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Alpha Phi Omega

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Alpha Phi Omega (commonly known as APO, but also ΑΦΩ, A-Phi-O, and A-Phi-Q) is a co-ed service fraternity organized to provide community service, leadership and social opportunities to college students. The fraternity exists in the United States and the Philippines. Unlike many other fraternities, APO's primary purpose is to provide volunteer service within four areas: service to the community, service to the campus, service to the fraternity, and service to the nation as participating citizens. Being primarily a service organization, the fraternity restricts its chapters from maintaining fraternity houses to serve as residences for their members.

Alpha Phi Omega
ΑΦΩ
The official crest of Alpha Phi Omega.
The official crest of Alpha Phi Omega.
FoundedDecember 16, 1925
Lafayette College
TypeService
ScopeNational
MottoBe a Leader, Be a Friend, Be of Service
ColorsBlue and Gold (Royal Blue and Old Glory Gold)
SymbolDiamond (jewel) , Golden Eagle (bird), Oak (Tree)
FlowerForget-me-not flower
Chapters361 in the United States, ~250 in the Philippines, 14 Petitioning Groups
Cardinal PrinciplesLeadership, Friendship and Service
Headquarters14901 E. 42nd St.
Independence, Missouri
USA
Websitehttp://www.apo.org

Background

Alpha Phi Omega claims to be the largest fraternity on college campuses in the United States. The fraternity has chapters at over 350 colleges, a current active membership of approximately 17,000 and has over 300,000 alumni. Chapters range in size from just a handful of active members at some small colleges to over a hundred active members at larger institutions.

It was founded on December 16, 1925 at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania by Frank Reed Horton and a group of former Boy Scouts and scouters as a way to continue participating in the ideals of Scouting at the college level. (Further information on the Founding can be found in the article "Frank Reed Horton".)

Until 1967, membership in Scouting was a requirement to join. The founders insisted that all those gaining membership must pledge to uphold the fraternity's three cardinal principles of Leadership, Friendship, and Service. The fraternity was opened to women in 1976. All members are called "Brothers", regardless of gender. The Fraternity views "Brothers" as a gender-neutral term.

Typical fraternity projects include blood drives, tutoring, charity fundraising events, Scouting events, and housing construction/rehabilitation. Signature projects are the annual National Service Week, in the first full week of November, and the National Spring Youth Service Day in April. Many of the operations of individual chapters are left to their own discretion, though most chapters have membership requirements which require a certain number of hours of service each semester. Some chapters of APO claim to complete over 5,000 hours of community service in an academic year.

Before women were allowed to join APO, several sororities, parallel in ideals but independent in structure, were formed for women who had been Camp Fire Girls or Girl Scouts. These include Gamma Sigma Sigma and Omega Phi Alpha. Also, several chapters had "little sister" groups, some of which (like the Jewels of Tau) formed separate organizations.

Organization

In the United States, Alpha Phi Omega is organized into four levels.

  1. At the top is the National Board of Directors, comprising the elected National Officers and others. These officers are elected at the biennial National Convention to two-year terms and include the National President, National Vice-President, six National Program Directors. Appointed officials include the International Relations Directors, National Archivist, Legal Counsel and others. Alpha Phi Omega has a National Office in Independence, MO. Here the employees run the Fraternity's day-to-day operations, including the National Executive Director and others.
  2. At the next level, the Fraternity is organized into eleven Regions, each headed by an elected Regional Director. Each Director is a member of the National Board, and heads a group of volunteer Regional Staff, usually consisting of alumni of various chapters.
  3. At the next level, the Fraternity is organized into sixty or so sections, each headed by an elected Sectional Chair. The Sectional Chairs are elected to one year terms at the Sections' annual Conferences. The Sections usually cover about a state or so, depending on the number of chapters in an area. In areas with dense populations of colleges there may be several sections per state, each with 8-12 chapters. Many Sectional Chairs have a group of volunteer Sectional Staff, usually consisting of alumni of various chapters.
  4. Finally, there are 350+ Chapters and Alumni Associations.

Notable alumni brothers

Notable honorary brothers

All male chapters and co-ed chapters

At the Alpha Phi Omega 1976 National Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, the decision was made to formally welcome females as brothers of the fraternity. Although this had been happening at some chapters on an unofficial basis for a number of years, this constituted the first formal recognition from on the national level. As with many major changes, this one caused a great deal of concern, especially among older, established chapters.

In order to preserve the unity of the fraternity as a whole, a "gentleman's agreement" was crafted over the years following the 1976 National Convention that, informally, allows chapters that were all-male prior to the 1976 National Convention to remain all-male as long as their current charters remain in effect and they don't go inactive. However, at the July 2005 National Board of Directors meeting, a resolution was passed that ruled that Chapters must practice membership policies without regard to gender. The resolution calls for the formation of a committee to assist the current all-male chapters (on co-educational campuses) in their transition to co-ed status. The results of this decision have yet to be determined.

As of 2006, the all-male chapters at co-educational institutions are:

Alpha Phi Omega in the Philippines

In 1950, Alpha Phi Omega had 227 chapters in the United States. The first chapter was organized in the Philippines that year. Many Filipinos were active in the Boy Scouts. Sol Levy, an APO member from Washington State introduced the organization to Filipino Scouts. Librado Ureta, a graduate student at Far Eastern University in Manila, was among the audience. Inspired by Levy's words, he read the publications and shared them with fellow Eagle Scouts and students on the FEU campus. He asked their opinion about Brother Levy's desire and the response was good. On 2 March 1950, the Alpha Phi Omega International Service Fraternity was chartered on campus.

Alpha Phi Omega grew rapidly in the Philippines. By its third year, seven chapters had been chartered at Manila and Visayan schools and it was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a nonstock, nonprofit and nondividend corporation. Alpha Phi Omega (Phil.) Inc. was the first branch of the fraternity to be chartered outside the USA. It is separate and independent from the organization in the U.S. but it adheres to the cardinal principles designed by Frank Reed Horton.

International Council of Alpha Phi Omega

ESTABLISHMENT: The 1980s brought about renewed contact between Alpha Phi Omega (USA) and Alpha Phi Omega (Philippines). Leaders in both organizations, including national presidents Earle Herbert (USA) and Carlos "Caloy" Caliwara (Philippines) concluded there was a need for an international coordinating body to promote the ideals of the fraternity around the world. This resulted in the birth of the International Council of Alpha Phi Omega (ICAPO) at the 1994 Dallas-Fort Worth Alpha Phi Omega (USA) national convention with the signing of the charter document. The first meeting of the council was held in Zamboanga City in the Philippines at the 1995 Alpha Phi Omega (Philippines) national convention. The second meeting of the council was held in Phoenix 1996 at the Alpha Phi Omega - USA national convention. At that time a formal set of operating policies for the council was signed and the first officers were elected. ICAPO meetings now regularly occur in conjunction with Alpha Phi Omega national conventions in the USA and the Philippines.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this Council is to promote the principles and ideals of Alpha Phi Omega, as originally exemplified by Frank Reed Horton, around the world. To this end, the Council aids in introducing and establishing collegiate-based Alpha Phi Omega organizations in countries where it is not now located and assists in institutionalizing Alpha Phi Omega organizations in countries where it is currently introduced or established. It serves as an official link among the variously established independent national Alpha Phi Omega organizations, and works to promote a deeper understanding and an increased working relationship among the independent national organizations.

EXTENSION: Alpha Phi Omega (USA) committed to the establishment of Alpha Phi Omega of Canada while Alpha Phi Omega (Philippines) committed to the establishment of Alpha Phi Omega of Australia.


References

  • "The APO History" in "Alpha Phi Omega Torch and Trefoil" diamond jubilee program for the 13th National Biennial Convention, Boy Scouts of the Philippines, Mt. Makiling, Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines, December 1985.
  • Alpha Phi Omega 2003 Pledge Manual
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