To Our Brethren: Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year to all
Once more we celebrate another year of LEADERSHIP, FRIENDSHIP and SERVICE as we bear witness to the 91st year of Alpha Phi Omega as a service fraternity.
As we wind down DY 2015-2017, the theme “Unity and Solidarity in a Time for Greatness” has never been relevant, and our commitment to its missive never more challenged than this year coming to a close. We have suffered the distress of failure but in that disappointment emerged triumphant the character which gives us strength- our firm loyalty to each other. We have seen a collegiate chapter make waves because of the message of its 39th rendition of a university tradition which did not sit well with our other brethren but we have also shown that respecting the opinion of others is the true test of our loyalty to the fraternity and to each other: that there can be unity in diversity and solidarity proceeds from the values that unite us rather than he views that which divides us.
When we extend the fraternity handclasp to another, our collective being and shared experience as an APO is epitomized and the offer is not a mere gesture of greeting but, more importantly, a pledge of loyalty and respect. When we refuse to accept the gesticulation, we may be signifying that the brother or sister is not entitled to our respect or loyalty but are, in fact, manifesting that we are not deserving of that vow of friendship and the respect and be loyalty that necessarily flows from it.
Thus, when we greet each other with the handclasp on this momentous occasion, let us do so with sincerity and the sincere desire to be friends with one another and to be loyal to each other. Just as we expect our brethren to respect and be loyal to us, so too should we respect and be loyal to them.
HAPPY 91st ANNIVERSARY TO ALPHA PHI OMEGA.
MAY WE ALWAYS BE.
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