Alpha Phi Omega (), commonly known as APO, but also A-Phi-O and A-Phi-Q, is a national co-educational service fraternity. It is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 786 campuses, an active membership of over 25,000 students, and over 500,000 alumni members. There are also 392 chapters in the Philippines, one in Australia, and one in Canada. The 500,000th member was initiated in the Rho Pi chapter of Alpha Phi Omega at the University of California, San Diego.
Alpha Phi Omega is organized to provide community service, leadership development, and social opportunities for college students. The purpose of the fraternity is "to assemble college students in a National Service Fraternity in the fellowship of principles derived from the Scout Oath and Scout Law of the Boy Scouts of America; to develop Leadership, to promote Friendship, and to provide Service to humanity; and to further the freedom that is our national, educational, and intellectual heritage." Alpha Phi Omega's primary focus is to provide volunteer service within four areas: service to the community, service to the campus, service to the fraternity, and service to the nation and world.
Being primarily a service organization, Alpha Phi Omega does not operate nor maintain a fraternity house as lodging quarters for members or any other persons. However, a chapter may maintain rooms for meetings at the discretion of its members. Alpha Phi Omega does not restrict its members from being members of any other organization.
History
Alpha Phi Omega was founded on the 2nd floor of Brainerd Hall, now Hogg Hall, at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania on December 16, 1925, by Frank Reed Horton and thirteen other students who were former Boy Scouts or scouters. The fraternity's initial objective was to continue participating in the ideals of scouting at the college level.
In addition to Horton, other founding brothers were Everett William Probst, Ephraim Moyer Detwiler Jr., Thane Sanford Cooley, William Taylor Wood, Lewis Burnett Blair, Gordon Minnier Looney, Donald LeRoy Terwilliger, William Weber Highberger, Robert Jefferson Green, Donald H. Fritts, Ellsworth Stewart Dobson, George Axel Olsen, and Herbert Heinrich. Six advisors were also inducted: Lafayette President John H. MacCracken, Dean Donald B. Prentice, Professors D. Arthur Hatch, and Harry T. Spengler; one local scouting official, Herbert G. Horton, and one national Scouting official, the national director of relationships for the Boy Scouts of America, Ray O. Wyland."Alpha Phi Omega. Alpha Chapter Records, 1925–." Lafayette College Special Collections & College Archives. Last updated on July 17, 2000. Retrieved on October 6, 2007. The founders insisted that all those gaining memberships must pledge to uphold the fraternity's three cardinal principles of leadership, friendship, and service. Of these founding members, several made significant contributions to Alpha Phi Omega that are still recognized today. Everett Probst designed the pin and coat of arms, Thane S. Cooley suggested the hand clasp during the toast song, and Elsworth Dobson and Gordon M. Looney helped write the constitution and bylaws.
Alpha Phi Omega became a national fraternity on January 11, 1927, with the founding of the Beta chapter at University of Pittsburgh. Horton served as supreme grand master from the founding of the fraternity until the 1931 convention. Eighteen chapters were founded during this period. At the 1931 convention, H. Roe Bartle was elected as supreme grand master (title changed to national president in 1934) and served through World War II, stepping down at the 1946 convention. During his time as president, the number of chapters grew to 109. Early in his term (October 1931), Alpha Phi Omega was formally recognized by the Boy Scouts of America.
Beginnings of an international fraternity
The most rapid growth of the fraternity was in the post-war years. By 1950, Alpha Phi Omega had 227 chapters in the United States. The first chapter outside the US was organized in the Philippines that year. Many Filipinos were active in the Boy Scouts. Sol G. Levy, an APO member from University of Washington and Professional Scouter, introduced the organization to Filipino Scouts. Librado I. Ureta, a graduate student at Far Eastern University in Manila, was among the audience.October 1950 Torch and Trefoil Inspired by Levy's words, he read the publications and shared them with fellow Eagle Scouts and students on the FEU campus. He asked their opinion about Levy's desire, and the response was good. On March 2, 1950, the Alpha Phi Omega International Service Fraternity was chartered on campus."About Us APO History Alpha Phi Omega International College Service Fraternity & Sorority (Philippines)." Alpha Phi Omega (Philippines). Retrieved on March 28, 2007.
Alpha Phi Omega grew rapidly in the Philippines. By its third year, seven chapters had been chartered at Manila and Visayan schools, and it was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a nonstock, nonprofit, and non-dividend corporation. Alpha Phi Omega (Phil.) Inc. was the first branch of the fraternity to be chartered outside the United States.
Membership opens to women
The fraternity was opened fully to women in 1976. All members are called "Brothers," regardless of gender. The Fraternity views "Brothers" as a gender-neutral term. Before women were allowed to join, several smaller sororities, parallel in ideals but independent in structure, were formed for women who had been Camp Fire Girls or Girl Scouts, including Gamma Sigma Sigma and Omega Phi Alpha. Several Alpha Phi Omega chapters started "little sister" groups, some of which formed separate organizations (e.g., Jewels of Tau, Phyettes, etc.).
The first step in paving the way for women to join Alpha Phi Omega was the Constitutional Convention in 1967, which removed the requirement that members have affiliation with the Boy Scouts of America.
Starting at the 1970 national convention, co-ed membership was sponsored by the Zeta chapter and co-sponsored by several other chapters, but failed to reach the two-thirds majority at the national conventions, which was required to alter the organization's bylaws. Zeta went coed that year and, with the help of a past president and board member, B. Hesselmyer became the first official woman member of the national fraternity. Some chapters (like Delta Rho at Rutgers University and Alpha Tau at Butler University) went co-ed before 1976, although the national by-laws did not allow it. They did so by registering women by using only the first letter of their first name. Many chapters that attempted to register women with the national office would receive the paperwork and fees back for women initiates. The Alpha Chi chapter at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ran its own printing press and generated certificates and membership cards for its female initiates before 1976.
At the 1974 national convention, the fraternity allowed chapters to have women as affiliate members of the fraternity, and during the 1976 national convention in Atlanta, Georgia, the decision was made to formally welcome females as full members of the fraternity. As with many major changes, this one caused a great deal of dismay, especially among several long-established chapters. Many of these chapters threatened to disassociate with the national fraternity if they were forced to become co-ed. To preserve the unity of the fraternity as a whole, the amendment was crafted such that it did not require existing chapters to admit women as members, although all new chapters were to be coed. It was felt that over time, all would go coed. This "gentleman's agreement" was formalized in a resolution at the 1998 national convention and includes the following points: "The fraternity continues to encourage all chapters and petitioning groups to open their membership to all students. All chapters and petitioning groups have the right to choose their members using objective and open policies that are consistent with the fraternity's governing documents, the rules of the host institutions that they serve, and the traditions of that chapter, if any. Single-gender chapters chartered before the 1976 national convention may remain single-gender unless they become inactive or coeducational. All petitioning groups seeking to charter or re-charter will be and remain co-educational. Allowing women members in 1976 reversed the continuing steep decline in membership of the Fraternity and started a growth cycle in the fraternity.
Requirement of open membership At the July 2005 national Board of Directors meeting, a resolution was passed: "The actions of the 1976 and 1998 national conventions have attempted to clarify the Fraternity's open membership policy...The National Board is charged with...enforcing the membership policies of the Fraternity as well as ensuring compliance with applicable laws, and upon advice of legal counsel, all chapters must practice open membership without regard of gender". A decision by the 2006 national convention on December 30, 2006, has essentially upheld the Board's previous resolution, adding additional clarifications to the transitional process for the all-male chapters, including a timeline for completion of their transition to co-educational status by the 2008 national convention, and the establishment of a committee consisting of active members and alumni to assist with the process. In the spring of 2008, the Sigma Xi chapter at the University of Maine formally disassociated from the national fraternity, forming a new fraternity: Alpha Delta. They cited that their action was due to an "ideological split", claiming that the national fraternity allowed female members to join and took away the student focus.Southwick, Emily. "He's not your average bear: Service fraternity responsible for bringing out UM mascot shares behind-the-scene look at being Bananas ." The Maine Campus. April 14, 2008. Retrieved on April 15, 2008. In addition, Brothers from the Zeta Theta chapter at Drexel University, the Pi Chi chapter at Duquesne University, and the Psi Delta chapter at the University of Maine at Machias have joined this new fraternity.
On December 30, 2006, the 2006 national convention in Louisville, Kentucky, elected the first female National President of the organization, Maggie Katz. Brother Katz was re-elected, without contest, on December 30, 2008, in Boston, Massachusetts.
International Council The International Council of Alpha Phi Omega (ICAPO) was created at the 1994 Dallas-Fort Worth Alpha Phi Omega (USA) national convention with the signing of the charter document. Meetings followed at the 1995 Alpha Phi Omega (Philippines) and the 1996 Phoenix Alpha Phi Omega – USA national convention. At the 1996 convention, a formal set of operating policies for the council was signed, and the first officers were elected. ICAPO meetings now occur in conjunction with Alpha Phi Omega national conventions in the US and the Philippines.
Symbols and traditions Alpha Phi Omega's motto is "Be a Leader, Be a Friend, Be of Service". Its Cardinal principles or pillars are Leadership, Friendship, and Service. The fraternity's colors are royal blue and old gold. Its symbol is the golden eagle. Its flower is the forget-me-not, and its tree is the sturdy oak. The fraternity's jewel is the diamond.
Publications