[7030] in APO-L
Re: Alpha Phi Omega is Not a Club!!!
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (grimes)
Mon Oct 25 17:25:06 1993
Date: Mon, 25 Oct 1993 16:35:11 -0400
Reply-To: grimes <grimerd9@ac.wfunet.wfu.edu>
From: grimes <grimerd9@ac.wfunet.wfu.edu>
To: Multiple recipients of list APO-L <APO-L%PURCCVM.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu>
This is the first message that have sent to APO-L, but when I read
the message, "Alpha Phi Omega is NOT a club!!", I felt a definite need to
respond. I am in complete agreement with the idea that we are not a club.
As a fraternity we have certain responsibilities to those who are our
brothers. One of those is to bring in new brothers with an understanding
and commitment to the ideals of Alpha Phi Omega. I feel that this can
only be achieved by having a pledge program that will teach the pledges
ALL that Alpha Phi Omega stands for.
We may be a Service fraternity, but we are also founded on two other
principles Leadership and Friendship. If we become an organization that
focuses on one of these aspects without the other, then we will have lost
the ideals that make this fraternity so dear to myself and many others.
Here at Wake Forest we have another organization for those who only wish
to perform service; it is called the volunteer service corps. Anyone who
wishes to do service but does not want the responsibility of being a
brother should seek these outlets.
Brotherhood is something that goes beyond a group of people that you
see at service projects or chapter meetings. A brotherhood is a group of
people who desire the companionship of each other. Also, brothers should
have a profound desire to give assistance and friendship to each other. I
am not saying that all brothers should like all other brothers because
that is not a realistic point of view. However, I do feel that each
brother has a responsibility to do his or her utmost to live up to the
high ideals of brotherhood.
This by no means implies that we should attempt to find only people
that conform to some stereotype of a brother. Diversity is one of our
greatest strengths. Only by having diverse, committed brothers will we
thrive as a fraternity.
At this point, I wish to clarify my use of the word fraternity as
compared to club. As was stated in another response to "ALPHA PHI OMEGA
is Not a club," a club is a group of individuals bond by a common idea.
This definition would also apply to a fraternity except for the fact that
once you become a member of club you are just a member; when you become a
member of a fraternity you become a BROTHER!!! There in lies the
difference between ALPHA PHI OMEGA and a club.
We must never lose sight of the responsibilty that being a brother
entails. A dedication to this responsibilty should be taught to all
pledges before they have it thrust upon them without a clue as to the true
meaning of brotherhood. That is the purpose of a strong pledge program.
I have heard that many chapters no longer have a significant pledge
program. I feel that by not indoctrinating pledges into the ways and
ideals of ALPHA PHI OMEGA we are not facing a resposibilty that we have to
them. My chapter, Kappa Theta, still has a very active pledge period that
last eight to ten weeks. The purpose of our pledge period is to allow the
to become familiar with the active brothers so that they will feel a part
of a brotherhood not a group. Also, we teach the ideals of ALPHA PHI
OMEGA and the workings of it. These three things cover all the aspects of
our cardinal principles. Getting to know the brothers promotes
friendship, understanding the ideals allows them to see why we do service,
and along with the other two understanding the working of the fraternity
teaches them that which they need to know in order to assume a leadership
position. I cannot imagine that our chapter could be any better off
without the pledge program.
ALPHA PHI OMEGA is one of the greatsest organizations in the world
and I love it more than anything else that I have participated in.
Everything that I have said in the message is said out of a desire to make
us the best we can possibly be. I hope that everyone who reads this will
find something that inspires them. I do not wish for everyone to agree
with me. I just want give everyone some food for thought. Any responses
can be sent to me via APO-L or internet:grimerd9@ac.wfu.edu. Thank you
for taking the time to read this.
IN LEADERSHIP, FRIENDSHIP, AND SERVICE
R. David Grimes
Kappa Theta
Fall 1990
