Alpha Omicron Pi Fraternity
Barnard College's First International Sorority
Around the turn of the twentieth century, well-known men's colleges such as Columbia University began establishing affiliated schools, such as Barnard College, that were created especially for women students.
Barnard College was one of the first of these schools to be opened for women and to be affiliated with such a well-known school such as Columbia. In the early days of 1897, Barnard College also witnessed the founding of Alpha Omicron Pi, the fourteenth oldest "traditional" sorority or women's fraternity to be founded in the United States.
History of Alpha Omicron Pi
Helen St. Clair Mullen, Stella George Stern Perry, Elizabeth Heywood Wyman, and Jessie Wallace Hughan were all members of the class of 1898 at Barnard College. According to Alpha Omicron Pi's website, these women were unlike the average female student at the school. They were happy and adventurous in nature, and sometime around the end of 1896, the women desired to create a "democratic, un-ostentatious society."
Out of this desire, Alpha Omicron Pi was founded in the stack room of the old Columbia Law Library on January 2, 1897. The four women sat on a window seat and pledged their faithfulness to one another as the snow fell outside on the lawn.
Barnard College was welcoming and supportive of the new organization, which became a national women's fraternity on September 8, 1898, with the installation of the Pi chapter at Sophie Newcomb Memorial College in New Orleans, Louisiana. The name of this second chapter broke with the traditional naming system that Greek letter organizations had adopted. Traditionally, the second chapter would be named beta, the third gamma, and proceed through the Greek alphabet and then assigning two letter designations to chapters.
In 1905, Alpha Omicron Pi became the twelfth member of the National Panhellenic Conference, with founder St. Clair Mullen serving as the organization's first representative to the conference.
The following year, Alpha Omicron Pi adopted its first national philanthropic project. Members worked with and provided support for the National Committee for the Abolition of Child Labor.
In 1908, Alpha Omicron Pi purchased its first chapter house at the University of California - Berkeley.
Throughout the middle portion of the twentieth century, Alpha Omicron Pi published its own magazine, found varying philanthropic causes, and continued to establish chapters throughout the United States and Canada.
In 1999, Alpha Omicron Pi adopted its Alcohol Free Resolution. This resolution, like many others passed by the governing bodies of sororities and women's fraternities, limits or bans alcohol at chapter-sponsored functions or in chapter facilities such as houses or chapter rooms.
Alpha Omicron Pi Today
Today, Alpha Omicron Pi has chartered 184 collegiate chapters and 320 alumnae organizations. Since 1897, the organization has initiated over 131,000 women.
Alpha Omicron Pi's current philanthropic project is arthritis research. The organization has also created a signature event called Strike Out Arthritis that chapters across the United States and Canada sponsor every year to raise money for arthritis research.
Alpha Omicron Pi can be recognized throughout the world of sororities and women's fraternities by various distinct insignia adopted throughout the organization's history.
- Color: cardinal
- Mascot: none officially, but the panda is the unofficial mascot
- Symbol: sheaf of wheat
- Flower: Jacqueminot rose
- Philanthropy: arthritis research
Founded on Jaunuary 2, 1897, Alpha Omicron Pi quickly became an international organization dedicated to the personal growth of its members. Through its work in many areas, Alpha Omicron Pi will continue to help better its members, but also those who benefit from its many philanthropic causes.
Alpha Omicron Pi Sisters on Bid Day
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