APO
 

Hi everyone,

Alpha Phi Omega, National Service Fraternity.

Alpha Phi Omega is a national, co-ed service fraternity that has set the standard for college campus-based volunteerism since 1925. We have active chapters on over 350 campuses, and we strive to help each individual member develop leadership skills, experience friendship on many levels and provide service to others. For more information about Alpha Phi Omega, click here.

I hope the links worked...if not (and you are interested), please go to www.apo.org

I pledged at a co-ed, diverse chapter where there was also a GSS chapter. We had no formal connection at all. I do remember learning about Omega Phi Alpha, but they didn't have a chapter at my school. I only learned about the APO/GSS connection via GC.
Our chapter didn't have calls/lines/step shows, either.

Every chapter of APO, like any other GLO, is different from school to school- we're a dynamic organization.

Most don't. :)

That's why APO isn't a BGLO period and shouldn't even be mentioned in a "nonNPHC BGLO" thread.

yes!
 

I agree! :) Alpha Phi Omega is supposed to be inclusive of EVERYONE. But I suppose that if you are only familiar with one chapter, then you assume that all the other chapters are the same, too.

On a sidenote...the idea that one chapter (or alumni association, like the Brothers of the Rising Sun) wouldn't include/accept a transferred brother (or alumni) because of his or her gender or ethnicity sickens me. We are ALL brothers.

Hey, it was that way for 30 years, and fully permissible by the National Board. IMO, and the opinion of other brothers from all male chapters, there is a certain brotherhood dynamic unique to all-male chapters that by making the chapter co-ed would undermine and/or destroy. Whether one finds that right or wrong is debateable, but at the end of the day, it is what it is.

Delta Chapter is notorious for the upkeep of the all-male tradition and one chapter I respect and support wholeheartedly. I for one will be sad to see the original Delta Chapter die in this manner.

the past is the past
 

Yes, the history of APO is as a male chapter, but then it became co-ed in the 70s. Nationals has made it clear that the remaining all-male chapters must put forth an honest effort to be open to women. Honestly, I really have no problem with the last remaining all-male chapters staying male. But it's not up to me- it is up to the brotherhood.

However, as I stated in my earlier post, if a brother were to transfer to that school, then she should be accepted by them as a brother. She is no less of a brother than any of them. My criticism is towards the small groups within APO who don't follow APO's inclusive nature or policies. (Obviously I understand that a chapter demographics will reflect the campus dynamic- i.e. in a HBCU, a religious school, or a single-sexed institution). Particularly the above mentioned alumni group. APO is not for just one race or gender. This could be further discussed via PM/ in the APO forum (as it has).

Last nitty gritty...notorious means famous for something bad. Juding from your post, I would think you would find Delta's stance to be admirable.


YiLFS

I don't know about other all-male chapters, but Delta doesn't take transfer members of ANY gender. You wanna be a member of Delta Chapter, you gotta be "made" at Delta Chapter

Seeing how much of an issue being all-male was to APO at large that they had to completely abolish it (and especially how you find all-male chapters and alumni associations, in your words, "sickening"), evidently it was something bad. So my term notorious was in a sense quite fitting under the circumstances.

Wanna holla at me more on the topic? You know how to reach me.....

YiLFS, etc, etc.

Alpha Phi Omega History, Gender and HBCUs.
 

I am an Alpha Phi Omega alumnus and on the National Alpha Phi Omega history committee and was representative to the APO chapter at Howard for a while. I'm probably able to give background on this better than most. :)

Timeline:
12/16/1925: Alpha Phi Omega founded. Membership limited to only men with Scouting (Cub, Scout or Leader) experience.

4/17/1947: First Alpha Phi Omega chapter founded at an HBCU. Johnson C. Smith University (Delta Phi - chapter #117). Howard University is second on 5/22/1948 (Zeta Phi - chapter #165).

1952: Gamma Sigma Sigma National Service Sorority Founded by eight women's service groups. Alpha Phi Omega brothers helped put the groups in contact with each other, but as far as I know were not at the meeting where the Sorority came into being.

1953: Omega Phi Alpha National Service Sorority came into being. Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity chapter at Bowling Green State encouraged women also interested in service to form their own group.

1950s-1970s: Some Alpha Phi Omega chapters continued to have local related women's service organizations integrated into the chapter in terms of service and social events.

1960s: By this point if not earlier many (if not all) Alpha Phi Omega at HBCUs were reflecting the way that the NPHC fraternities were doing things. They called their pledge classes lines, they called the pledge classes by a "club name" like AKA's Ivy Club or Kappa Alpha Psi's Scroll club. Alpha Phi Omega chapters often used the term "Trefoil Club"

1967: Alpha Phi Omega removes the requirement for prior scouting membership at its Constitutional Convention. Many chapters by this time had more or less allowed anyone to join, with those without prior scouting experience simply being registered with their local Scout Council as a volunteer in order to fulfill the requirement.

Late 1960s - Early 1970s Chapters from liberal schools and/or liberal parts of the country were pledging women "underground" and registering them with the National Office simply under their first initial and last name.

Early 1970s: Proposals to go co-ed first seriously raised.

1972: Title IX. All non-social Greek Letter Organizations required to go co-ed. (Note, this is why legally, the NPHC greeks no matter how much service they do are legally counted as social fraternities)

1974: After *much* debate, women are allowed affiliate membership in the Fraternity.

1976: After even more debate than in 1974, women are admitted as full members of the fraternity. As part of the "Gentleman's Agreement", chapters are not required to admit women, nor required to admit women brothers who transfer (Transfering membership requires the incoming chapter to accept them). This was to deal with those all-male chapters who considered leaving the fraternity if they were required to admit women.

1977-1979, a majority of chapters go co-ed. *No* chapters at an HBCU does so.

Up to at least1981: Efforts continute to attempt to get the law changed to have Alpha Phi Omega be exempt from Title IX.

1986: Chartering chapters and rechartering chapters are now required to attempt to recruit from both genders. This, to use a term from a brother from an all-male chapter "neuters" the all-male chapters. It also means that an all-male chapter that goes inactive must come back coed.

1996: All-male chapters make up about 15% of all chapters in the Fraternity.

2005: Opinion given by legal council that Alpha Phi Omega must not bar women from chapters any more. National Board resolution reflecting that passed.

2006: All-male chapters make up 17 of approximately 350 chapters in the Fraternity. National Convention (by close vote) supports National Board. All all-male chapters must co-ed by 2008 convention or show good faith in that direction or have their charters revoked for failure to follow National Pledging Standards and National By-laws. Committee formed including members of all-male chapters to help with transition.

I'll add specific comments on other postings separately.

*at bolded* Translation: SIX VOTES!!!

If what I've been seeing on YouTube recently regarding Alpha Phi Omega chapters starting such trends at the most unlikely of chapters is any indication of an imminent surge of such trends, my only reply to you is this:

COMING SOON TO A CHAPTER NEAR YOU! *lol*

Gamma Sigma Sigma isn't officially a sister sorority. Locally some chapters especially ones that are still all-male have much tighter relations with the individual chapters. More specifically at many Historically Black Colleges and Universities the fraternity isn't co-ed and Gamma Sigma Sigma is treated as a sister. When Gamma Sigma Sigma was formed in 1952, Alpha Phi Omega was entirely male (and limited to former scouts) and we did help the groups who were interested find each other. We however were not part of the founding meeting as far as I know.


I'd be interested in the years on this. When were the first yearbooks, when were you in school and when do you think the chapter came back. And you may be right in terms of a zombie "NPHC like" chapter.

Not sure there is much the National Office would do now, but let me know if you can think of something they should.

Randolph Finder

Agreed, but Alpha Phi Omega, Gamma Sigma Sigma, Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma generally do fall into the same grouping at HBCUs. Non-socials who started at non HBCUs (or a collection thereof for GSS) and whose chapters at HBCUs function similarly to NPHC in terms of calls, signs, stepping, lines and other characteristics.

For APO (many times at HBCUs abbreviated as A Phi Que) represents a culture shared across a number of chapters but isn't anything official. It is noticed and at least one convention had a seminar specifically demonstrating Alpha Phi Omega stepping.

If you can find any Alpha Phi Omega stepping beyond an HBCU, I'd love to see it. The ones I've seen so far have been for schools like Prairie View and Florida A&M.

Randy

Yes, I couldn't remember the exact number (and I wasn't at that convention.) Do you feel that describing it as a "close vote" rather than a "very close vote" is inappropriate?

I saw the Alpha Epsilon Nu chapter doing a step during their 2007 Sectionals Roll Call. If it's still on YouTube, I'll give you the link.

btw, I saw another APO co-ed chapter step (it was uploaded on YouTube within the last few weeks).

I taught a strolling workshop at the 2006 convention with about 30 attendees. Most of the participants were not from HBCUs, if that means anything.