Alpha Kappa
Alpha Kappa is the University of Southern California chapter of Alpha Phi Omega.
History
The following is a history derived from one compiled by Edward Chau of Alpha Kappa Chapter.[1]
Beginnings
Alpha Kappa became the second chapter in Los Angeles when it was founded in 1934 at the University of Southern California. The chapter’s activation and first initiation ceremony were held on June 3, 1934. It’s founding was sponsored by Theodore R. Pfalsgraf, the Assistant Scout Executive of the Los Angeles Council of the Boy Scouts of America. The founding student was Nils O. Althin, a doctoral student in physical education from Sweden; the founding group included twenty-seven undergraduates, three faculty advisors, one scouting advisor, and five honorary members. The first chapter President was Everett Winn.
According to the records at the national office, the chapter was dormant during from 1943-1948 due to World War II and from 1958-1967. Since the National Board never formally declared the chapter inactive, a formal reactivation was not necessary following these years of inactivity. The chapter simply initiated a new pledge class. In the spring of 1967, Bob Biggers and Larry Fowler of USC met with Alpha Phi Omega representative David Harris and Dean of Student Affairs Mulvey White. They decided to re-establish the Alpha Kappa chapter at USC. Officers of the group that semester were Larry Fowler, President; Gabe Robles and Mike Miles, Secretaries; Ron Prince, Treasurer; and Tim Huntley, Rush Chairman. Advisors were John McKay, Head Football Coach; Marylnn May, University Presbyterian Pastor; Patrick Ryan, Assistant Dean of Men; Robert Christmas, English Instructor; Arthur Dolder, LA Boy Scout Council and Mulvey White.
The Spring 1967 pledge class performed service in many areas including creating a recreation program at John Adams Junior High School, a commuter Share-A-Ride center on campus, and a tutoring program Manual Arts High School.
The new group’s first official recruitment in the fall of 1967 involved radically different new member program. These changes included the elimination of the pledge period. Their open meetings were held where potential members would hear speakers describe the fraternity, meet members, and see special entertainment. Three orientation meetings were then held where individuals could declare their intent to join the fraternity. Later, the actives would review the initiates’ mastery of knowledge of the fraternity. The total time from orientation to initiation was less than one month. The chapter later adopted the traditional rush and pledge program in the 1970s. Although the chapter was highly visible on campus during these years, membership declined for Alpha Phi Omega, as it nationally did for all Greek organizations during the 1970s, until no member remained in 1976. The chapter was officially declared inactive in January 1980. In 1988, David Moll (Iota Phi, ’84-UC Davis), a pharmacology graduate student held meetings on campus with the assistance of Section 1 staff, Jeff Schwartz and Mark Saigon, to reactivate the old Alpha Kappa chapter. The group rechartered on October 28, 1989, and hosted the Section 1 Conference the same weekend. The chapter-founding group included fifteen members, three faculty advisors, and three scouting advisors. The first president of the re-charted chapter was Glen Espino. The Ceremony was conducted by Rho Gamma Chapter, with Irwin Gerst and Earle Herbert from the National Board. Mark Sugino was Section 1 Chair. For his efforts, David Moll was awarded the Ellsworth S. Dobson Award for Membership Efforts by the National Board.
1990s
Over the years, membership again declined. At the beginning of the 1992-1993 school year, Howard Mora (Lambda Nu, ’88-Duke University), a graduate student in biomedical engineering, came to find the USC Alpha Kappa chapter active, but with zero members. With support from the chapter advisor, Rhonda Aven, Section 1 staff, Mark Sugino and Matthew Troth, and a loan of materials from other chapters, namely Cal Poly Pomona, Mora oversaw the chapter until a new pledge class of ten members could be initiated. Past National President Earle Herbert present at the induction ceremony. A successful Spring ’93 Rush class, which included Betsy Farrington who would eventually become chapter president and oversee much of the early growth, was also run by Mora, and Alpha Kappa proudly hosted the fall Section 1 Leadership Conference that year. Due to a large portion of the active members graduating and internal problems, membership once again decline. At that time, Mora moved into a role in the Section 1 staff under Matthew Troth. Weakened, the Alpha Kappa chapter was slowly diminishing with a few initiates each semester. With the efforts of the actives, a successful Fall ’94 Rush was able to double the membership. In the Spring of ’95, Mora was the pledge class namesake and was later awarded the Chapter Distinguished Service Key. In the Fall of ’96, a great Rush brought in 28 new pledges, making the Alpha Kappa chapter 45 brothers strong. However, once again plagued with internal struggles and graduating brothers, membership remained small with no Rush period during the Fall ’97 semester.
2000s
In 2005, Alpha Kappa received a Chapter of Excellence (COE) Award from Nationals in recognition of the chapter’s “well-rounded program that includes not only the required elements, but also good chapter programs in the areas of development and service.”
Alpha Kappa experienced yet another small pledge class in Spring ’08. But some internal changes like that in the family structure helped fuel competition, spirit, and thus interest in Alpha Phi Omega. The chapter originally had three families: Alpha, Phi, and Omega, with Alpha as the largest and Omega the smallest with merely five members. The disproportionate family sizes led to the combining of the Phi and Omega families into the new Kappa family, which created a new rivalry between the Alpha and Kappa families through family competitions; these fun and friendly contests encouraged teamwork and unity within a family. This change, as well as other factors like an amazing Fall ’08 Rho class with over 40 pledges—more than 30 of whom crossed—led to one of the largest pledge turnouts in this chapter’s history.
Likewise, the Spring ’09 Sigma and Fall ’09 Tau classes also had over 40 pledges in their respective classes. At that time, Kappa was the largest family and won the two family competitions during the two-family period. Due to the growth of the chapter, efforts were made to reorganize the two-family system back into the three-family one that it originally was; while Alpha retained its family members, Kappa became divided between Phi and Omega. The Omega family has won the last two family competitions in the two semesters of its re-existence. In 2008 and again in 2009, the Alpha Kappa chapter of Alpha Phi Omega won the Most Spirited Organization Award at the annual Tommy Awards; also in 2009, the chapter also won the Best Service Organization Award. The chapter hosted the Section 1 Leadership Conference, which was themed “CSI: USC” Spring ‘10. Despite low numbers in the past, the classes of the past two years signal a positive change for the Fraternity as it forges a new identity on USC’s campus.
Traditions
- Westwood Invasion: After Alpha Kappa's Pinning Ceremony, the chapter typically goes to the Westwood area of Los Angeles wearing the Cardinal and Gold clothing. They eat at In-N-Out and Diddy Riese amongst UCLA students who would watch the USC students show their school pride. This event is used as a way to bond with the new pledges.
Awards Received
- 2005: Nationals Chapter of Excellence Award
- 2008, 2009: Most Spirited Organization Award at the Tommy Awards, University of Southern California's annual campus organization awards ceremony)
- 2009: Best Service Organization Award at Tommy Awards
References
External links
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