Another idea is to have you pin mounted on a ring or a necklace. Lots of Greek Jewelery companies sell the backings, and it looks incredible. I know in my Fraternity, only an alumna may wear her pin as a ring or necklace. Its a discrete and classy way of showing your greek pride!

For professional attire, Sigma Nu makes alumni pendants. They kind of look like this but are MUCH smaller and are basically just the outline of the badge which is colored white. Sometimes a number appears in the middle like 10 for 10 years of service or whatever..

http://www.mastersofdesign.com/image...t/img1-742.jpg

I've never worn my pin to an interview. You never know if your interviewer is anti-greek, or if s/he rushed and fell in love with your GLO only to be cut leaving him/her bitter, or if s/he has an ex who is in your GLO, etc... I'm not saying these are good reasons to not offer a job to a particular candidate, but I'm sure it does happen.

I don't list AEPhi on my resume, either, even though I held an exec position. I've been out of school for five years already - I'd rather have my resume focus on my work experience, certifications, and recent community involvement.

The "trouble", if you will, with AEPhi's badge is that it is so obviously a GLO badge - unlike a key, arrow, etc. We also are not allowed to turn it into any other form of jewelry (otherwise I would have turned my new member pin into a pendant long ago). So, when I go to an interview, my badge stays home.

A lot of SAI women do something similar to this, especially "older" members. Instead of dangles, they get guards (one for their college chapter, one for the Sword of Honor award, one for their exec. office, etc..) and attach all of THOSE to the badge! IMHO, too many guards distract from the badge. I've seen as many as ten on one badge!

Here's a related question, though: Most of these women then buy little "badge buddies" - pieces of decorative fabric upon which the badge and all guards are pinned. The badge buddy has a pin on the back, which the wearer then attaches to her clothing. I guess it saves the time and frustration of putting all those pins onto an article of clothing, not to mention wear and tear on the clothes. Do other GLOs do this?

After over 6 years as a member of my GLO, I'm embarassed to ask this, but...

what the heck is a "guard"?

Ginger,

A guard is the chapter letters, attached on a chain to the main badge. People then attach their dangles that they get for various offices to the chain.

oh and honeychile, WORD on not being able to imagine a badge without a chapter guard. It amazes me how many people don't have them. :eek:

these are guards:

http://www.sai-national.org/resource/badge4.jpg

Hmm... I didn't know there was such a thing as an officer guard.

When I first got my badge, I didn't get a chapter guard because we hadn't been installed as a chapter yet. (The original founders were initiated in keeping with the 6-8 week new member program, even though we weren't large enough to be chartered - so we just got plain badges.) I bought a guard later on. I needed something to hang my dangles on :) Our guards are actually really nice - the chapter letters are pearl set to coordinate with the badge - the disadvantage is we have to get them from nationals.

RedRoseSAI, wouldn't a "badge buddy" defeat one of the purposes of a guard - which is to make sure your badge doesn't get lost if the clasp pops open because it's still attached to your shirt by the guard?

aephi alum, I had the same thought. People tend to call them "dangles" nowadays instead of "guards", but they originally started appearing as separate stickpins in the late 1800s because locking clasps were not yet widely available. Clasps in the 1800s were just a little C-shaped loop of gold, and if you've ever seen one, the need for a separate guard is obvious.

wptw

A dangle is not the same as a guard. The dangles hang on the chain that attaches the guard to the badge.

Yes, it would, which is another reason why I don't quite "get" badge buddies. Then again, maybe people who wear them stick one of the guards through the badge buddy and attach it onto their clothing...I really don't know.

Semantics. Most people use the terms interchangeably. You're right, though.

wptw

Wow...imagine away! We don't have anything like that... the rule is that absolutely NOTHING is to be attached to our badge - all of our recognition pins, etc. are individual pins that do not attach and are to be worn below and to the left of our badge.

That's so wierd...I guess I always assumed that every other group had a rule of not attaching anything to their pins...something about the sanctity of the badge.

re; badge buddies

I've never seen them, but I know in the DAR & similar organizations, you put the pins on a ribbon, and attach the ribbon to your clothing. And yes, it has everything to do with saving wear & tear on your clothing.

I've never seen the officer guards, either!

Like Ginger said, imagine away. Maybe someday I'll get a guard, but I don't have one right now. They cost money.

Besides, I like my Key without a guard. It's subtle.

Our Grand Council President's badge has our New Member Pin as a guard. I think that's really cool. But I don't think that lack of a guard is bad.