Plegdes wearing letters???

[aephi alum]

I don't think any AEPhis have posted on this thread yet...

Only initiated sisters are allowed to wear the Greek letters or use items that display the letters (keychains, bags, etc). New members can wear shirts that say "AEPhi" or "Alpha Epsilon Phi" spelled out.

New members "shouldn't" order letters or buy lettered items before initiation, but nobody really complained if a NM did so as long as she didn't wear/use them.

[AUDeltaGam]

Delta Gammas are allowed to wear letters before initiation...our girls got their jerseys (stiched letters) before initiation.

[MTSUGURL]

We could wear letters as long as they were iron on, screen printed, or spelled out. We couldn't wear stitched or embroidered until initiation, and most of us got stitched letter hoodies from our big sister as an initiation gift.

[TexasOphiA]

Our pledges can wear the name spelled out, but no letters until they are activated. We activate our newest class this Friday!

[Zetagymnast]

In my sorority, pledges are not allowed to wear letters at all. They are also not allowed to wear the colors of the sorority. I think the system is different in my sorority because when pledges are "on line" no one know until they have crossed and become sisters.

[lilkel244]

It is a tradition at my school that you do not wear letters until initiation. You can wear anything with the Fraternity or sororitys letters spelled out but nothing with the greek letters. Then as you start tos ee the new members wearing letters you know who just got in. My sorority has one tradition that goes against that which is the big always buys her little a stitched letter tote for the big little revealing, I know that the not wearing letters before initiation is a campus tradition not a Delta Zeta one though because when we were still a colony last year and our consultants came down she couldn't believe that we didn't wear letters.

[Buttonz]

We do the same thing as in no GLO lets the NM wear letters...I just found out one of the local groups NM got in because I sawthem with letters last week! Two more sororities to go until all the girl NM's are in...non of the frat boys are in yet

[honeychile]

Every now & again, this discussion flares up, and our EO policy is that only the crest is forbidden for use of a New Member. Sometimes a chapter will be a little stricter and not allow their New Members to wear the letters until they're initiated.

I did get a huge laugh out of it, though, at our 150th anniversary a couple years back. The very same sister who was terribly in your face about not wanting New Members to wear letters ordered glasses with the crest on them for favors - for members, alumnae, New Members, and sundry husbands/boyfriends that were there!!! Thankfully, common sense prevailed and the New Members' glasses were kept for their initiation, and the men were smart enough to not tussle with by-the-book alumnae!!




edited for grammar!

[PrincessPhiSig]

This summer at our Leadership Training School, we were told that new members are indeed allowed to wear letters. Of course, this was met with dissent, but what National says goes!

[Sister Havana]

In my Alpha Phi Omega chapter, we were not allowed to wear letters or any APO paraphernalia as pledges. We could wear our pledge pins and that was it.

As for paddles, our chapter's tradition was to give paddles to the graduating seniors at our last meeting of the semester. The paddles were presented to each person by brothers who knew them pretty well, and talked about what that person brought to the organization and stuff. It was really meaningful. I still have my paddle hanging on the wall above my bed.

[Little E]

Wow, some of your chapters, no offense, have lots of rules. We allow our NMs to wear letters (stiched or printed) (spelled out or letters) but do not allow them to wear the crest until after initation. We give the new initiates our chapter shirt, with the crest on it, to them on that day. Otherwise you are watching what people wear, and making them uncomfortable. They may not understand the full signifigance, but they understand that it is something special and that they will eventually mean more, and when you do wear, that same shirt, it has a new meaning after initiation.

blah...don't like lots of rules about clothing, sounds too big brotherish for me.

[kappaloo]

eh... when I pledged our NM chair told us no letters before initiation... but the first TC that heard that told us that NM are to be allowed to wear letters. To be honest, it didn't meet much if any resistance... but that's just my chapter.

My chapter however does not encourage NM to wear letters before initiation (by buying them letters or anything). Since we're in Canada and getting letters often takes 6-8 weeks, it's not really an issue.

During our initation sleepover, the NM make their own 'getto' letter shirt/bags/hats/whatever... so it's nice to hype that up and then see them all come out where their very first set of letters right after initation.

[ThetaPam]

As a new member who made it all the way to initiation without wearing letters, I must say, it does feel good to earn them.

And for the people who are concerned about how anyone will know which girls are pledging which sorority, most everyone who has posted that their new members don't wear letters has also explained that they can wear the name of their GLO spelled out. I'm sure people knew I was a Theta new member... I practically lived in my black and gold Bid day shirt!

[33girl]

As I said before I think a lot of it depends on your campus traditions. I can't think of any GLO (except the locals, who were looking to go national and therefore didn't have crests) who weren't allowed to wear letters before initiation. Crests however were a Big Big Deal and you didn't get them until after you initiated.

[alphabug02]

My Chapter allowed us to wear letters (any type stitched, sewn, glued, screen printed... whatever), in fact they were handed out with zeal. If a new member wanted a set of letters or shirt all she had to do was ask and she was always welcome to barrow another sisters shirts till she got her own. We were the only organization on campus that allowed this practice, but here’s the twist, the members of my chapter don’t value their letters and in turn don’t always value organization they belong too.

At first I couldn’t figure out why the new members didn’t value the chapter as much as I did or the other women I joined with. We take the new members in treat them as equals (as it should be) and share our sisterhood with them, while at the same time educating them about our heritage. What I have realized over time is that there is a distinct difference between when I joined and the new members the chapter is now taking. I was a founding member, so I had to put a lot of work, heart and soul into the chapter, as a group the women I rushed and joined with had to prove to the Greek Community and to our National Organization that we were a Colony that was ready to become a Chapter.

The new members now go through all the same rituals, and wear the same letters, but I know when wore my letters across campus, I was proud. When I received my pin I cried during our ritual (and I don’t cry). I don’t think the new members now have this same feeling of pride, because what they have has been given, rather than earned. Handing out letters to new members in theory it seems like a great idea, but in my opinion if you do not have to live with out then you never learn to truly appreciate what you have.