"To see beauty even in the common things of life."
- The Symphony of Alpha Chi Omega
Alpha Chi Omega was founded on October 15, 1885, at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. Professor James Hamilton Howe, Dean of the Music School, invited seven young women from the school to attend a meeting for the purpose of forming a society. The first appearance of the seven founders - Anna Allen, Olive Burnett, Bertha Deniston, Amy DuBois, Nellie Gamble, Bessie Grooms and Estelle Leonard was in Meharry Hall, wearing scarlet and olive green ribbon streamers attached to their dresses.
Alpha Chi Omega's Founders chose "Alpha," the first letter of the Greek alphabet, because they were forming the first fraternity in the school of music. Since they thought they might also be founding the last such fraternity, "Omega" seemed appropriate. "Kai," meaning "and," was added to form the beginning and the end. "Kai" was soon changed to "Chi," a letter of the Greek alphabet.
Our Coat of Arms
The Alpha Chi Omega coat of arms is composed of a square shield, a crest, and a scroll. The scroll bears the Greek words of our open motto "Together Let Us Seek The Heights".
Our Badge
The Lyre of Alpha Chi Omega was chosen by our Founders after much research. The one which appealed the most to the Founders was a replica of the harp because it seemed in keeping with their musical interest. Looking to Greek mythology, they found that the first instrument played by the gods on Mt. Olympus was a lyre. The jeweled golden lyre is adorned by 22 pearls and is worn by initiated members.
Our Stickpin
This pin is diamond-shaped with the top half enameled in scarlet and the bottom in olive green. It bears the lyre across its face and is worn by new members.
Our Flower
The flower of Alpha Chi Omega is the red carnation, showing the colors of our fraternity, olive green and scarlet red.
Fun Facts
As legend has it, Neil Armstrong pinned the Alpha Chi Omega badge to the first flag on the moon in honor of his wife, who is an Alpha Chi.
The Alpha Chi Omega Badge is on display at the Smithsonian because it was voted Most Beautiful Badge out of all the nationally recognized sororities.
Greeks only make up only 3% of the U.S. Population, but...
- 48% of U.S. Presidents have been Greek
- 40% of U.S. Supreme Court Justices have been Greek
- 42% of U.S. Senators have been Greek
- 30% of Fortune 500 executives have been Greek
- 30% of U.S. Congress Members have been Greek
- The 1st female Senator and the 1st woman astronaut were Greek
- Greeks contribute more than 10 million hours of volunteer service annually