Alpha Omicron Pi (, AOII, Alpha O) is an international
women's fraternity founded on January 2, 1897, at
Barnard College
Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...
on the campus of
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in New York City.
[ The main archive URL i]
The Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage
"AOII," and "Alpha O," the familiar names of the fraternity, is open to women regardless of ethnicity, religion or socio-economic background, with 134 active collegiate chapters and 159 active alumnae chapters in Canada and the U.S.A.
The fraternity is headquartered in
Brentwood,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, and is a member of the
National Panhellenic Conference.
Major symbolism includes the color
cardinal, the
ruby
A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called ...
and the
'Général Jacqueminot' rose. The fraternity publishes a magazine for the benefit of members, named ''To Dragma''.
Alpha Omicron Pi was founded on the ideas found in the object of the fraternity—character, dignity, scholarship, and college loyalty.
History
The fraternity was founded January 2, 1897, at Barnard College by four women:
Jessie Wallace Hughan
Jessie Wallace Hughan (December 25, 1875 – April 10, 1955) was an American educator, a socialist activist, and a radical pacifist. During her college days she was one of four co-founders of Alpha Omicron Pi, a national fraternity for university ...
, Helen St. Clair Mullan, Elizabeth Heywood Wyman, and Stella George Stern Perry. They pledged one another in the Columbia Law Library to begin their fraternity. Within one week of its founding, the four founders used their initiation ritual for the first time to initiate Anne Richardson Hall.
National expansion began in 1898 with the founding of Pi Chapter at New Orleans'
Sophie Newcomb College
H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, or Newcomb College, was the coordinate women's college of Tulane University located in New Orleans, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was founded by Josephine Louise Newcomb in 1886 in memory of her daughter ...
(now part of
Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...
). Stella George Stern Perry, who was then the president of the fraternity, contacted a New Orleans classmate, Evelyn Reed, who expressed compatible ideas about fraternities. Reed's sister, Katherine Reed, became the first pledge of Pi Chapter. After being initiated by Perry, Katherine Reed found others to initiate.
In 1905, Alpha Omicron Pi joined the
National Panhellenic Conference.
In 1967, the fraternity partnered with the
Arthritis Foundation
The Arthritis Foundation is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to addressing the needs of people living with arthritis in the United States. There are more than 50 million adults and 300,000 children living with arthritis, the nation's ...
.
In 1999, the fraternity's national council voted to establish AOII Properties, a branch which manages individual chapter housing, including safety, finances, and maintenance. The subsidiary was then officially formed in 2001 but did not begin to transfer local housing contracts to national corporation control until 2009.
Symbols
Alpha Omicron Pi has one official color,
cardinal. Its official flower is the
'Général Jacqueminot', or Jacqueminot rose.
Alternatively, a deep red rose may be used.
The fraternity's official jewel is the
ruby
A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called ...
, while its mascot is the
giant panda, which the fraternity unofficially adopted in 1976 but made official in 2017.
Members of the fraternity wear three different pins depending on membership status. New members who have not been initiated wear a gold
sheaf of wheat pin bound by a ribbon bearing the letters AOII, symbolizing individuals bound together by friendship. After initiation, members may wear the membership badge. When the fraternity establishes a new charter, the founding members wear gold rose charter member pins which symbolize new growth.
Philanthropy
Alpha Omicron Pi participates in fundraising and volunteer efforts via its philanthropic arm, the Alpha Omicron Pi Foundation. The foundation allocates grants to the fraternity's philanthropy, arthritis research, as well scholarships, educational grants, and emergency funds for fraternity members. The funds also support conference speakers, training events, and personal development programs for members.
The fraternity is partnered with the
Arthritis Foundation
The Arthritis Foundation is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to addressing the needs of people living with arthritis in the United States. There are more than 50 million adults and 300,000 children living with arthritis, the nation's ...
.
The partnership began in 1967, with the fraternity members contributing volunteer hours and fundraising events to raise money for arthritis research and camps for juvenile arthritis. Stuffed panda bears are collected each year to give to children attending Arthritis Foundation camps and conferences. The fraternity's national campaign for arthritis awareness is “AOII Goes Blue,” with local chapters creating individual chapter events. "Strike Out Arthritis!" (SOA) Is the fraternity's signature fundraising event. SOA Events are held each year at MLB games since the fraternity cites "strong relationships
ith
The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany.
Geography
Location
The Ith is immediatel ...
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
teams."
Individual chapters hold their own SOA events which vary from bowling tournaments to pageants to barbecues with funds going to AOII Foundation specifically for arthritis research.
Other programs the fraternity supports is Sisters for Soldiers, where members collect items and write letters to soldiers.
Programs
The Ruby Fund are grants that are raised by alumnae and collegiate members awarded to past initiated sisters in need of financial help from sisters. Applications for assistance are reviewed and ultimately chosen by the Foundation's Ruby Fund Committee.
Membership
Chapters
Since 1897, the fraternity has initiated over 209,000 members in 205 collegiate chapters across the United States and Canada, with 136 active chapters.
Alumnae
Entertainment
Literature and Music
Media
Politics
Sports
File:Ashley Davis Miss Alabama.jpg, Ashley Davis
File:SofiaVassilievaJune09.jpg, Sofia Vassilieva
File:Hughan-jessie-1898.jpg, Jessie Wallace Hughan
File:KUPETS.jpg, Courtney Kupets
See also
*
List of social fraternities and sororities
Social or general fraternities and sororities, in the North American fraternity system, are those that do not promote a particular profession (as professional fraternities are) or discipline (such as service fraternities and sororities). Inste ...
References
{{Fraternities and Sororities , collapsed
1897 establishments in New York City
Student organizations established in 1897
National Panhellenic Conference
Student societies in the United States