Alternative Fraternities * Alternative Fraternities
Alternative Fraternities *
• It provides child care one
night a month so professors can
go out without having to pay a
babysitter.
• AFO members drive the
night shuttle on campus.
• It adopted a 4V£ mile
stretch of highway.
e
ook says this
semester marks the 25th
anniversary of the Texas A&M
chapter of Alpha Phi Omega
International. To celebrate, they
will work at a Boy Scout camp
out of town the weekend Big
Event is held.
“It’s kind of funny,” she says.
“The service fraternity that does
this every weekend won’t be
recognized because we’re going
out of town to do our project”
The local APO chapter — Xi
Delta — is proud of more than
its age. It also claims to be one
to the largest chapters in the
country.
“Last year we were fifth in
the nation in size, while Alpha
Rho at Texas was third — if you
count fall paid active dues,”
Cook says. “But we consistently
have larger pledge classes in the
spring. So we’re in the top three
or four. ”
Cook says APO occasionally
works with other service
organizatins including Circle K,
which has about 20 members,
and OPA, which has about 60
members.
“We’re so large that we sort
of dwarf everyone else,” she
says of APO. “We can get 100
to 150 people at a project with
no problem. ” An average
Saturday project attracts 50 to
75 members.
d
Swo, where do they
find enough large projects to
keep this many people busy?
Winfield Kang, vice president
of programs, says the secret is
communicating with the
community.
“We make a lot of phone
calls to different groups and city
officials,” he says. “They’ve
gotten to the point where they
know who we are, they know
what we do and they call us
back and let us know where
they need help. ”
Some ideas come from other
APO chapters. Baylor
University’s chapter originated
the “profs’ night off” child care
project.
Other projects are internally
generated. Cook says some
people join APO because they
have a pet project.
ledges need to
work 60 service hours in one
semester to become active
members.
Cook says that other than
not being able to vote or drive
the “rape van” pledges are
treated fairly.
“There’s no hazing,” she
says. “Well, I mean, we
shoepolish cars, but nothing
obnoxious. ”
Since pledges don’t always
get 60 service hours the first
semester, they can always try
again.
“For instance, when I
pledged I couldn’t do it all in
one semester, ” Cook says. “So
I held over and . .. started over
again.”
Members pay dues of $10
per semester and a party fee of
$8 to $10. “We are one of the
most inexpensive chapters
around,” she says.
“The reason we’re here is
service,” Cook says. “We have
great parties and we have a lot
of fellowship, but we’d rather
you spend some time on
service. ”
But as with social fraternities
and sororities, the best aspect of
APO is the friendships that are
formed, she says.
“I joined it and instantly I
have 200 friends that see me on
campus,” she says. “It was
better than Fish Camp ever
was. I met a lot of people at Fish
Camp but then we all went our
separate ways. ”
Elven if you aren’t a
member of this friendly service
fraternity, you can help the
Muscular Dystrophy
Association, Cook says.
The Pet Peeves, a rock’n’roll
band, will play at the dance-a-
thon Friday.
“Somebody who just wants
to come and dance with people
is more than welcome to come
join us for a while,” she said.
There is a $5 registration fee
for the dance-a-thon. APO will
be taking registrations at a table
on the first floor of the Memorial
Student Center today and at
the Aggieland Inn starting at
5:45 p.m. Friday.
Aggie Men's Club a unique fraternity
by Adrienne Dunbar
The Aggie Men’s Club
doesn’t have a Greek name,
but it calls itself a fraternity. And
its motto — “Aggies first” —
doesn’t sound like a typical
Greek fraternity objective.
“We like to think of ourselves
as an alternative fraternity,”
says Jeff Hurley, president of
AMC. “If I had to classify us, we
would be a social organization,
but we’re more than just a party
group.”
“We are a group of guys who
wanted a social type of
organization, ” Hurley explains,
“to have a Christian
atmosphere of fellowship and
also have an impact on the
community through service. ”
The idea of a Christian
fraternal organization originated
in 1984 when a group of about
six friends realized there were
many more people around
Texas A&M who shared the
same beliefs. These men
gathered their friends who
wanted to participate in such a
group, and the Aggie Men’s
Club was bom, according to
founding member and Vice
President Eric Thode.
“It has been time consuming
coming around,” Thode says.
“At first, the meetings were
primarily a time to get to know
each other and have fun.
“Service has been playing a
bigger part of AMC now, and
it’s been good quality time
we’ve spent together. ”
The Aggie Men’s Club is
involved with the Bryan Boys
Club and Special Olympics.
They contribute to the Brazos
Food Bank, and help with the
Brazos Valley Animal Shelter.
In 1986, AMC became part
of the Adopt-a-Highway
program, taking care of a two-
mile stretch of highway north of
Bryan.
Founding member Jeff Cox
says AMC is fellowship with a
group having the same beliefs
and convictions. “We
encourage each other,” Cox
says, “and that atmosphere is
what we wanted.”
The Aggie Men’s Club
selections process is a very
simple one. Three “get-
togethers” are planned every
faff where the active members
can meet the prospective
members. The AMC charter
keeps membership under 100
members, so only 30 or 40
candidates are selected.
“With a larger group, some
would be alienated, and we
would lose their fellowship. It is
important to know everyone,”
Hurley says.
The candidates then go
through several weeks of
learning about AMC and
participating in the service
projects, and are named active
members at the Fall Formal.
There is no “initiation. ”
At present the Aggie Men’s
Club meets on campus. (They
became affiliated with Texas
A&M last year.) They have no
meeting house, but it is a long
term goal. The 1986 candidate
class set up an endowment fund
that will someday allow the club
to have a meeting place.
“I’ve gained friendships with
people who have the same
commitment in life that I have, ”
AMC member Madison Lyle
says. “ ‘Aggies First’ is a
common bond that we all
(AMC members) share, but it is
something that we share with
everyone on campus. ”