Well, we start with Rush Crushes, which aren't given, it's just who rushed you and you liked them and it just happened a lot. After than, you get a Violet Sis ( a temp big sis to welcome you to the chapter, answer your questions, help you, and generally make you feel welcome!) Then, it used to be Mom-Dot (mother-daughter) but now it's Big sis/Lil sis. We had grand-big, and aunts, and twins and such, that grew into families (twins were two lil sis's to one big sis in a pledge class, my aunt would be my Bis sis' twin, and my cousins, my aunt's lils.) It sounds more complicated than it was. I don't think that they do families any more though, but as long as you have a special someone who cares, it doesn't matter what it's called.

In AOII, they are officially known as Big Sister / Little Sister. Some chapters also call then Panda Pals, Alpha Sisters, Rose Buddies etc.

Our chapter gives the pledge a Rose sister at the pledging cermony...kinda like the temporary big....and halfway to the formal iniation we do the pick 3 for the matching up of Big/Lils. We are real big on keeping family trees and we informally get Big Bros too.

I don't know if every DG chapter does this, but we give the new members on bid day bronze, pink, and blue buddies that give them different things or take them to lunch, etc. Then they get their bigs which we call many different things. Most of us stick with Big and Lil, while some go with Anchormate which was used before I joined in Fall '99. We pretty much stick with the traditional and just be creative with our shirts by putting whatever we want on them :)

Delta Gamma
Eta Chapter

We just called our mom's and dot's that...mom's and dot's, they were given on bid day.

Our bigs we called "Sigma Bigma's". I have no idea why and other chapters thought it was funny. Little's were just called little's.

I want a big sister. Does anybody do that? Where they adopt clueless frat boys like me?

Clueless fraternity boy seeking big sis...LOL

When I was an active I was a princess of Phi Delta Theta, and we actually had big bros and little bro's...Pi Phi actually frowns on little sister organizations nationally, but I have to be honest, I loved having a big and little bro, they were both great guys and we had a lot of fun.

By the way, you're missing out on not having a big sis -- I spoiled my little bro rotten! Maybe you could put something in the want-ads?!? I'm sure some nice GLO lady would adopt you! I would but I'm just too darn old:)

In ADPi before we get our Diamond Sisters we are first given Lion Sisters to help us get into the transition of ADPi life.. Our Diamond Sisters however, well mine at least is soo awesome!! I can't wait to get my own new diamond sis so that I can spoil her rotten just like mine did =)

Here at Gamma Phi Beta, we have moms, daughters, grandmas.....real families. Our new members are called moonbabies before they are initiated because our chapter's symbol is the crescent moon.

Omptimist Prime!: I call mine Chris too!

haha anyway, SAE doesn't have any formal name for the whole program - but there are some chapters who have particular traditions regarding families.

Well, I guess it's since we're a *minority* and we refer to slang. Our *families* I guess you can call them are reffered to as *Krew'z*, which go by nickname. (IE....my nickname iz J-Trip...and I'm a founding father, so my family name will be J-KrEw.....one of my bro'z nickname is J-Sin...and his family name will be SiNFULL-KrEw). We haven't started our pledge process yet, so I don't have my *Lil Bro* yet...so...yea...none of this has happened yet..but we already know what everything is.

As for sisters...we're gonna just call the whole sister program Nu Sister'z...if one become's a Nu Sister, she retains that title forever.

Is that still true? They were big/ little when I was initiated, and changed to carnation sisters when mine was initiated. I heard they had gone back to big/little at some point, though. Was I misinformed? Just curious.

carnation sisters
 

At my chapter we call them Carnation sisters, but to make it shorter we stick with big/lil and in fact my family calls the older ones grandma and great grandma, etc. I guess mostly as a term of endearment, but also sarcasm, since compared to my 18 yr. old grandlittle, I seem ancient, but still have lots of Phi Mu wisdom to pass on...like our biological Grandmothers.

So to answer your question, technically they are called Carnation sisters.

tara :)
---to practice day by day
love, honor, truth---

[SIZE=small]Actually... in ADPi we DO have big/little sisters. We refer to them as Diamond sisters... for example, my best friend Melissa is my Diamond sis, and I call her my Diamond big... she usually just calls me her diamond. Before we receive our official diamond sisters however, on Bid day we receive temporary Pi Pals.[/SIZE]

-Lauren
Zeta '02
Southwestern University, TX

"Be beautiful if you can, wise if you want to...but be respected--that is essential."
--Anna Gould

a diamond is a girls best friend ;)
our chapter also has violet sisters, who our new members have until they receive their diamond sis, but technically we're not supposed to do that.... oops! we have prides (like lion prides) that are supposed to act as a 'family' and support our new members too...