[38449] in APO-L
Re: [APO-L] For those still here...
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Richard Vehlow)
Tue Oct 18 09:20:41 2011
Date: Tue, 18 Oct 2011 09:13:17 -0400
Reply-To: Richard Vehlow <rev1969@gmail.com>
From: Richard Vehlow <rev1969@gmail.com>
To: APO-L@listserv.iupui.edu
In-Reply-To: <8CC4D4CF68584D0-3870-18A01@webmail-m089.sysops.aol.com>
Greetings brothers, this is Rich "REV" Vehlow, now the Section 88 chair of
APO, but back in the day, quite the frequent user of both APO-L and
APOSOC-L.
I never deleted any APO-L mail, at least for several years, so I still had
Charlie Zimmerman's post from almost two years ago still in my inbox. i
thought I'd copy it in this email.
I am looking for ways to improve the interchapter awareness and
participation of my section. Back in the day (early 1990s) most chapters in
sections 88 and 89 (pre-section 87) would send a majority of brothers and
pledges to sectionals. Sometimes you would get 30 attendees out of chapters
in the 40-50 member range as an example. Conferences were routinely well
above 200. Furthermore there was a lot of individual roadtripping among
brothers to various chapter events, Interchapter bonding was so thorough in
fact that participants on the APOSOC list began doing their own roll calls
at conferences as if they were their own chapter!
Now surprisingly in the modern social media age, I see alarmingly little
interaction among current actives between chapters. No chapter has sent a
majority of their brothers and pledges to a conference from my section in a
few years, except for host chapters. At conferences, i look out and see
chapter-homogenous tables and a lot of cliquing by chapters still. And
little interchapter friending on facebook that I notice.
So after much thought, I will soon begin encouraging active brothers and
pledges to join the two lists and use them for the purposes and to the
extent that it was originally intended. i want to give the list a heads up
since you may begin seeing an increase of traffic: pledges asking history
questions, officers announcing special chapter service projects and events,
and conference promotion.
It is my hope that participation in these e-mail tools will rekindle the
interchapter fellowship and involvement that I feel has been lacking in
recent years, and also assist pledges and new members in learning about the
fraternity.
In LFS,
Rich "REV" Vehlow
section 88 chair
APO-L subscriber since Fall 1989
rev1969@gmail.com
On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 11:27 AM, Charlie Zimmerman <charliez@aol.com>wrote:
> Hey, a note from APO-L! Many may have wondered whatever became of it.
> Well, as you see, it's still here. There are still about 275 subscribers,
> but not too many new ones in the last few years.
>
> As you've likely noticed (or may realize upon reflection), APO-L no longer
> holds a unique spot in Alpha Phi Omega as a venue for electronic
> communication - with the robust national web site, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo!
> groups and other options available, not to mention a general decline (so I'm
> told) in e-mail communication among college students, APO-L just isn't the
> be-all, end-all anymore.
>
> As APO-L has never been an official communication tool of the national
> fraternity, promotion of the list has always been on a grass-roots basis.
> The list has not been promoted in the T&T or other Fraternity
> communications. And long past are the days of sessions at the National
> Convention on how to use computers and the Internet in Alpha Phi Omega.
> (But, boy, back in the day... we had crowds! That's how APO-L got started
> after the 1986 convention.)
>
> As we enter 2010, this is an opportune time to remind folks that APO-L is
> still here. I don't have any plans to shut it down, as it doesn't cost
> anything in terms of time or money. The only threat to its continued
> existence would be a change in policy, software or platforms by our host,
> IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis). No news is good
> news, in that respect.
>
> If you feel the urge to promote APO-L in your various fraternity circles,
> please feel free to do so. Who knows what may happen?
>
> Til then, remember that, 'They also (list)serve who only stand and wait..."
> ;-)
>
> Fraternally and with best wishes for the holidays and beyond,
>
> Charlie Zimmerman
> APO-L Moderator & Past National Board Member
>
