In Alpha Phi Omega, a plege could not wear the 3 greek letters together at all. In fact, our paddles had Phi spelled out in Roman alphabet letters. Our pledge class party T-shirt had only Delta Eta spelled out and in Greek letters. No mention of A Phi O. I still have that T-shirt. But after initiation, one of the first things I did was get a t-shirt with the Greek letters. I eventually got two more.

Cotton candy cocoons.... god I LOVE that movie....

pledges should have nothing that the brothers don't give them

APO's policy is that items that indicate membership (letter shirts with greek letters, badge, etc) may not be worn by non-members (including pledges), but event shirts are not considered as an indication of membership, thus its ok for pledges to wear them. Pledge class t-shirts would spell out "APO" and not use greek letters, to avoid that issue..

Chapters that use paddles in their pledge class (I know of one that has their pledges use them to gather signatures), do what you discribe.

Most chapters will present their new Brothers with a letter shirt right after induction (usually paid for &/or presented by the pledge's Big).

Amazing that so many do not want THEIR New Associates to wear Letters.

Maybe You are not proud of the people that You brought in.

I can understand the Coat of Arms for sure.

But letters will help advertise the fine new possibles and advertise to the whole campus. We also let Newbies wear the Cross and Cresent which is an outward sign for LXA but not the Badge.
There just seems the wrong thing to do when You hide them in the bushes and out of site.

As a Lambda Chi myself I have to agree. There is nothing wrong with letting associates wear letters on event shirts. I happen to be proud to see more people wearing the letters.

I always liked wearing sorority event shirts. I had a great ZTA shirt that I wish I hadn't lost. The women always liked seeing the fraternity men supporting their organization.

I have no problem with letting pledges/new members wear the spelled out name of my sorority. I do however, have a problem with letting them wear block letters. Those greek letters on their chest hold no special meaning to the person who has just darkened the doorway of my house. Therefore, she should not wear them. Unfortunately (in my opinion, before i get flamed) it is my sorority's policy to allow new members to wear block letters. I didn't wear them as a pledge out of respect to the elders who had 'earned' the right to wear them. But times change for better of for worse.

Pledges, I mean, MIKKY's (MC's or Membership Candidates) are NOT allowed to wear the letters that I worked and sacrified for. Wearing the letters Kappa Kappa Psi is a privilege that is earned. IMO, if your gonna let your prospective members (notice I didn't say "new") wear letters, then, hell, you might as well show them every fraternity secret and the meanings behind every symbol in your brothernood. But, thats just my opinion of course.\

Sretakson.........

Our new members cannot wear the crest. It is considered hazing to tell them they are not allowed to wear block letters. However, during their New Member ed. meetings we do tell them that the letters have certain meanings that only initiated sister's know. In my opinion they all usually decide not to wear the letters until after initiation anyway. Some people still like the feeling that it is something they have had to earn through knowledge of the sorority

As Ren was saying, in OPhiA pledges and non-members can't wear letters. It isn't because of any secrecy of our letters--we share them with APhiO on purpose, so there are plenty of non-OPA-initiated people out there that know the significance--but because, as a service org, pledges work hard to earn the priviledge of wearing the letters.

As a pledge, I bought a t-shirt from our district formal (with letters), and then I eagerly awaited the next two months until I was able to wear the shirt. :)

While some of you have been saying that "hiding" the letters in such a manner is neglecting to publicize, I disagree. Plenty of freshmen arrive at college unable to read the Greek alphabet, and our pledge-friendly shirts with the letters spelled in English come in there. :p

I've never understood the concept behind "earning" one's letters. To me, the new member period is more of a process of jumping through the right hoops and cutting through the red tape instead of being an action of "earning" something.

Maybe I'd feel differently if I hadn't been able to wear letters on my bid day; maybe then I'd want everyone who came after me to "suffer" the same ways I had. But, since I wore letters as soon as I opened my bid card (practically), I don't see a need to keep new members from wearing them.

If someone hasn't earned your approval (or whatever is supposedly being earned during the new member period) prior to extending them a bid, then why have they earned it enough to get that bid in the first place?

To True.

The GLO either wants them or they dont.

Is it really so much earning to wear letters?

They cannot in all GLOs wear the Creat or Badge until Initiation and learning of the meanings.

If I had been accepted as a PNM and was told I could not wear the letters of an organization that want me or I wanted, I would have second thoughts.

I would still be a part, while smaller than the Active members, of the whole team.

Well said, frat!!!!! :D

The difference here is primarily a culture issue. For us, the process exists to determine if the prospect will be a good member. The only thing you've earned, if any, when you start the process is the privilege to take part in that process. This means that we see, in that individual, the potential to be an asset to the Fraternity. The process gives that prospect the chance to prove to us that they indeed are that asset. If we are both correct about that potential, then in the end, it should essentially be a done deal. We just don't presume that such will be the case (and it isn't always). Many are called, but many fewer will be "selected to serve". ;)

And as for the notion of "advertising the newbies on campus" , there's no mistaking the MIKKYs when they're around on campus. Everyone knows they're on the journey to Psi (and they don't need the letters to show it). For instance, your pledge class (sorry, MIP class :D) can have its own distinctive name that doesn't reference any of the greek letters. The NPHC fraternities and sororities, for example, have customary names for theirs that are used group-wide, so they are as recognizable as the letters themselves.

Having said that, I think I understand the reasoning behind many Greek orgs' thinking that "once we've chosen you, you're a member". The difference here is that we don't "choose you for membership" until the end of the process. ;)

I just believe there's a "few more steps" from GDI to Greekdom... :D

While I also wore letters as soon as I received my bid, I would never question another sorority's decision to withhold them. Our sorority has an open motto that corresponds to our letters. Some groups do not. If they're uncomfortable with pledges wearing those letters and having no idea what they mean, that's THEIR decision.

Pledging is not about "earning approval" - it's about showing your commitment to the group and also determining whether or not Greek life is really right for you. A process that's nothing more than "cutting red tape" doesn't teach you either of those things. You can end up initiated with little idea of the hard work and dedication Greek membership really entails.

Yes, I totally agree. I should've been clearer. If it is the decision of the sorority/fraternity as a WHOLE (and not just as a chapter, or just a few members of a chapter), then I completely agree. I'm in no position to tell anyone who should or shouldn't be allowed to wear letters. My comment was mostly in response to those who post that they (as an individual, not a sorority/fraternity as a whole) do not believe that new members have a right to wear them.

The red tape I was referring to was that involved in learning the founders names, completing the proper forms at the proper time, going through the proper ceremonies and the proper times, etc. I understand that during that time you also discover what commitment level you have to the group as well as whether or not Greek life is right for you. But, in my opinion, that's not what the pledge period is designed to do. That's just a happy side effect. An important one, certainly, but still just a side effect. Maybe my pledge period was not conducted properly. I still enjoyed it and learned a lot about myself and my sorority. But, I think officially, the purpose was to educate me about (and introduce me to) the red tape that is often involved in sorority life.