| Alpha Gamma Omega | |
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ΑΓΩ
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| Founded | February 25, 1927 (85 years ago) University of California, Los Angeles |
| Type | Social |
| Emphasis | Christian |
| Scope | National |
| Motto | "Fraternity for Eternity." [1] |
| Colors | Gold |
| Flower | Easter Lily |
| Chapters | 16, 10 Active |
| Verse | "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman who needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15 [1] |
| Headquarters | Evergreen, CO, USA |
| Homepage | http://www.ago.org |
Alpha Gamma Omega (ΑΓΩ) (or "AGO") is a national, Christ-Centered fraternity. It was founded in 1927 at UCLA, making it one of the oldest national fraternities in the United States that has retained its Christian values. There were 12 original charter members, with E. Harlan Fischer appointed as the first president.[2] There are currently ten active chapters. AGO's Christian sorority counterpart is Alpha Delta Chi and is considered the fraternity's "sister sorority."
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The preamble to the fraternity's constitution is as follows:
Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal savior, we, as Christian young men of Alpha Gamma Omega Fraternity, purpose that it shall be the aim of this fraternity:
Alpha Omega, the first name chosen by the Fraternity, was taken from the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ where our Lord says, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending..." This name was chosen to show that we are a group which recognizes the sovereign majesty of God and His dominion and Lordship over all things.
However, it was later found that there was an organization in existence which had the same name. Therefore, the letter "Gamma" was chosen to be added since it is the third letter of the Greek alphabet, thus corresponding with the "C" in the Latin alphabet -- "C" being the initial of Christ. It was inserted between the Alpha and Omega to signify the oneness of Christ with God, and to remind us that He is to be kept at the center of our lives and our Fraternity.[2]
Pledges may become active members of an AGO chapter at the invitation of the current active members. To become eligible for activation, pledges must complete a pledge program, slightly unique to each chapter but governed by the National Executive Committee.
During the pledge semester, pledges take part in activities designed to promote brotherhood among themselves. For example, in the Beta chapter at UC Berkeley, pledges usually gather for dinner with the active body on Mondays and later have a session of Bible study. A long held tradition in the Beta chapter is the "Pledge Sneak" event, in which instead of attending the Monday night dinner, the pledges sneak the president of the chapter away for the Monday. The active body try to find the president by following clues laid out by the pledges, which lead to a specific restaurant and time where the president is being held by the pledges. Other chapters have similar traditions, but with some distinctive variations.
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