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  #16  
Old 09-05-2012, 01:44 PM
ADPiEE ADPiEE is offline
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I used to have the first Sisters but I think I lost it in one of our many moves...I really need to get them again.
I love the Phi!
Does it say what campus this was from?
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  #17  
Old 09-05-2012, 01:51 PM
MysticCat MysticCat is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ADPiEE View Post
I love the whistles--i've never seen that!
There are a couple of interesting things about that chart.

First, Phi Beta Kappa (which wasn't always an honor society) is included. Second, so is Theta Nu Epsilon, which has always been a class society, not a fraternity as such.

But the other thing I noticed is Alpha Delta Phi. The badge of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity is not shown on the chart, but if all badges are matched with the fraternity or sorority, there is one diamond badge (other than SAE and Fiji) left over, and I think it's ADPi's badge.

So, that would mean this chart dates from between 1905, when the Adelphian Society went national and changed its name to Alpha Delta Phi, and 1913, when the name was changed again to Alpha Delta Pi. And that would mean that the last whistle shown was/is ADPi's.

ETA: And I see that while I was typing this, honeychile also pointed out the ADPhi = ADPi bit. Guess that means my guess was right.
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  #18  
Old 09-05-2012, 02:04 PM
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honeychile honeychile is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ADPiEE View Post
I used to have the first Sisters but I think I lost it in one of our many moves...I really need to get them again.
I love the Phi!
Does it say what campus this was from?
Most of my books are still packed, so I'm not sure. It may have been in one of the Loyally volumes, too. But as MysticCat has so kindly pointed out, it had to be a chapter between 1905-1913.
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  #19  
Old 09-05-2012, 02:39 PM
MysticCat MysticCat is offline
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Originally Posted by honeychile View Post
Most of my books are still packed, so I'm not sure. It may have been in one of the Loyally volumes, too. But as MysticCat has so kindly pointed out, it had to be a chapter between 1905-1913.
And one not at an all-female school, so based on the time-line at The Wiki, that would seem to narrow it to just four possibilities -- Delta (Texas, 1906), Epsilon (Sophie Newcomb College of Tulane, 1906), Upsilon (Washington State, 1912) or Tau (Kansas, 1912).

Given that Kappa Alpha Order is also on the chart, I think that would further narrow it down to Tulane or Texas. And since Zeta Tau Alpha chartered at Texas in 1906 (the same year as ADPi) and didn't charter at Tulane until 1927, I'm going with Texas.
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Last edited by MysticCat; 09-05-2012 at 02:54 PM. Reason: To add info on Zeta chapters
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  #20  
Old 09-05-2012, 02:51 PM
glittergal1985 glittergal1985 is offline
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Theta Phi Alpha's sign is made of three fingers on each hand forming the letter "theta." I have a feeling it's not that old, but is lately appearing all over TSM and Pinterest as "our" sign.
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  #21  
Old 09-05-2012, 03:36 PM
NutBrnHair NutBrnHair is offline
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For years, (certainly back to the 1970s) Chi Omegas posed for pictures like this, but of course that takes 2 people to perform! I'd say the handsigns for Chi Omega (with just the fingers) have occurred in the last 5 years.

This pic is from 2000:
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  #22  
Old 09-05-2012, 03:44 PM
SWTXBelle SWTXBelle is offline
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I know of several sororities which have ritual hand signs. I also know the Gamma Phi whistle.
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  #23  
Old 09-05-2012, 05:46 PM
naraht naraht is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticCat View Post
In what context would you use that?

I think there may be various things that can be meant by "handsigns." It seems to me that handsigns can be broken down into three different kinds of signs:
  1. Handsigns made in photos or similar situations that serve simply to say "we are members of ΑΒΓ";
  2. Signs made only in a ritual context with ritual meaning; and
  3. Recognition signs used to quietly identify other members, similar to a challenge and response.
It seems to me that in this thread we've mainly been talking about the first category. Obviously we wouldn't know about the second category for any GLO but our own, and the third category would also likely be secret (if still used). I'm guessing that whistles also originally functioned like the third category of handsign. (You can see in the chart above that some whistles actually have challenges and answers.)

I wouldn't be surprised of lots of GLOs have signs of the second and third kind, though in these days when it's easier to identify members in other ways, those of the third kind may have fallen out of use. It's those of the first kind that I think have only fairly recently been appearing outside the Divine Nine, and I would guess it is a Divine Nine influence that has given rise to them elsewhere.
Definitely *not* # 3, among other uses, the Sign is made when someone is being installed into an elected office at any level and for most elected offices above the chapter level, that tends to be done at conference banquets where guests, wait staff, etc. are likely to see it. (While our officer installation is in the ritual book, it is not a private ritual) We also have a private fraternity handshake.

For #2, definitely not only in a ritual context, though certainly used there as well...

For #1, certainly *can* be done that way. If you were asking for the organizational pictures in the yearbook for the signs to be made, that is certainly the one that brothers would use. And I do see it used "socially", just not to the level that you see some other groups using it.

And while the chapters at the HBCUs are more likely to use the sign socially because of the influence of the NPHC signs, the use of that sign dates back to well before our first chapters at an HBCU. (Trying to figure out when and where the first school with both an NPHC chapter and an Alpha Phi Omega chapter would be difficult)

Alpha Phi Omega in the Philippines are also more likely to use the hand sign for various cultural reasons.
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  #24  
Old 09-05-2012, 05:52 PM
ADPiEE ADPiEE is offline
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Nutbrown--THAT'S the Chi Omega sign I remember from 20 years ago.

Great detective work on figuring out the whistles--I'm going with Texas too!
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  #25  
Old 09-05-2012, 06:04 PM
ADPiEE ADPiEE is offline
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I know ours has been around since at least the early 80's.......
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  #26  
Old 09-05-2012, 06:50 PM
trisigma212 trisigma212 is offline
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I've seen some new Sigma handsigns. Usually we just did the sigma with our pointer and thumb, but I've seen some chapters making the triangle with their hands. I guess that would be okay in places that don't have a Tri Delta chapter since it looks like a delta. I kind of like it for more formal occasions such as with badge attire since I usually associate the sigma with just plain hanging out with my sisters. Anyone else seen this?
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  #27  
Old 09-06-2012, 01:37 AM
jazing jazing is offline
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Are the whistles similar to knocks?
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  #28  
Old 09-06-2012, 08:48 AM
MysticCat MysticCat is offline
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Are the whistles similar to knocks?
No, because as indicated by the chart up thread, generally whistles are not secret and can be used (to the extent they are used at all anymore) in public.
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  #29  
Old 09-06-2012, 12:28 PM
Cheerio Cheerio is offline
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The hand signal currently fashionable within my NPC group is something I learned long ago as a pledge. It's not something we commonly used until recent popularity of NPC groups publicly throwing handsigns.

When viewing recently-posted Bid Day and NM Class photos, I notice a few NPC handsignals appear similar when photographed from afar (from not-in-closeup mode).
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  #30  
Old 01-29-2013, 07:47 PM
exlurker exlurker is offline
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http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2013/0...itment-period/

A pic is with this article ^^. Nearly everyone seems to be doing a hand sign (?). Looks / looked odd to me. I'm still not entirely sure what it's all about, but I'm sure it's just great.
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