Ettiquette questions "is" or "was"
 

It's Sunday, so I have nothing better to do than read all the engagement announcements in my local paper. About 50% of them say "Suzy Smith is a graduate of Tech University where she WAS a member of XYZ sorority" and the other 50% say "Suzy Smith is a graduate of Tech University and she IS a member of XYZ sorority". Arent you a member for life so therefore "IS" would be proper? Your thoughts?

It depends on what you pledge to be honest. If you are with a BLGO, it's for life, but I don't think that it works that way with all sororities/fraternities.

As far as Divine 9 organizations, definitely "IS."

When many of us read or hear "was," our eyebrow is raised. What the heck does "was" mean? ha.

It simply means that you "were" there apparently and now you're NOT.

BGLO--have you introduced yourself to your frat or sorors in their GC forum yet?

BGLOs aren't the only organizations that consider membership for life, hence this non-NPHC poster making the statement and asking the question.

That would work if it is talking about the university or the chapter. Not when you're talking about being a member of the organization.

O.K. you have proved your point! Fine, You win!

We needed this closure. Thanks, troll or sock puppet.

Is and Is, but don't double-is it.
"Suzy Smith is a graduate of Tech University and a member of XYZ sorority"

Doc, Hate to tell you, you can call me what you want, but I happen to be neither.

The proper form for NPC sororities would be "is". However, many women, Greek and non-Greek alike, so closely associate membership with being an active in college that they slip and say "was". At my alumnae panhellenic, some women say "I was a ZXY" - but we try to subtly correct them. :rolleyes:

To further complicate things, it would be correct to say "She was a XYZ at the University of Hotness" because you would be referring to a specific period of time in the past - so I WAS a Gamma Phi Beta at Texas State University in the 80s. I AM a Gamma Phi who is now active with the Houston Alumnae Group and Katy Panhellenic. Katy Panhellenic has many members who WERE members at many different colleges and universities.

Yep.

And I think some of us are hesitant to use present tense when speaking to non-greeks for fear it looks like we're trying to hang on to our college days a little too much.

If a higher percentage of NPCers were more active in alumnae groups or if we had active grad chapters of alumnae initiates, I think "is" would more consistently be used.

Agreed here. I'm not going to say that I'm a Phi Mu from XYZ. That looks like I'm a 28 year old active sorority member. But if it's different context, I say "I am a Phi Mu".

Thank you!

I say to people "I am still active with the sorority that I joined in college"

I usually just say "I'm an alumna member of Tri Delta." It includes that I'm a member currently, and it also includes that I'm an alumna. It's true that saying "I am a Tri Delta" would confuse non-Greeks. They'd probably be like, "didn't you graduate college already?"

Exactly, which explains the engagement announcements in the paper, because the most common formulation I have seen there is that "Miss Smith attended the University of Texas, where she graduated with a degree in microbiology and was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority." Saves room in the announcement to do it that way.

I suppose you could argue that they're thinking of their membership as over by using that formulation instead of saying "Miss Smith is a member of Pi Phi," but I tend to think that people who think about their sorority enough after college to list in it their engagement and wedding announcements probably DO consider membership as a lifetime thing.

That too.

We've noticed that as well. I think people are right as to the reasons -- not wanting to look like you're still hanging on to college days too much, framing it in terms of being active in the chapter at college, it has become "the form" for wedding write-ups, etc.

I frankly can't remember how it was worded in our wedding write-up. I have seen similar wording in obituaries. ("He was a graduate of Tech University, where he was a member of XYZ Fraternity.") I was careful when I wrote my father's obituary: "He was a graduate of Tech University, where he was initiated into Kappa Sigma Fraternity."

Exactly. I always say, "I am a Sigma Kappa alumna," for that reason.

While I will concede that the "membership is for life" concept is far more prevalent among NPHC Greeks than NIC or NPC Greeks, I think the overwhelming majority of all Greek alumni on this board consider their membership to be for life. I know I do.

I agree that, in NPC at least, saying "I'm an alumna [member] of XYZ" is usually the best way to go. In our culture at least, saying "I'm a XYZ" sometimes raises eyebrows about being "too involved" (sad, but true to those not familiar with NPCs), but saying "I was an XYZ" is sort of disrespectful.

Agreed. It's a sort of wishy-washy subject, because some people feel that when you say "oh I was an XYZ" that you're (for lack of a better term) 'done' with the organization. I know that I will consider my membership lifelong and I plan to participate in an alumna group when I graduate. I guess a lot of it is how the individual considers it to be.

On some occasions when someone has said, "I was," I'll respond with a smile and say, "Are you still?" to which the person usually says, "Well, yes," with a kind of surprised admission.