We never let new members wear letters. What we will do is on certain occasions allow them to wear shirts with the Phi spelled out if we want to represent at Greek events like Greek Goddess or Greek Week but we don't even do that every semester.

Is that a new national policy or your chapter's policy? :confused:

When I was an active, we had letter days once a week. New members would either wear their bid day shirts or borrow an older bid day or event shirt from a sister (with "Alpha Epsilon Phi" or "AEPhi" on it, not the Greek letters). NMs could wear such shirts on other days of the week as well, if they so chose. We were the smallest chapter on campus, so we needed everyone, including our NMs, representing.

In TKE we allow them to wear letters, but not the crest and such. These insignia are open to our challenge to distingiush brothers.

I think it is up to the chapter in most cases.

Up until this semester, my chapter always discouraged girls from wearing letters until Initiation - we wouldn't stop them, but we preferred if they would wait. This semester each girl got one of our main lettered shirts (screenprinted shirts with our name inside our letters) to wear on Bid Day, and almost all of them put them on over their clothes and got really excited. We had one girl who was just traumatized she had to dress up to wear her nm pin because she wanted to wear it every day, it was super cute!

At my school no one (fraternities or sororities) allows their NM's to wear letters until after they get in. The only exception to this rule is Kappa which gives their NM's sweatpants with letters on the butt that they have to all wear on certain days. One of the other sororities here, their nationals told them they had to let NM's wear letters, so they bought the letters but I don't think that they were actually given them until after initiation. At my school it's the same thing as with Buttonz, you can tell exactly when everyone got in because that's when they're all wearing letters.

I have to respectfully disagree here. In my chapter we were allowed to wear the name of the sorority spelled out until initiation, and technically were allowed to wear letters. I chose not to wear anything until after I was initiated, and I agree that i felt very overwhelmed and proud to wear my badge as a sister. I didn't earn the right to wear a sweatshirt, I earned the right to wear my badge--I could've worn a sweatshirt any day of the week, but it wouldn't have the same meaning as my badge ever.

Now having said that, letters while they represent the organization, are there on a much more casual basis. Someone can wear the letters, it's not until they go through the ritual of initiation that they become a sister and are allowed to wear the badge, which to me means so much more. Anyone off the street can and often does order letters -- however a sister is only someone with the badge.

wearing letters should be a right reserved for brothers. in my chapter pledges can wear screen-printed written out names, but cannot wear the traditional letters (we dont use our real letters on shirts anyway, but thats beside the point pretty much everyone else).
wearing the letters for the first time is a very special thing and is something that should not be dealt with lightly-im of the opinion that you shouldnt wear letters until you know the all of the rituals, customs, and traditions of the fraternity and chapter, which doesnt come until after initiation

In my Sorority pledges/new members are not allowed to wear anything but their pledge shirt and that is only on Wednesday of every week. They cannot write/touch or feel stitched letters. Same thing goes for girls trying to start a new chapter. Once they go from petitioning group to charter then they can wear only screenprinted letters. I know that when I begame a "full" fledged Sister I wore those letters forever. Now I wear my sweatshirt and my active jacket all the time. I think that our national policy about letters makes it much more emotional and we value our letters more. I know sororities here on my campus letter their NM wear their letters as soon as they accept their bid. My Sorority's belief is that "You earn your letters, We don't give them to you". And I know that for me once I earned the right to wear them, I will never take them off, or let anyone harm them. That's how proud I am to be A SISTER OF GAMMA ALPHA OMEGA!!!!!!!!!:D ;)

our guys cant wear the crest until initiated, but can wear letters..i duno that stitched or not stitched even matters...never even thought of it.

Wow, I agree! I had no clue other GLOs had rules like these!

Re: Pledges wearing letters
 

Uhh...out of curiousity, what happens if they do that by accident? What are your colors? I'm just thinking, b/c I'm sure I've inadvertantly worn AXiD colors while not specifically meaning to. It just so happens that I like to wear a lot of blue and yellow. Would you penalize a new member for something like that?

Alpha Sigma Phi allows pledges to wear clothing with the three Greek letters. Pledges, though, are not allowed to purchase items with the coat of arms until after initiation.

Even Freemasonry has its own rules on who can and cannot wear the Square and Compasses. Entered Apprentices (first degree) and Fellowcrafts (second degree) may not wear the Square and Compasses until they attain the Master Mason (third) degree. Past Worshipful Masters wear a variation of the Square and Compasses with a sunburst replacing the "G" and a quadrant replacing the square.

Re: Pledges wearing letters
 

As a member of a NPHC organization, I believe the ideology is the same. There is no way possible that when we have girls on they can wear letters in any shape or form. As we say, if you don't know your history, then Zeta is a mystery. Honestly, I think it is crazy to have aspirants wear the letters, spelled out or greek formation. They don't have a clue of the history behind it. When I was online, I couldn't even wear the colors, at all.

Excuse me, but I have to address this! Having letters on the butt is a horrible practice for sororities and fraternites alike. What a disrespect to the founders! We really have to stop this practice. It's shameful.

I agree! Letters on sweatpants belong on the leg, not on the butt. Not only I find letters on the butt weird, but disrespectful. The banishment of this practice goes for members as well as NMs and alums.

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