Toast Song

[Senusret I]

The current one says "help young people get the right start in life" - or something like that.

Didn't an earlier version say "help young men get the right start in life?"

[naraht]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

The current one says "help young people get the right start in life" - or something like that.

Didn't an earlier version say "help young men get the right start in life?"

The 1966 version says "First, do my best to help young people get the right start in life by holding up before them a "standard of manhood" that would withstand the test of time!"

However, I *have* found incidences of "help young men get the right start in life". One of them is Jesse Bridge's proposed resolution at the 1998 convention. (http://members.tripod.com/~JBSkeet/Resolutions.pdf), which I would dismiss by itself, *but* there is another one....

The APO chapter at Divine Word College in the Philippines (http://friendpages.com/p/pages/site/...cpet&id=209724) has a page with the text of an Alpha Phi Omega pamphlet called "In the beginning" which was contibuted to by Earle M. Herbert. This pamphlet *is* currently offered by the APO-USA National Office (http://www.apo.org/site/site_files/s...order_form.pdf) On that web page it says:

Frank Horton, a young naval officer, was one of those in the court room. He had seen a lot of the War and many of these trials too many. They, or more precisely their cause, had begun to bother him. 'We have let our young men down,' he thought. 'We defend them when they come to.trial, but there's got to be something we can do before that happens.' He told a friend later that this was when he had made himself a promise: "If I get through this war, when I get back to the United States, I will do my utmost to help young men get the right start in life by holding before them a standard of manhood that will withstand the test of time."

If it were simply that the current pledge manual had "young people" and in the beginning had "young men", I might think political correctness, but in 1966, the idea of having Alpha Phi Omega include women was viewed as a fringe idea by a *very* few chapters.

So there is room for further investigation here...

[emb021]

Originally Posted by naraht

The 1966 version says "First, do my best to help young people get the right start in life by holding up before them a "standard of manhood" that would withstand the test of time!"

However, I *have* found incidences of "help young men get the right start in life". One of them is Jesse Bridge's proposed resolution at the 1998 convention. (http://members.tripod.com/~JBSkeet/Resolutions.pdf), which I would dismiss by itself, *but* there is another one....

The APO chapter at Divine Word College in the Philippines (http://friendpages.com/p/pages/site/...cpet&id=209724) has a page with the text of an Alpha Phi Omega pamphlet called "In the beginning" which was contibuted to by Earle M. Herbert. This pamphlet *is* currently offered by the APO-USA National Office (http://www.apo.org/site/site_files/s...order_form.pdf) On that web page it says:



If it were simply that the current pledge manual had "young people" and in the beginning had "young men", I might think political correctness, but in 1966, the idea of having Alpha Phi Omega include women was viewed as a fringe idea by a *very* few chapters.

So there is room for further investigation here...

I have a scan of a copy of the "In the Begining" booklet. This is the printing that was available for many years, but they recently put out a new printing. AFAIK, the only difference between the two was they dropped some (IMO) excellent photos and info that was on the inside and outside back cover. I would REALLY like to see them restore these photos in the next printing and add a couple of more.

The text that you quote is the same as in that booklet. So they just changed what is in the Pledge Manual.


As to my comments about the photos in the booklet. In the version I have, on the inside back cover is the Lafayette College Coat of Arms, which apparently is the basis for our coat of arms, and a picture of the Coulton Chapel which has it in the window. Also shown is our current Coat of Arms.

What I would like to see is a few more photos. I'd like these ones restore, as well as a scan of the ORIGINAL coat of arms, so people know it was changed, the ORIGINAL and revised badge, and a photo of Brainerd Hall (Hogg Hall).

On the back of the booklet is a photo of the plaque that is at Lafayette College honoring our founding. When I joined this plaque was also on the back cover of the Pledge Manual, but in recent years they've dropped it. I'd like this photo restored to the back cover AND add in a photo of the plaque that was put up for the 75th Anniversary of APO at Lafayette.

[naraht]

Originally Posted by emb021

The text that you quote is the same as in that booklet. So they just changed what is in the Pledge Manual.

Maybe. But given the T&T from 1966 has "young people", I'm not sure the Pledge Manual *ever* had "young men".

[emb021]

Originally Posted by naraht

Maybe. But given the T&T from 1966 has "young people", I'm not sure the Pledge Manual *ever* had "young men".

Well, it depends on when the Pledge Manual added this edited version of 'The story behind the founding'. My scan of the 1957 Pledge Manual does not have the story at all. It could well be this was something that was adding to the Pledge Manual post-1966.