[21169] in APO-L
[APO-L] Bread and Butter
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Stephen Merrill)
Tue Sep 12 17:45:31 2000
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Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 17:43:27 -0400
Reply-To: Stephen Merrill <smerrill@MINT.NET>
From: Stephen Merrill <smerrill@MINT.NET>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
Some very interesting responses to this topic.
First, I for one am not going to concede that APO is in as dire of a
position as some would suggest. But I do think it is fair to say that we
may have "lost our edge" when it comes to positioning ourselves on college
campuses. But we also need to keep in mind that membership can move in
cycles and have peaks and valleys, sometimes that have nothing to do with
Alpha Phi Omega.
When I pledged back in Fall, 1988 (Warren Luzadder), my home chapter was
about 40 strong in the fall, and would peak close to 60 just prior to Spring
graduation. This would continue for a couple of years, until we started to
shrink. By the time I graduated 3 years later, our range was between 25 and
40. What happened, several things. First, our methods for recruitment were
outdated, we weren't changing with the times as well as maybe we could have.
We were using the same old Rush methods, and were slowly becoming lazy an
complacent. Second, the school was undergoing a vicious round of budget
cuts, that peaked in the early to mid 90's, which sent the morale on campus
spiraling downward. Participation in Alpha Phi Omega decreased, but so did
other groups. Membership in Fraternities, Sororities, and other campus
groups (Circle K) dropped across the board. And as I believe Brother Fagan
said previously, more people had to work, and I believe that this does
impact APO and our ability to attract people. Today, I am pleased to say my
home chapter is having a renaissance in terms of membership. The active
Brotherhood has doubled in less than two years, and the spark is there
again. While the numbers are not where they were when I pledged, I have
little reason to doubt it is possible within a couple of years time.
What caused the turn around. First and most importantly, Brothers who
believed in Alpha Phi Omega, and a willingness to promote the Fraternity
whenever possible. One on one recruiting and "target marketing" people who
they casually knew proved very effective. Finding new ways to be "seen" on
campus. Most importantly, they were able to take what worked from the past
and keep things of value, and change what was broken, while still
maintaining their identity.
What I have stated above is not unique to one chapter. Today in my role as
a Section Chair, I am proud to say that I see positive membership trends and
growth at all of my chapters (I only reference my home chapter above because
of a longer historical perspective). I will refuse to take credit here, and
will give all of the credit to the active Brothers at the chapters who have
had the initiative to try new techniques. Growth is still happening, and in
every case, all of my chapters have stayed true to our Cardinal Principles,
and stayed within the confines of membership guidelines of the National
Fraternity.
Regarding my statement above about having "lost our edge", let me explain
some more.
At one time, we were fairly unique on college campuses in regard to a focus
on Service. As many of the Social Greeks were looking for an avenue to
improve both their image, and in some cases slumping numbers, they
themselves turned to Service, usually under the banner of "philanthropy."
Social Greeks are less about drinking and more about service than ever
before, and we have certainly led in this arena. Thus, I feel we have lost
some of our ability to differentiate ourselves from social Greeks. Are we
still different and unique, you bet, but we need to find newer and better
ways of getting that message out.
Brother Covi presented some very viable options of ways for APO to
differentiate ourselves from the rest of campus organizations, and they
certainly bear further investigation.
Regarding alcohol as part of rush or rush at a bar.....if that were done at
a chapter at most any school, there would not be a chapter there much
longer, at least if the school had anything to say about it. And if we
advocated that as part of a National Fraternity, we would need to increase
our dues 10 fold or more to try and keep up with the legal fees we would be
facing, and even then probably would not survive.
Regarding alumni, this makes me laugh. What is said is true, alumni are
often forgotten by a chapter, and don't hear much, except when they are
being asked to donate money. I mentioned this an active Brother about 4
years ago that they should consider reaching out. The message I was told
then is that they were too busy between the chapter of today and their
academics to accomplish this. What is amazing, is that the same person who
made that statement, was himself complaining about 2 years after graduation
that the chapter did not reach out much, and when they did, it was for
money. When I reminded him of what he had said previously, the subject
changed instantly. We should not fault the Active Brothers of today for not
being more proactive, they have a pretty full plate in light of school, APO,
and in many cases work. For more active alumni, we need to find ways to
become more active on our own.
Well enough for now.
YiLFS,
Steve Merrill
Section 94 Chair
Note:
Opinions expressed in this email are solely my own.
