[AOIIalum]

It's so interesting to read everyone's founding stories, especially the local GLOs! My chapter of AOII started as a local, and I love that story as much the story of AOIIs founding

Alpha Omicron Pi International Fraternity was founded on January 2, 1897 at Barnard College, Columbia University in New York City. It is true that one of our Founders was not allowed to pledge any of Barnard's existing women's fraternities due to her faith, so the four friends decided to begin their own fraternity. Quoted from the www.alphaomicronpi.org site:

"Barnard College, in the late 1890’s, was the first separate college for women to be affiliated with a great men’s university such as Columbia University. AOII’s four founders’ were in the class of 1898, young , unlike most of the women who had entered Barnard in previous years. They were friendly, adventurous, frank and merry, and enthusiastically devoted to each other and to the class of ‘98.

Determined to make a democratic, unostantatious society, the four women, Stella George Stern, Helen St. Clair, Elizabeth Heywood, and Jesse Wallace climbed a little winding stair into the stackroom of the old Columbia Library. This little room was rarely used and stored Anglo-Saxon tomes and ancient vellum manuscripts. While the four sat in a deep window seat, pigeons outside and snow lightly falling, they pledged one another at the beginning of the year 1897.

Barnard College welcomed the new fraternity and it was not long before the first chapter, Alpha, was flourishing. The fraternity became national with the installation of Pi Chapter at Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, New Orleans, on September 8, 1898.

Over the next 100 years, AOII has added to the ranks 175 collegiate chapters and initiated over 120,000 members. Omicron Chapter (U of Tennessee), chartered on April 14, 1902 as our 4th chapter is the oldest active chapter.

AOII has thrived and continued to grow throughout the changing 20th century. Despite several wars, the Great Depression, the women’s suffrage movement and the social unrest of the 1960’s, AOII has continued to hold true to its ideals. Founder Stella Perry once wrote, “that which makes our bond is promise certain of success. Let us follow our ensign devotedly, utterly and bravely. For our purpose cannot fail.”

Unfortunately, the room where we were founded no longer exists but I was able to see the building and the general area when in New York for our Centennial a few years ago.

Christin