Alpha Iota Omicron

Alpha Iota Omicron was founded on October 16, 1998, at the University of Michigan as a South Asian (Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi) interest fraternity by eighteen students.^[1][2][3] It was the first South Asian fraternity in the United States and was part of a movement in the late 1990s of creating Greek letter organizations as cultural epicenters for South Asians.^[2][4] Its founding fathers were:^[5]

The fraternity was built on the core principles or pillars of Brotherhood, Networking, Community Service, and Cultural Competence.^[3] Over the years, Alpha Iota Omicron has expanded nationally, chartering ten chapters across the United States and Canada.^[3]

One of the fraternity's activities is participating in step shows.^[2] Members of the Alpha chapter performed their first step show at the Indian American Student Association Cultural Show in October 2000.^[2] A member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity helped to train the dancers.^[2] However, Alpha Iota Omicron's step dancing varies from traditional African American fraternities by including movements from South Asian dances.^[2]

Alpha Iota Omicron was a founding member of the APIA Greek Alliance, the former name of the National APIDA Panhellenic Association.^[6][7]

Alpha Iota Omicron's motto is Sic Parvis Magna.^[8] Its colors are black, blue, and silver.^[8][9] The fraternity’s mascot is the wolf.^[8][9] Its nickname is AIO.^[8]

In the following list, active chapters and colonies are listed in bold and inactive chapters are in italics.^[1][10]

• List of social fraternities and sororities
• List of Asian American fraternities and sororities
• Cultural interest fraternities and sororities