YiLFS private?
 

A couple of days ago I was doing a Wikipedia search for Alpha Phi Omega and ran across http://www.wpiwiki.net/index.php?title=Alpha_Phi_Omega

One of the things in there is
'APO brothers are fond of using "YiLFS" at the end of their emails and letters. Its exact meaning is only revealed after successful initiation into the brotherhood.'

Is there anyone out there that agrees with this?


YiLFS
Randolph Finder

I do not, but then again we never sent lots of letters or emails (har har, we had no email) in my chapter, so it wasn't like we were "signing off" on lots of things, so we never really discussed this.

This is one of those that it's pretty easy to figure out if you think about it...kind of like some groups that use "YITBOS" or the like.

I don't agree with that, but hey, if that's the tradition of that chapter, whatever.

I didn't realize this was for an individual chapter until I looked again. Yeah, I never heard of the "APO Elf" either.

The APO Elf sounds kind of like our position of Sunshine in our chapter. Except its a position and people know about it.

I've always used YiLFS when signing off emails or, back in my day, letters, to other brothers.

IMHO, considering that what LFS stands for is public knowledge, I don't think it is considered "private". Now, if someone were to to sign off using our GREEK motto, I would be concerned, as that is only revealed after a neophyte enters the initiation ceremony.

Also being a social Greek, we use "In the Flame" to sign off, but with sisters, we might use the first three letters of our secret, Greek, motto.....but few would be able to figure it out, unless they'd been through our initiation ritual.

Seems like the same thing, no???


BTW.....what's an APO Elf? Or a Sunshine position??

PS.....I went to this Wikipedia site and it seems that it was only related to one chapter. Each chapter has its own traditions and quirks....maybe not explaining YiLFS is one of them?

Greek on License Plates
 

I had a similar situation in terms of greek with a fellow student at my Karate school. His license plates on the two family cars are AEKDB13 and 13AEKDB. He was founder #13 at the Kappa Sigma chapter at Towson State University (Maryland). AEKDB apparently are the initial letters of the secret motto of Kappa Sigma. The fact that those letters represent Kamma Sigma isn't secret though, the greek equivalents (Alpha Epsilon Kappa Delta Beta) are on the scroll at the bottom of their coat of arms.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kappa_Sigma)

As our Cardinal Principles, Leadership, Friendship, Service is NOT secret (heck we use it on much of our promo materials), to claim that LFS or YiLFS is somehow 'secret' is silly.

Frankly, you can count on 1 hand the number of things in APO that are really secret:

* our real name
* our handclasp
* meaning behind badge
* meaning behind coat of arms
* our rituals

Do you count the sign of the Fraternity?

Sign
 

I wouldn't count the sign itself, but I would count the meaning behind it.

Sounds right.

Considering that so many people show the sign in pictures (tho as a former Scout, they are doing it wrong...), I would say no, but as another pointed out, the meaning of it is secret.

Sign
 

What part about it are they doing wrong? I've noticed that some do the sign with their palm facing towards themselves.

Scouts are taught to give the Scout Sign this way:

Right arm straight out, elbow bent at a 90% angle with the hand upright, scout sign given with the palm facing.

Stuff that isn't right is things like splaying the fingers, dropping the arm and the like. All the other stuff I see with some Brothers making the sign in various (to me as a scout) strange ways just makes me roll my eyes.

The arm should be held this way:

Hand
Hand
Hand
arm
arm
arm
arm
elbow arm arm arm arm Body

:)

I'd just rather see it in a general upward direction with the palm out. Placing it over the heart or to the side looks silly.

This is me being hyper-technical. Boy Scouts make the Scout Sign the way you described, with the arm at a right angle. Cub Scouts make the [Cub] Scout Sign with arm raised straight up.

I need a life.

Well, I think together the old motion looks good. Start with the upper arm horizontal extended to the side and the upper arm pointing with the hand palm facing forward, swing the arm down so that the hand still in the sign ends up over your heart with the palm toward the body. (The elbow is not quite as far down as if you were doing the pledge of allegiance though) Then extend the arm directly in front of you, so that the palm is mostly upward. The arm should be at about a 30 degree angle so that it is about 15 inches directly in front of your right hip. (through the entire thing the fingers of the hand remain in the same position)

The three positions up, over the heart and out are to me tied to the pieces of longest single sentence in the explanation of the fraternity sign in the brotherhood ritual (the one that starts with the word 'Our'). I believe the motion in question was actually done in the ritual at one point.

Randy

If people did atleast that, I'd be happer. :)

Arm position isn't THAT important to me, EXCEPT during our rituals, but wouldn't balk if their elbows were closer to their bodies when there isn't enought room.

As noted, I also don't like it when I see people doing the sign, but with their fingers splayed. They should be tight together (see the illustration in the back of the ritual manual).

Apparently we used to do the arm raised straight up too in our ritual. I'd rather see it done that way, then when people have their arm lower, with the elbow nearer their body.

This is also done with the Scout Sign at meetings to quite people down. I've seen it also done at Fraternity events.

Venturers, btw, do the Venturing sign with the arm at a right angle.