Respect your sisters and your sorority. Don't respect pieces of fabric sewn on another piece of fabric.

Point of information: if you have received an NPC sorority bid, you have earned your letters. You don't need to prove yourself-- just follow the policies, pay your dues and fulfill the requirements of membership.

For what it's worth, as an alumna, to this day I don't wear my letters when I am drinking. (These days, that's after an event where I'm actually wearing my pin.) As a collegian, even if we were sitting around having a drink at someone's apt, we made sure we weren't in letters or requested that someone lend us a non-letter t-shirt.

I have heard of prohibition of wearing stitched letters before becoming a fully active member, but not earning your letters? Never heard that.

I believe there are only 2 NPC sororities that only allow initiated members to wear letters (Alpha Epsilon Phi & Pi Beta Phi).

Any sorority chapter (that is not one of those 2) is in violation of their policies if they forbid new members to wear letters.

At UCF, jerseys with stitched letters are a popular initiation gift. A new member can buy her own jersey or wear one before she is initiated, but typically, she waits (b/c they're expensive and it's fun to get one as a gift and wear it on campus right after initation!). I think there may be some confusion about stitched letters-- JessXica, there is not a prohibition on them. I know Alpha Xi's and they're allowed to wear letters as new members andn this yes, you are allowed to wear jerseys. Stitched or screen printed: letters are letters and if anyone tells you otherwise, go talk to your adviser so she can clear up any urban legends that may be spreading.

Kappa Alpha Theta also allows only initiated members to wear letters.

In my chapter of AEPhi, lettered items (sweatshirts, hats, etc) were a popular initiation gift. But new members can wear items with "AEPhi" or "Alpha Epsilon Phi" spelled out, and we made sure they had plenty of such items to show their pride in their new sorority. :)

Ok I think what she meant by this, because I know her personally, is that she has not been initiated yet...i didn't take it that she has to do some sort of new member thing to be worthy (i.e. jump through hoops of fire or something lol), but that she hasn't learned the secrets of her chapter through iniation ceremony. Ok thats how i took it:)

Letters and/or the entire words?

Letters.

If the organization prohibits their NMs from wearing letters, they're usually allowed to wear the letters spelled out.

Out of curisoity, how is not wearing Letters, but letters spelled out? Do you mean the name of the GLO?

I am not sure, but if a New Recruit can wear the name spelled out, then why can they not wear just the letters?

I am at a loss on this point.

I do not also understand the idea of stiched letters as opposed to say iron on letters.

Getting ready to leave for a class, after which I will be heading to the house I went to last night, then after that, onto one I've been to during formal rush. I'm so excited and my heart is just pounding. I really like the house I went to last night. I just feel like a kid at Christmas, being able to go around and see what all this is like, and I'm SOOOOOOO hoping I get a bid this time around. I'm all jittery!!! I have no ideea why this greek thing has me all nerves like this! Wish me luck!

Good luck!!!

A lot of GLO's have special meaning invested in their letters to the point of not letting them be shown in Greek letter format, such as Fiji (who have rules that apply to their letters).

I wouldn't let my pledges wear letters because not all of them will stay. Some may de-pledge, and may take those letters that I hold so dear with them, and I would not be so thrilled with a non-greek running around with my org's letters.

You know?

In reference to an earlier quote because my understanding is that it is the same for all three of us (Kappa Alpha Theta, Pi Beta Phi, and Alpha Epsilon Phi):

We dont wear our letters on anything until after initiation. With Theta, atleast, we arent even supposed to technically have anything with our letters on them until that time (but you may see new members buy/given items and put them away until after initiation). We are allowed to wear or have items with "Theta", "Pi Phi", "AEPhi," or "Kappa Alpha Theta", "Pi Beta Phi," "Alpha Epsilon Phi" (as in spelled out) on them prior to initiation.

As to why we do this, it's a privilege for initiated members to know and as OtterXO said, it should not be questioned.