The Beta Omega Chapter of Alpha Tau Omega has placed a strong emphasis on brotherhood. Our chapter was colonized and chartered only a few years ago, so the excitement of a new group has been passed down with each pledge class.

Bonding Trips: ATO does work outside of school. Trips to locations such as Florida, Colorado and New York are characteristic of the active bonding present in our chapter. Our organization has given members opportunities and experiences that reach across the United States, and with the increase in our chapter’s abilities, we have the potential to make any college experience one that transcends the routine and do the unimaginable. There have been proposals of international cruises as well as trips to countries such as Ireland, France and Spain as our members continue to expand the limits of a college budget. (Left: Ski trip to Tellurid, Colorado over Winter Break.)

Weekly Events: (Basketball and Movie Night) Winter quarter has brought many new brotherhood events. Every Wednesday the Beta Omega Chapter has reserved the basketball courts at Jesse Owens North, a student recreation facility, from 9:00pm until 10:00pm. The activity has spurred a new sense of brotherly love as the tau vs. tau atmosphere captures competition at its finest. Recruits and interested persons are encouraged to join in the festivities every Wednesday as it provides one of the best ways to get to know a large group of the fraternity brothers. Similarly, every Sunday night, the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house is home to crowds of brothers who show up for Movie Nights. The newly acquired sounds system and HD television provide amazing picture and sound quality on which flicks such as Green Street Hooligans and The Shawshank Redemption have shown brothers the meaning of friendship and the importance of the guy next to him.

Special Events: (Wexner Center and Buckeye Hockey)Special Events are planned to provide brothers with a chance to interact as well as gain a new experience. Most recently, the Chapter made a trip to the Wexner Center to witness the awe inspiring works of Andy Warhol. Brothers found themselves inside a world of color and composition as they pondered curious works of various medias ranging from prints to silent films. Also, the Christian based roots of Alpha Tau Omega allow members a chance to practice their faith as a group. Pancakes and parables is a Sunday activity which allows brothers to meet before attending a chosen service in order to fill their stomachs and their souls. Most recently, brothers took advantage of free admission to the Ohio State Hockey game. A group of rowdy Taus is what the Buckeyes needed as Ohio State trounced #2 ranked Notre Dame. The group also managed to slam over 40 hot dogs, giving authority a little something to think about the next time they have a 25 cent hot dog promotion.

Chapter Dinner: In addition, Beta Omega understands the importance of tradition and the relationships that have been formed around the dinner table. Chapter dinners are planned in which volunteer brothers prepare a home cooked meal for the entire Chapter. The most recent menu showcased a pot of Carta Chili - the ingredients included spicy peppers, savory tomatoes and fresh ground beef, but won brothers over with its aroma of “tender loving care.”

Annual Brotherhood Retreat: Finally, Winter quarter is host to the Annual Brotherhood Retreat. Last years event was hosted by the Gamma Omicron Chapter of Alpha Tau Omega and included a tour of the Buffalo Trace Distillery as well as tickets to a showing of freestyle motocross at Rupp Arena. The 2009 Brotherhood Retreat is scheduled for February 27th, 28th and March 1st and brothers will be traveling to Cincinnati to meet up with the Delta Lambda Brothers at the University of Cincinnati. The event will include a trip to the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus, the “Greatest Show on Earth,” tickets to Jimmy Dore at the Go Bananas Comedy Club and a lock-in at a local YMCA for a sleepless night of basketball and late night dining. This is one of the most important events of the year as the annual Goal Setting Meeting sets the tone for Spring quarter and the months to come.

Contact: Ted Bross, Worthy Chaplain (Bross.14@osu.edu, 513.207.3344)

To bind men together in a brotherhood based upon eternal and immutable principles, with a bond as strong as right itself, and as lasting as humanity; to know no north, no south, no east, no west, but to know man as man, to teach that true men the world over should stand together and contend for supremacy of good over evil; to teach not politics, but morals; to foster not partisanship, but the recognition of true merit wherever found; to have no narrower limits within which to work together for the elevation of man than the outlines of the world; these were the thoughts and hopes uppermost in the minds of the founders of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity.