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I've heard from reputable (staff) sources, (but can't verify) that Horton considered the greek letters: Beta Sigma Alpha for the, as of yet, unborn fraternity. They were discarded because their meaning would be transparent. The S on the service pin is also transparent, which leads to its being discussed as "open" knowledge.
If someone came up to me and asked, "What's the S stand for?" I think I would tell him/her to just think about it a bit. It would be simple enough to avoid explaining it. If s/he insisted, it would be the perfect opportunity to suggest joining! :P
While our fraternity does have a secret pledging and initiatory ritual, I've often seen brothers a bit more casual about it. Ex. historian's who are taking picures as soon as a ritual is over, before the equipment is packed.
However, our ritual is *not* "open" like DU's, and it shouldn't be treated that way. I know we've aired our (clean!) laundry in public in the past, but that's no reason we can't bring it in. If someone thinks s/he knows what the S means, or anything else, I'm not worried about it. Either s/he's got it right and knows a bit more about why I'm proud to be in APO, or not, and should be told so. That doesn't mean I would ever tell people about our rituals. To share what is expected to be held secret is both untrustworthy and unloyal to your brothers.
Our international fraternity is held together by many things. Primarilly though, it is our common dedication to being leaders, friends, and of service, as well as our common experiences in service projects, leadership development activities, fellowship, etc. *and* our rituals which create the unity which is APO.
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Back to the question: I don't think that having the "S" be common knowledge hurts our organization. However, (unless its meaning is published or mentioned as "open" by APO somewhere) discussing it with non-brothers would be contrary to the principles of APO.
nlfns,
vijay
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