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33Girl, I apologize for continuing the shortened new member period conversation here, but. . .
and as always, I want to make clear that I have no formal position in my group other than being an alumna.
Here's my deal about shortened new member periods: I do think that when the new member period was direct instruction and little assessments about knowledge of the group or required projects and you had to make grades, it build a sense of anticipation about initiation. It reflected the idea of initiation as we probably really think of initiation generally (assuming you think about the word "initiation" ever): a sort of transformational ceremony at which because you had acquired the required knowledge or demonstrated your worthiness, you became a full member of a group and gained any knowledge that members had to be a full participant within that body.
I don't know how accurate our perceptions were, but you had a sense that there were hard and fast requirements about what you had to do to be eligible to be initiated and they required that you demonstrate traits rather than merely showing up at required meetings and going through the motions. (And by showing up and going through the motions, I mean the difference in participating in a learning activity for the fun of it vs. the sense that if you fail your membership test, you won't get initiated.)
While most of us, I think, accept that because hazing was a real issue at some chapters that the idea of proving your worthiness had to be diminished in importance, I wonder if a process that includes un-initiated members into more things previously reserved for full members (like chapter) and that reduces or even eliminates the previous "requirements" for initiation, allows people to value being initiated as much as the old system.
I think most of us see anticipation as heightening positive experiences generally. Think about little kids and Christmas. Would they get as much out of their presents and toys if they were just there one day when they came home from school. Or maybe more seriously, with the idea of religious seasons at church thorough the year. Does the season of Advent make the celebration of Christmas better? Does observing Lent heighten your awareness of Easter?
I'm not trying to equate Greek membership with religion sincerely, but my point is that it kind of makes sense that a reduction in the things that build anticipation for initiation might make initiation less special and less valued.
Sure, I can see that you probably don't remember your pledge test material any better 20 years later than if you had learned it after initiation and I even doubt that this anticipation would necessarily make you more likely to stick around for senior year, but I just think that the once in a lifetime experience of being initiated is that much more spectacular the more you've looked forward to and anticipated it.
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