The purpose of this Fraternity shall be to assemble
college students in a National Service Fraternity in the fellowship of the
principles of Alpha Phi Omega; to develop Leadership, to promote
Friendship, and provide Service to humanity, and to further the freedom
that is our national, educational, and intellectual heritage.
FAQ
What's Alpha Phi Omega?
Alpha Phi Omega is a national co-ed community service fraternity with a 75-year history at Stanford. APO is an un-housed fraternity. You do not need to drink alcohol to join, and there is no hazing. Instead, APO being a fraternity means that we value friendship and fellowship among the members.
How do we serve the community?
We do community service for the Stanford community and the Bay area. Activities include participating in an Earth Day cleanup at Muir Woods, serving soup kitchens, organizing the Trick-or-Treat canned food drive, and helping build children's playgrounds. Our activities address various needs of the community in order for the members to broaden their perspective of service. It's the members who decide what kind of service we do. There's no rigid agenda of activities that we have to accomplish, and new ideas are always welcome.
How are we different from other service groups on campus?
We are different because our goal is the close integration of service and friendship. In addition, our service activities are not limited to one specific aspect of the community. Although focusing in one area is useful, what we can do as college students is limited by time and money. As members of Alpha Phi Omega, our service does not end in college. By knowing what is needed in our community, and in our nation, APO encourages its members to go further to help out others, even after graduating from Stanford.
Other cool things?
As part of our fellowship activities, we go out to dinner together, go to the movie theater, play lazer tag, go ice skating, and many other activities. The members have a broad range of interest in service, and therefore can inform each other about the aspect of society that they are most concerned about. We learn from each other, further broadening our view of the possibilities of service. We also work with other chapters in the area, such as those from UC Berkeley, San Jose State University, San Francisco State University, and more. Through service activities, fun get-togethers and conferences, we get to know students from other universities as well.
What is pledging?
The pledge period is the time in which the potential new members are introduced to the members and activities of Alpha Phi Omega. Pledges are free to depledge at any time during the process when they feel like APhiO does not suit their style. Therefore, we encourage anyone who is interested in our activities to pledge. Pledges will learn the history and principles of APhiO, while working together to plan and participate in service and fellowship projects.
Our History
The history of Alpha Phi Omega then is a story of Leadership, Friendship and Service. Since the founding at Lafayette College in 1925, more than 255,000 students have participated in this nationwide Brotherhood. From a single chapter in 1925, this National Service Fraternity has grown to 684 chapters.
Following the chartering of Beta Chapter at the University of Pittsburgh, three more chapters were chartered in 1927--Gamma at Cornell University on February 17, Delta at Auburn University on November 8, and Epsilon at Northeast Missouri State University on December 13. And with the chartering of the sixth chapter--Zeta at Stanford University--on May 19, 1928, Alpha Phi Omega in its first four years had spread from the East to the South to the Midwest and all the way to the Pacific Coast. The Fraternity has continued to grow, having chartered more chapters than any other collegiate organization.
In the very early years, decisions of the National Fraternity were made by mail. The first actual assembly of delegates in convention was in St. Louis, Missouri, March 1 and 2, 1931. By that date the Fraternity had grown to 18 chapters. Seven of the chapters were represented at the convention by a total of 23 students and advisors.
Thirty-one biennial National Conventions have been held (two were skipped in 1942 and 1944 because of World War II). A special Constitutional Convention was held in 1967.
Convention attendance has, of course, grown tremendously. The largest registration thus far was 2,035 at Boston, Massachusetts, in 1992, and the largest number of chapters represented was 231 in Dallas, Texas, in 1970.
At the 1931 Convention, the presiding officer was Frank R. Horton. He had served as Supreme Grand Master (National President) from the beginning of the organization until that time. The convention elected Dr. H. Roe Bartle to succeed our Founder as Supreme Grand Master.
For years, Alpha Phi Omega state conventions were held. Today chapters are grouped in "sections" and "regions." There are 50 sections in 10 regions across the country. Sectional and Regional Conferences are a very important part in our Fraternity operation. They foster good fellowship and helpful exchange of ideas for the advancement of our service program.
At the 1976 National Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, the delegates voted to open the ranks of full membership to women, thereby making the Alpha Phi Omega experience available to all students
Zeta Timeline
A brief look at Stanford's chapter
Alpha Phi Omega is an international co-ed service fraternity. We are an organization dedicated to serving mankind and developing ourselves to become leaders and friends to humanity. To those ends, we create our own democracy. We train our people to be excellent leaders and creative team members. We open our hearts and minds to people and show that the newest generation of adults do care.
FAQ
What's Alpha Phi Omega?
Alpha Phi Omega is a national co-ed community service fraternity with a 75-year history at Stanford. APO is an un-housed fraternity. You do not need to drink alcohol to join, and there is no hazing. Instead, APO being a fraternity means that we value friendship and fellowship among the members.
How do we serve the community?
We do community service for the Stanford community and the Bay area. Activities include participating in an Earth Day cleanup at Muir Woods, serving soup kitchens, organizing the Trick-or-Treat canned food drive, and helping build children's playgrounds. Our activities address various needs of the community in order for the members to broaden their perspective of service. It's the members who decide what kind of service we do. There's no rigid agenda of activities that we have to accomplish, and new ideas are always welcome.
How are we different from other service groups on campus?
We are different because our goal is the close integration of service and friendship. In addition, our service activities are not limited to one specific aspect of the community. Although focusing in one area is useful, what we can do as college students is limited by time and money. As members of Alpha Phi Omega, our service does not end in college. By knowing what is needed in our community, and in our nation, APO encourages its members to go further to help out others, even after graduating from Stanford.
Other cool things?
As part of our fellowship activities, we go out to dinner together, go to the movie theater, play lazer tag, go ice skating, and many other activities. The members have a broad range of interest in service, and therefore can inform each other about the aspect of society that they are most concerned about. We learn from each other, further broadening our view of the possibilities of service. We also work with other chapters in the area, such as those from UC Berkeley, San Jose State University, San Francisco State University, and more. Through service activities, fun get-togethers and conferences, we get to know students from other universities as well.
What is pledging?
The pledge period is the time in which the potential new members are introduced to the members and activities of Alpha Phi Omega. Pledges are free to depledge at any time during the process when they feel like APhiO does not suit their style. Therefore, we encourage anyone who is interested in our activities to pledge. Pledges will learn the history and principles of APhiO, while working together to plan and participate in service and fellowship projects.
Our History
The history of Alpha Phi Omega then is a story of Leadership, Friendship and Service. Since the founding at Lafayette College in 1925, more than 255,000 students have participated in this nationwide Brotherhood. From a single chapter in 1925, this National Service Fraternity has grown to 684 chapters.
Following the chartering of Beta Chapter at the University of Pittsburgh, three more chapters were chartered in 1927--Gamma at Cornell University on February 17, Delta at Auburn University on November 8, and Epsilon at Northeast Missouri State University on December 13. And with the chartering of the sixth chapter--Zeta at Stanford University--on May 19, 1928, Alpha Phi Omega in its first four years had spread from the East to the South to the Midwest and all the way to the Pacific Coast. The Fraternity has continued to grow, having chartered more chapters than any other collegiate organization.
In the very early years, decisions of the National Fraternity were made by mail. The first actual assembly of delegates in convention was in St. Louis, Missouri, March 1 and 2, 1931. By that date the Fraternity had grown to 18 chapters. Seven of the chapters were represented at the convention by a total of 23 students and advisors.
Thirty-one biennial National Conventions have been held (two were skipped in 1942 and 1944 because of World War II). A special Constitutional Convention was held in 1967.
Convention attendance has, of course, grown tremendously. The largest registration thus far was 2,035 at Boston, Massachusetts, in 1992, and the largest number of chapters represented was 231 in Dallas, Texas, in 1970.
At the 1931 Convention, the presiding officer was Frank R. Horton. He had served as Supreme Grand Master (National President) from the beginning of the organization until that time. The convention elected Dr. H. Roe Bartle to succeed our Founder as Supreme Grand Master.
For years, Alpha Phi Omega state conventions were held. Today chapters are grouped in "sections" and "regions." There are 50 sections in 10 regions across the country. Sectional and Regional Conferences are a very important part in our Fraternity operation. They foster good fellowship and helpful exchange of ideas for the advancement of our service program.
At the 1976 National Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, the delegates voted to open the ranks of full membership to women, thereby making the Alpha Phi Omega experience available to all students
Zeta Timeline
A brief look at Stanford's chapter
| 1928 | 17 students, led by David Schmidt, formed Alpha Phi Omega's first West Coast chapter, Zeta Chapter, at Stanford University. |
| 1948 | Zeta chapter distinguished itself on campus by welcoming incoming freshman to campus and carrying bags from the train depot to the dorms; by building and maintaining a ride board; by sponsoring the campus book swap; and by sponsoring a Cub Scout Pack and Boy Scout Troop at Stanford Children's Hospital. |
| 1960s | Zeta Chapter hosted the first Regional Conclave (now called a conference). |
| 1970s | Larry Quan as president of Zeta shocked many chapters with his letter denouncing the Vietnam War. |
| 1970s | Zeta started the drive to make the fraternity Co-Educational by changing its chapter's by-laws to allow women as members of the chapter, referring to them as "sisters." |
| 1973 | The first female active, Beth Hesselmeyer, pledged in the fall. |
| 1976 | Alpha Phi Omega officially opened up its membership to women. |
| 1980s | Andrea Levy instituted the "Rubber Ducky Service Award" for outstanding work in service. |
| 2000 | In December of 2000, Alpha Phi Omega celebrated its 75th Anniversary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. |
Alpha Phi Omega is an international co-ed service fraternity. We are an organization dedicated to serving mankind and developing ourselves to become leaders and friends to humanity. To those ends, we create our own democracy. We train our people to be excellent leaders and creative team members. We open our hearts and minds to people and show that the newest generation of adults do care.