I agree with this, and what 33girl posted. Yes, I think we should all live our lives to the best of our abilities and whatever actions we are seen doing in public is reflected not only upon us, but on what we're associated with. But I also think the main reason we have rules such as "no drinking with letters on" is for PR purposes and respect; PR for those who are most likely not a part of the Greek Community nor know what it is like besides stereotypes and respect for your GLO and other members.

Hee hee, I got the funniest mental picture of a flight attendant throwing those single-serving bags screaming "here's your damn peanuts, I need my smoke!" :D

btw, I have a friend who works for Alaska Airlikes, out of Portland.

My chapter rules are not only can you not drink in letters, but your letters should never see alcohol, so no letter on if you stop by your friends party and they are all drinking even if you are not, no going to the package store and buying alcohol in letters. We also don't smoke or swear in our letters, no being to friendly with boys in our letters, and butt letters are strongly discouraged because they are "disrespectful"

Does that mean that you can't go into a restaurant wearing letters? It makes it really difficult to arrange off house dinners at restaurants or reception halls that way, wouldn't it?

for real...I hope those TGIFriday's walls don't come a crashin down. ;)

I feel like what I said is being misinterpreted. If you ban people from drinking or smoking in their letters because it is "disrespectful" or "bad PR" you should ban drinking and smoking period...otherwise, as James said in the other threads, it's just hypocritical. What if you are at a bar talking to someone and mention you are an XYZ? What is the difference?

Personally, I prefer seeing sisters in letter sweatshirts rather than tops with their boobs hanging out, but I digress. :)

I understand what you're saying, and maybe it is hypocritical, but people would be much more up-in-arms if we banned drinking and smoking alltogether in the name of our GLO. I guess I'd rather take the lesser of the two evils.

Just the letter sweatshirts, nothing else? I can see some girls going for that! :p

Interesting; I had a conversation about this last night.

I live near George Mason University and we were at a bar last night when a bunch of ladies came in to celebrate one of their birthdays. They were all sisters, and the birthday girl had on her lavilere.

I was VERY upset. They weren't even my letters! But I am SO peticular about respecting my letters... my chapter instilled that in me, and like a lot of you girls, drinking in letters is a sure ticket to standards for us.

My boyfriend pointed out that being in a sorority isn't the same thing to some people as it is to others -- and that, certainly, it takes a different meaning to be a "sorority girl" in the north than it does in the south.

No, it means you use the judgement your sisters trusted you with to figure out when it's appropriate to wear your letters.

appropriate: dinner at TGI Friday's with your parents.
inappropriate: drinks at TGI Friday's with your best friend from HS.

This whole discussion makes me sad. Sometimes it sounds like we are more worried about respecting our letters than respecting our actual human sisters.

I know that "what you do reflects on your GLO" but I'd rather have a sister who loves and cares about me, even if she dances on a table wearing her lavalier. We wore letters to class/bars/working out/wherever because we were proud of what those letters represented - our sisterhood - not the letters themselves.

Is any of this making sense?

In my chapter, drinking with letters on is a very highly discouraged - to the point it's automatic to not wear such things out when I know I'll be drinking. That said, I'm not aware there is an actual standing rule or policy forhibiting it (I could be wrong). However, even if there is not actual rule against it, it doesn't mean you won't end up in standards for it.

Maybe it's just me and my casual attitude towards drinking... but I have absolutely no problem with people have 'a drink' (legally) while showing letters. I agree that we must be careful to act in a manner befitting our organization while we're in public - I just don't see how having wine with my dinner goes against that.

i just make it simple... i only wear my letters around the house or on campus, seeing as i dont think im gonna be drinking at 2pm during poli sci lecture :p i usually just dont wear my letters when i go out otherwise. people who need to know im greek already know. and many people will treat you differently if you're greek becuase of personal stereotypes, either good or bad.

i was just looking at a sister's pictures from homecoming, and many of the girls were wearing our homecoming sweatshirts, which have our letters and the letters of the fraternities we did homecoming with, while they were drinking and smoking... i had huge issues with that. i know everyone was tailgating and we were all representing our chapters, but it still bothers me so much.

i do wish we had the rule of no smoking or swearing in letters as well. a large majority of my chapter smokes, and many of them do in letters in the middle of campus, and i just dont like the immage that gives off to other greeks as well as the independents -- especially the freshman/sophomore girls who are still waiting to rush.

Why can't you respect your letters AND your actual sisters?

The letters represent the sisterhood. Why would you want to disrespect something that represents the wonderful bond between the women you've met in the sorority?

It's like having sex with another man..... and wearing your engagement ring while you do it.

Uh oh 33girl. By admitting that, you just failed your founders. :rolleyes: :p

Because I don't think drinking or smoking are "disrespectful" activities. For people over 21 and 18 respectively (and in my time, for many chapters, 18 and 18), they are perfectly legal.

And that is the point I was trying to make. If you think these things are so bad as to be degrading to your sorority, you shouldn't just not do them in letters, you shouldn't do them ever. If you do, you're a hypocrite.

I agree with 33girl.

Someone earlier in this thread said that her roommate was in a music fraternity and most of them drank in letters and it's disrespectful.

I don't know which GLO it was, but SAI does NOT have a rule about drinking in letters! Or swearing, smoking, etc in letters. Instead, our policy is to make sure that in all that we do, we represent SAI in a positive light.

We have a few sisters that smoke. It's not a big deal to us for them to smoke in letters.

With drinking...while there is no national rule, most SAIs out of respect don't wear letters while drinking. BUt the thing is, like 33girl said, if it's so disrespectful, then you shouldn't do it when NOT in letters either!

Drinking responsibly when you're of age isn't disrespectful in its own right, but misusing alcohol is, no matter if you're 18, 28 or 68, in a GLO, the CEO of your company or a church secretary.

And I think many people have issues with smoking because of the health hazards assoicated with it, and therefore see it as a "dirty" habit. I smoked in college, quit when I met my husband and now wonder why I did it in the first place. (though I don't think smokers are dirty, I know it's a personal choice, but others don't share the same opinions I do.)

I guess some orgs just view it as one way their members can go about not perpetuating negative Greek stereotypes to those outside of Greek life. It isn't too terribly difficult and it doesn't hurt anyone, so what's the harm, even if some do think it's hypocritical?