While many students spent Saturday receiving bids and celebrating with new friends in the Greek system, others remembered old friends and memories from the past.
The Theta Chapter of the Alpha Phi Omega co-ed service fraternity celebrated its 75th anniversary Saturday. Both current brothers and alumni participated in a large service project Saturday morning and then attended the Reunion Gala that night at Fry's Spring Beach Club.
Fourth-year College student Michael Kutnak, president of APO, said he was happy that so many alumni returned to the University to participate in the event.
"There are so many alumni from so many different periods -- the 50s, 60s, 70s, and on and on," Kutnak said. "It's great that so many people came back and still care about Theta."
Alumnus Allan Mitchell, who graduated from the University in 1970, said he was pleased to find so many old friends at the celebration.
"I didn't expect to see people who were from my era," Mitchell said.
Mitchell also said his favorite part of the celebration was seeing new faces.
"Just getting around to meeting people from the current class," he said. "My son is a fourth year in APO."
Mitchell was one of three keynote speakers at the celebration.
Planning the 75th anniversary was time-consuming, third-year Education student Carrie Huffman said. Huffman, who organized the gala, said she was hesitant about being in charge of such an important event.
"Our president asked if I would do it, and so I said yes," Huffman said. "I was reluctant at first, but I stuck with it. All the hard work, like booking, happened last semester. But I liked it. I love to organize."
Huffman said there were obstacles, however.
"Our invitations got sent back four times," Huffman said. "Some were smudged. We had an RSVP for Dec. 1, but a lot of alum didn't get the invitations until January."
According to APO alumnus and chapter advisor Keith Roots, the University's chapter was founded on Feb. 9, 1929. APO's first chapter was founded by Boy Scouts at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. Roots said APO has been co-ed since the 1970s.
In addition to participating in small mid-week projects at retirement homes and after-school programs, the fraternity also participates in larger service events every weekend, said third-year College student Dave Hoffman, APO's rush chairman. Hoffman said the larger projects tend to be construction projects.
"The fraternity as a whole loves building things," Hoffman said.
Second-year College student Lisa Herrman said the fraternity tries to go wherever they can be most beneficial.
"We try to get projects that wouldn't get done if we didn't do them." Herrman said.
Tyce Palmaffy, who graduated in 1997, said he feels fortunate to have found a group like APO.
"It was fantastic to find an organization that was so incredibly accepting of people of such diverse backgrounds and talents, all of whom shared a deep commitment to helping their fellow man," Palmaffy said.
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