Wearing Letters (after resigning from sorority)

[pixell]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Serious answer: It's a shame that you consider that a serious question.

No kidding.

Originally Posted by When Doves Cry

serious question: so is it weird for people to wear their letters once they've graduated?? i mean, once you initiate (and not drop), aren't you part of that sorority/fraternity forever?

Originally Posted by When Doves Cry

ps: i did do a search. they all said it was okay but it seemed like a no-no in this thread. that's why i asked.

Of course you can wear letters once you graduate, unless your sorority is different from any I've ever encountered.

However, after graduation you shouldn't say you "were" a member. If membership is not a life-long commitment, why would you want to wear letters?

The original poster was asking if she could still wear letters after she quit her sorority, that's why she was told 'no'.

To summarize:
No longer a member = no letters
Alumna/Alumnus = letters

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Well, as we tell newbies, do a GC search and school yourself.

And I'm really tempted to call When Doves Cry an idiot because she doesn't realize that Drolefille answered her question. She responded to Drolefille's answer with "so...people still do it...blah...."

So...yeah...there's a reason why When Doves Cry is a lurker but not a very observant one.

I think she was responding to me re: hijacking the thread

[When Doves Cry]

Originally Posted by pixell

The original poster was asking if she could still wear letters after she quit her sorority, that's why she was told 'no'.

To summarize:
No longer a member = no letters
Alumna/Alumnus = letters

yeah, i got that. let me tell you why i thought it was NOT okay to wear letters as an alum:

because DrPhil said:
That's even dumber than people who wear letters and say "I WAS one in college."

If you WERE one then why the hell are you wearing it? Find another raggedy old shirt to jog in.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

I think she was responding to me re: hijacking the thread

Okay, the power of using the quote function.

In that case, I hope she read Drolefille's and pixell's posts and does a GC search for additional info.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by When Doves Cry

yeah, i got that. let me tell you why i thought it was NOT okay to wear letters as an alum:

You don't notice the past tense versus present tense?

I recommend reading GC for a while so you can learn some things.

[When Doves Cry]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

You don't notice the past tense versus present tense?

I recommend reading GC for a while so you can learn some things.

No, thanks. I can learn elsewhere. I'm out.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by When Doves Cry

No, thanks. I can learn elsewhere. I'm out.

Flounce.

[pixell]

Originally Posted by When Doves Cry

yeah, i got that. let me tell you why i thought it was NOT okay to wear letters as an alum:

because DrPhil said:
That's even dumber than people who wear letters and say "I WAS one in college."

If you WERE one then why the hell are you wearing it? Find another raggedy old shirt to jog in.

I believe DrPhil was expressing annoyance at people who consider their sorority or fraternity "just a college thing" but still want to show off in their letters.

To me it seems similar to the people who join a chapter and disappear right after initiation but make sure to wear shirts and carry bags everywhere.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by pixell

I believe DrPhil was expressing annoyance at people who consider their sorority or fraternity "just a college thing" but still want to show off in their letters.

Yeah. Past tense versus present tense.

More importantly, that's a pretty common GC discussion and Drolefille answered her question. I don't know what else she expected beyond that. A full blown convo about it? Read the older GC threads or get your non-GC education that you claim to have access to---but have conveniently not used.

[Drolefille]

I'm going to assume she has me on ignore or something. Her loss. Hope she comes back and complains some more about how unhelpful GC is before stomping off again.

[honeychile]

Sometimes you can feel like you're not allowing yourself to grow up if you're over a certain age and wearing letters. A good friend of mine overcame it with an interesting phrase: "I was very active in Alpha Delta Pi for the past so many years, but now I'm just enjoying it." It establishes her as an alumna who isn't hung up on reliving her college days, but never denies her membership.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by honeychile

"I was very active in Alpha Delta Pi for the past so many years, but now I'm just enjoying it." It establishes her as an alumna who isn't hung up on reliving her college days, but never denies her membership.

I don't understand how saying that establishes her as an alumna who isn't hung up on reliving her college days but never denies her membership. I guess I had to be there.

***********

I love that the cultures for some GLOs are conducive to members being 100 years old and still blatantly wearing letters.

[Alumiyum]

Originally Posted by honeychile

Sometimes you can feel like you're not allowing yourself to grow up if you're over a certain age and wearing letters. A good friend of mine overcame it with an interesting phrase: "I was very active in Alpha Delta Pi for the past so many years, but now I'm just enjoying it." It establishes her as an alumna who isn't hung up on reliving her college days, but never denies her membership.

I like that way of saying it. I get weirded out by the people that have graduated but just can't seem to move on and therefore wear their jerseys with the collegians, show up to events constantly, etc. Being a collegian and being an alum aren't the same thing.

[sigmadiva]

Originally Posted by Alumiyum

I like that way of saying it. I get weirded out by the people that have graduated but just can't seem to move on and therefore wear their jerseys with the collegians, show up to events constantly, etc. Being a collegian and being an alum aren't the same thing.

I was with you until you said this (in bold).

This is where the Councils differ. It is nothing to see an active 96 year old member of a NPHC org still wearing letters, and is just as involved as a grad (alumnae member) as they were in undergrad.

In NPHC we are taught that membership is continuous over your life time.

In reference to When Dove's Cry's confusion - I think some people look at membership in terms of being financial.
financial = member
not financial = not a member

A lot of greeks are financial as undergrads, but may not be as a grad member due to new life expectations - family, home, cars, bills, paying off school loans. All of that seems to take precedent to greek org dues.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by sigmadiva

I was with you until you said this (in bold).

This is where the Councils differ. It is nothing to see an active 96 year old member of a NPHC org still wearing letters, and is just as involved as a grad (alumnae member) as they were in undergrad.

In NPHC we are taught that membership is continuous over your life time.

In reference to When Dove's Cry's confusion - I think some people look at membership in terms of being financial.
financial = member
not financial = not a member

A lot of greeks are financial as undergrads, but may not be as a grad member due to new life expectations - family, home, cars, bills, paying off school loans. All of that seems to take precedent to greek org dues.

Agreed with all, but I think she meant that it's not necessarily appropriate for said 96-year-old member to jump into a strut line at Pajama Jam or show up to an undergrad's house party.