As a general rule, a social organization of students in a high school is far more influenced by the school or community than the reverse. But there are exceptions where Omega led instead. Predictably these were situations where the fraternity came into existence soon after the school was built.
At Barringer High School in Newark, New Jersey, shortly after the beginning of the 20th Century, the Ramblers, the local fraternity that became Omega’s Kappa Chapter, actually organized some of the school’s first varsity teams (in a day before faculty coaches and the like), the school’s earliest musical productions (the first with music by member Jerome Kern that was later recycled for Showboat ), the cheer-leading squad, and even the embryonic New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJIAA), which gave inspiration for the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIA) that still runs New Jersey sports. Indeed, the original football field and the structures used to house equipment for the teams (and which still existed until the 1960s) were directly constructed by the students, led largely by the Ramblers, according to the Barringer Alumni Association Historian. Have a quick look at the biography of Jerome Kern: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Kern.
There is good evidence that the members of Gamma and Mu Chapters were involved in the creation of the yearbook and some athletic programs at Erasmus Hall and Manual TrainingHigh Schools . But more interesting is the fact that the initial faculty advisor of Gamma, Erasmus Principal Walter Gunnison, saw the fraternity as serving more as a recognition society than a simple social group. When he found that it could not easily be kept primarily as an honors recognition, he amended his plan by creating Arista, the predecessor of the National Honor Society, which he designed to have a social side( http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arista_-_National_Honor_Society ) , as a more controllable avenue for his objectives and one that could extend to women as well. At Orange High School in New Jersey, the brothers of Tau Chapter started the movement for creation of a student government,
On Long Island, a small group of East Rockaway students attending Lynbrook High School in the early 1920s (before East Rockaway had one) organized themselves into the Lynbrook Social Club (and then Omega’s Theta Chapter) and pushed through such things as the expansion of the school newspaper, creation of the yearbook, establishment of the first service organization, and proposed and provided the gold medal the school principal awarded to the highest ranking student in the school (provided it not be to an Omega!) They were also behind creation of a rather elaborate interclass competition that included not only sports but art and limited dramatics (so-called chapel skits).
When East Rockaway opened its own high school in 1936, two traditions moved with the students, Omega, now as Alpha Phi Chapter, and the interclass competition, now rechristened Rock Rivalry. The program was further developed to include musical productions (called Entrance from their original form as a parade of each class into the old gym) supposedly at the suggestion of three students who had recently transferred from a high school in Brooklyn. This also reflected the Broadway connections of East Rockaway, and the change was transferred back to Lynbrook whose Class Night now added music. These remain the oldest traditions at East Rockaway High School. And in a twist on what Theta had done, Alpha Phi Chapter provided the school with the annual Andrew Dyke Award given out to the top school athlete. (One more recent brother re-tells the story his father always told of having received the Athletic Award, but having thrown it down the stairs at home afterwards because he had never been offered membership.)
In the broader community, two East Rockaway Omegas from Theta, Mayor Charlie Krull and Village Historian Wes Hill spearheaded the effort to save and move the old Haviland-Davison Mill from just past the intersection of Atlantic and Ocean Avenues to Woods Avenue’s Memorial Park, where it now stands as the Grist Mill Museum, oldest structure in Nassau County (1688) and third oldest on Long Island. Unable to secure financial support from the Village Board, Mayor Krull arranged the move at his own expense rather than let the mill be torn down! A real tale of commitment to tradition, an Omega hallmark in East Rockaway, and one that reflected the views that the organization had promoted. See the Museum as it now looks, courtesy of the village website: http://www.villageofeastrockaway.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={FCEC0910-D39B-43FF-A36F-CC5FDBCA3BB1}&DE .
Alpha Phi Chapter was so attractive, not only socially, but also as a leadership distinction, that the school felt compelled to establish its own equivalent for the girls, Rho Gamma. And Rock Rivalry gradually evolved into a program in which each of the classes wrote its own half-hour musical complete with script, lyrics, choreography, band, sets and costumes — all done by the students without faculty control, generating far greater enthusiasm than in Lynbrook. Alpha Phi’s members, despite the time commitments involved in being the top athletes in the school, have consistently been among the show leaders as well.
In the 1970s, Alpha Phi Chapter had begun to develop its own formal alumni organization and reunions. Shortly thereafter this encouraged the almost simultaneous creation of the 50th Anniversary Alumni Rock Rivalry performance and the East Rockaway Alumni Association (still under Alpha Phi management in 2009). Eventually the impact of all of this played a part in the creation of the East Rockaway Educational Foundation. The inability of that body to support the community’s new 9/11 Memorial led to the establishment of the Village Foundation of East Rockaway by Brother (and Deputy Mayor) Bro. Richard Meagher who had been involved in the prior efforts.
While Theta became less consistent after the departure of East Rockaway’s students, it generally maintained a tradition of leadership and community involvement. In the late 1930s it had three members in school at one time who ultimately went on to become presidents of substantial banks and one (Bro. Bob Scheuing) who later served as President of the Long Island Association, the Island’s primary business organization. In the Class of 1966, one member (Bro. Bill Metkiff) became Lynbrook ‘s Superintendent of Schools and a second (Bro. Ken Bauer) President of the Long Island Railroad. Another member from later in the 1960s (Bro. Bill Geier) went on to become Lynbrook ‘s Mayor before becoming Clerk of the Nassau County Legislature.
The percentage of Alpha Phi members who populate the school’s rogues gallery of prominent alumni from the 1930s to present in a wide variety of fields and the memorial to Alpha Phi’s war dead in East Rockaway Memorial Park, put up by the village more than 60 years ago, and where candidates signed their pledges.
