In my chapter, it's ok for alumnae to meet up for dinner and a drink and have letters on (A drink, not GET drunk)....undergrads are not allowed to drink in letters.
We're not allowed to smoke in our letters, either. If you're wearing an ASA shirt and want a cigarette, you should change shirts first. One org. on campus allows their members to smoke in letters, but they can't smoke and walk, because that increases the chances that you'll end up upsetting someone you walk past by blowing smoke on them. (I think that's their reasoning)

I can top that.

Our official etiquette manual says that we should go home with the date we came with.

My question is...do you have to go home with him? Or can he just drop you off at your place? :p

Smoking
 

We were also instructed as pledges that a lady (and of course all Gamma Phis are ladies) never smokes while walking. In fact, we were to be seated if smoking. No one in my pledge class smoked, so it was simply a quaint left-over from the 60s. It is mentioned in The Southern Belle Primer as a rule southern women have long followed - Princess Margaret apparently broke it on a trip to Dallas, and was DISCUSSED. :)

We weren't allowed to smoke in public, but at the back door of the AOII dorm, there was a bush that was known as the "Smoking Bush" because all the sisters who smoked would sit in the bush and smoke since they technically weren't in public.

A little historical perceptive
 

Is this official "no drinking in letters" thing some what recent for NPCs?

When I was an undergrad at Kentucky last century (late 1970s), one of the "top" fraternities had an All Greek Beer Blast. To get in, you were suppose to wear your letters. The reason being that only Greeks would be wearing letters. And because they were a "top" chapter, you bet every sorority was out in force, in their letters, with an ice cold beer in hand. Unless they were doing shots of bourbon! :cool:

For what it is worth, this was one of the best All Greek parties. It was normally held on a Friday (often before a home football game) and had live bands and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of kegs. House Mothers had a reserved area where they were given priority treatment. The Dean of Students, Greek Life Advisors for NPC, NPHC and IFC, as well as chapter advisors etc. would all be in attendance. It was so popular that around my senior year, so many Greeks from other campuses would crash it that they started to require - in addition to letters - a current UK ID to get in.

Also "way back when", there were certain nights when a chapter would wear their letters out to the bars for what ever reason.

And this was not just restricted to UK. I experienced it at other Kentucky, SEC and Big XII campuses. Also at Indiana and Maryland while away attending football games. Frankly, there were lots of sorority women wearing their letters and tailgating (i.e. drinking).

I can see this more easily than a blanket ban. There is a difference between a bar on one hand and a nice dinner (or wedding reception) on the other hand.

FWIW - At our alumnae chapter's Founders' Day luncheon we could have wine. Everyone wore her badge, and we had a former International President in attendance. BUT we weren't in letters per se.

I think most NPC women would be shocked to learn that a good amount of NPCs don't actually have alcohol policies in their Inter/National policies. It seems to have become a pretty common CHAPTER rule, and most people don't know which are chapter rules and national rules. I was told as an undergrad that ASA had national "Drinking in letters" rules, but there are none. Even Dolly Purvis Lloyd (a National VP) conceded that fact at District Days D4 last year - although if it were up to her, there would be.

I know that on our website, in at least one place it says:

"No Alpha Sigma Tau insignia or associated symbols of the Sorority shall appear at any activity or function in which the abuse of alcohol is the outstandingly noticeable function or at an establishment that is primarily for drinking alcohol."

As for anything further, I'd have to search for it.

As has been said, if I'm having a glass of wine with dinner, that's one thing. If I'm at the bar, at a party, at a mixer, etc., then I'm not going to wear my letters.

Yeah, and that doesn't even touch Sidney Allen (former national Panhel prez) drinking in her pin.

This argument goes on and on and I think it's silly. If you're at a small school where everyone knows everyone or at least knows what group they are in, I think it's pointless to get all self righteous about not drinking in letters. It doesn't matter if you have letters on or not. Everyone is going to know that AlphaFrog the ASA and Brad Pitt the Sigma Chi were groping each other at the bar. :)

And as TSteven said...it used to be you SHOULD wear letters to get certain rights at parties, etc.

This has to do with risk management. It doesn't have to do with the "sanctity" of pieces of fabric on another piece of fabric. People just like to tell themselves that. And as I have said, the easier NPC pledging got, the more anal rules like this started to pop up.

Ditto all this for the smoking rules, I honestly hear those more from Southern chapters.

I completely agree with you! A lot of these rules are silly, but because AOII does have a rule regarding alcohol, I think twice about it!

I think this is misleading. I know in this thread you're discussing drinking in letters, but to say most NPCs don't have "Alcohol" policies is not true. Most all DO have policies which state things like no chapter funds used to purchase alcohol, no alcohol in chapter housing, must follow state laws, etc.

I'm sure these two would be so proud to be mentioned in an online message board about drinking in your letters! LOL

Oh, and just FYI, Sidney's title was NPC Chairman.

For me personally, whether this is a risk management issue or not, I wouldn't wear my letters to the bar out of respect for my organization. I don't feel that being drunk in my letters is necessary, and it's an easily avoidable situation.

And again... why don't people dress up to go out anymore? :p

(edit) wrong thread.