrity for students and its faculty still stands, especially since CPP is home to a predominantly Latino and Hispanic demographic.
“[With] the backlash it just goes to show that even as a Hispanic serving institute, we’re not getting the support from the higher ups, which is unfortunate,” Hernandez said. “But, I think as a Hispanic serving institute, us Latinos have a voice, and we all unite together as one.”
Unity is a growing sentiment throughout the community as many students are faced with what could potentially lie ahead.
Chapter orientation advisor Ana Romero of Gamma Upsilon discussed what her organization has to offer specifically during these times and how the community has reacted to this emotionally.
Along with events such as their “Open Espresso” Sept. 16, which allows students to join the sisterhood of Gamma Upsilon, they also provided a list of on-campus resources like the Care Center and Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). The sorority also provided external resources like the Immigrant Rights Hotline and National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice.
“We are a Latino organization, and we are Latin by tradition, not by definition, and I think that what we’re seeing of the repercussions, as far as the club fair being postponed, it’s just a lot of the security and safety of a lot of our students and overall just the community is shaken up,” Romero said.
Like Hernandez and Moreno, Romero holds true to what unity means to her and the community.
“I think it’s so important and I’m really grateful that we’re having this opportunity to be out here to show them that even though we are scared, in a [scary] moment in life, we’re still standing solid,” Romero said.
The Gamma Upsilon Chapter of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority Inc. and Lambda Theta Phi Latin Frat Inc. as well as other communities on campus, vow to provide resources and guidance through these difficult times of safety and panic through hosted events, which can be accessed through their respective Instagram pages.
