An interstate brotherhood hen a person thinks of the word " fraternity... one usually conjures up images of a brotherhood or a group of men united for a common purpose. Yet at the University of Idaho. one other characteristic usually applied as well. Members of fraternal living groups were primarily white Caucasians. But of all the fraternities on the Idaho campus. there was one that stood out from the rest. Although Alpha Phi Alpha was based at Washington State University, its members were primarily. but not limited to. black stu· dents. There was a total of I I members attending Idaho and WSU .
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The basis for acceptance into the fraternity was a student's grades. his level of matruity. how well he got along with others and his interest in being actively involved in APA activities. Freshmen were al· lowed to pledge if they achieved the proper level of maturity. " The strict requirements existed to make sure that students entered APA to uphold the Alpha tradi· tion: that is scholarship. deeds and love for all mankind." sa id Curtis Johnson. president of the local chapter. The national fraternity was founded December 4. 1906. WSU has had a chapter since 197 5 and members from the Ul have been allowed to join
since 1981. APA was the first pri· marily black fraternity of its kind and served to set the guidelines for other black fraternities. Aside from the entrance requirements. APA dif· fered from other fraternities in several ways. The pledge period lasted only six weeks and took place in the spring. Prospective UI pledges. usually numbering 2 5 to 30. filled out a form which eliminated over 50 percent based on grades alone. The national APA headquarters required chapters do a certain number of community services every year. The local chapter's projects includ· ed: a cancer prevention
program. a blood drive. participation in Greek Week. a fashion show. car washes. cutting grass and other jobs at convalescent centers. The reason the chapter was housed at WSU was that seven of the eleven Alphas attend WSU and there was a higher percentage of black students at the Pullman school. APA is not exclusively a black fraternity . But according t o Johnson . many people in this area cou ld not understand the function of the fraternity or why white members would join a predominantly black organization. He stressed students of other races needed to understand the fra t ernity' s
Silver Lance.
Women Engineers Society.
FRONT ROW: Tony Tesnolldek, Eric Schenk, Todd Swanstrom, Dave Thorsen. BACK ROW: Tim Griffis, John Bush, Ron )ones, John Edwards.
FRONT ROW: Valerie Jensen, Nance Boyer, Sue Grace, Katherine Nelson, Nikki And ridge. Back Row: Tammy Ferguson, Sophia Goetzinger, Cynthia Mathews, VIcki Byers, Teresa Woods.
function. "The main reason for being an Alpha is to serve the APA purpose: show brotherhood and help each other." Johnson said. " Each member who pledges APA makes a great contribution to the goals set by the fraternity. " Being an Alpha takes a lot of time and effort." he said. " We are working in such a looking glass environment here. Just by being black you are look· ed upon." But as long as the -group maintains its admission standards and remains a viable element to both communities. people on both campuses will learn fraternities are made up of individuals and not races or classes of men.
Alpha Phi Alpha I Groups ~ 177