On This Day In History: February 16

On February 16, 1995, the brotherhood of Chi Rho Omicron was founded by Oscar Gonzales, Joe Bautista, Marc Dolor, Jay R. Ladran, Berto Palma, Augustine C. Tuliao, and Florencio G. Costales at California State University, Fresno. 
Fraternal organizations have long been part of the fabric of the Filipino American community. In the 1920s and 1930s, Filipinos faced racism, poverty, and alienation in the United States of America (USA). One of the ways they coped with these challenges was to form Filipino fraternal organizations like the Caballeros de Dimas-alang, the Legionarios del Trabajo, the Gran Oriente, and the Filipino Federation of America. These organizations provided them a tight-knit sense of community reminiscent of the strong family ties they left back home. One of the roles such organizations played was, for example, to provide full payment for members' funerals; this was particularly crucial for the large percentage of Filipinos who lived out the latter half of their lives as aging, childless bachelors. The organizations created a sense of belonging and community in the USA. 
During the 1990s, there was a resurgence of Filipino American pride, and while college entry rates were high for Filipino Americans, matriculation rates for Filipino Americans were much lower. This was reflective of the incredible pressures placed on Filipino Americans as victims of the model minority myth, cultural expectations to enter specific fields, and silent sacrifices made by Filipino American students, all creating tension within students not conducive to college completion.