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Wearing Letters/Colors while Drinking?
I'm curious to know, what are other organization's policies with respect to wearing one's letters and /or colors and alcohol consumption? Please feel free to share.
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In both my organizations you can not wear letters, pins, ribbons, or anything that signifies you as a member while drinking, in the presence of someone else drinking, or into an establishment where they serve alcohol. If any of this is unavoidable for some reason or another, you must turn clothing inside out to hid letters, or what have you, and conceal pins or ribbons.
------------------ Mikki Gates Delta Zeta Alum Kappa Mu Chapter Sigma Alpha Iota Alum Eta Tau Chapter "I would rather have thirty minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special." --Julia Roberts (Steel Magnolias) Visit me at: http://homepages.go.com/~dzkm433/index.html and http://www.calypso.com/dzkm433/welcomtomyworld.chtml [This message has been edited by mgdzkm433 (edited April 21, 2000).] |
As far as Zeta goes, I personally don't wear my letters when I go out with my friends to a bar or a club, or when I drink. If I am at a restaurant and I have my letters own, I bypass alcohol. I am representing Zeta Phi Beta everytime I wear my letters and I try to dispplay FinerWomanhood at all times. I don't have a problem with a soror having a glass of wine or something when they are wearing letters, as long as they are conducting themselves in a ladylike manner.
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OK, that's interesting...I was wondering, because our "Letters Policy" states 'no letters if you're going drinking!' However the distinction between bar-hopping and a glass of wine with dinner is not really delineated. In conjunction with any of the policies is the dictum of 'whatever you do, be tasteful, and keep in mind you represent all your sisters, and the values of the sorority when you wear letters/colors.' I think there's a world of difference between a drink with dinner, and deciding to go drinking. Anyway, thanks for all the comments so far!
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I guess it would depend on the venue.
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we can have a ****tail at a closed greek affair in 'nalia, but not at an open event like a bar or party. it is not becoming and disrespectful of the sorority.
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Members who are over 21 can wear their letters while drinking; however, we must remember that our conduct represents our fraternity everywhere we go.
------------------ andrew watters Theta Chi – ucla |
In our sorority, we are not allowed to wear any letters while we are drinking. We can still wear our colors though, and some girls wear there laviliers (cant spell) which is still being decided on.
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our policy is no pins, letters, crest or anything else that would make you recognizeable as a member of our house. Personally I think it's disrespectful to the founders and the ideals for which they created our group. Since I don't drink, it doesn't bother me anyway.
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pinkice9 |
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Anything that you do while wearing your letters will give an impression to the people who are around you. Just as if I were to cut someone off on the highway, and I have a big KKG sticker on the back of my car- that person tends to associate my sorority with the fact that someone in that organization cut them off while driving...as stupid as this sounds, the same goes for if you are drinking, that just really gives people a bad impression sometimes. We struggle with this, especially with teaching our pledges or "new members" not to do it. So in effect, just be careful about the impressions you give people while wearing your letters. You never know when rushees are around.
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I am a member of a national service sorority but we do not have a national rule about drinking with letters on. Each chapter has their own rules. As for our chapter, sisters/pledges cannot wear letters, shirts, pins, lavaliers, or anything else that has the letters or the crest on it if they are drinking or at a club/bar. This means even if YOU are NOT drinking. Anyone who is caught violating this rule is placed on social probation. We do this out of respect for our sorority (this is OUR way of doing things, but I am not saying that if your org allows letters to be worn that there is something wrong with your org., just sharing what we do).
------------------ Visit GSS-Delta Chi Chapter Online http://gammasigmasigma.tripod.com |
Personally, I feel that wheather it is drinking or rough housing or even just being outwardly withcy (you know what I mean...lol) you should not do it in your letters.
"I shall in no way so demean myself" |
This is the first time I've looked at this thread, and I must say I'm kind of shocked at how relaxed some organizations are about wearing letters while drinking!!
In my house, we had to sign a formal contract agreeing that we would not tarnish the reputation of the organization in any way including, but not limited to, wearing letters while doing anything that may be considered inappropriate or acting inappropriately in a place where other Greeks (or people who know you're Greek) see you. That means no smoking and no drinking while wearing letters, and that includes jewelry. I couldn't even smoke in my car because I had the letters of my sorority hung up in the back window. |
In our chapter, we have the upmost respect for our founders and drinking in your nalia is like spitting on thier graves and the organization. In any organization, you should represent your colors right. Meaning, having your nalia ironed properly, wearing nice clothes with your represented letters and last but not least caring yourself in a manner in which your founders would at all times.
Just a little BGLO advise and knowledge. Skeeeeee-weeeeeeee my sorors. Pinkice Spr 99' Alpha Xi Chapter |
You know, I thought this topic might stir some trouble, suprisingly however, I think we all pretty much think alike on this topic. I feel it to be disrespectful to letters and that drinking while having them on puts a negative image out there. It doesn't matter if you're having champaine or beer, 'someone' out there will distort that image into something bad, and we all know that it only takes one person to do harm to our names and reputations. One thing that also bothers me, I've seen sororities and fraternities wearing letters and drinking around prospective members. That is bad news. Even if it's just one or two members out there wearing the letters and they are the only two people from the organization in the bar/restruant, wearing letters IMO is an advertisement saying "hey look at me, I'm a DZ, I'm a representative." Nobody thinks anything about the person wearing a plain t-shirt who gets drunk, but you see someone wearing letters and is drunk, that association is there, that person is representing your organization and despite the fact that they are an individual, wearing those letters makes people 'think' of your group, and that makes them wonder. . . is this what sorority/fraternity life is about? Is this the type of person I want to associate with? Are 'all' the sisters/brothers like this? Those are all questions that you want POSITIVE answers to. If you think "well, we don't want them if they are going to jump to conclusions" then you should think again. No matter what, first impressions are the strongest. You want prospectives especially to see 'what' your chapter is about before they see all the 'fun' stuff that goes on 'after' the work is done. If all they see is the 'fun' stuff, that will either attract them for the wrong reasons, or push them away because of the impressions they recieved in the begining. I know y'all know this stuff, but just thought I'd put in my 2 cents.
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in sigma alpha iota, we're not allowed to drink wth letters, our badge or pledges with thier pins on. i was actually caught at a restaraunt by a sister of another organization while i was home this summer. we work at the same restaraunt and when i went there for dinner with my best friend one night, i had my letters on. well, i ordered a cosmopolitan and melissa, the other sister, called me on it and said she wasn't bringing my drink unless i took off my letters. i totally forgot i had them on! but i really needed to think about what i was representing.
i think that once people know you're greek and even if they DON'T know you're greek, as a greek you should conduct yourself at the highest of standards at all times, not just while in letters. i got a feel from some of these posts that people are thinking "in letters, i can't drink, but without letters, i can go nuts." absolutely untrue, i believe. you're a greek with and without letters on. if you go out drinking in a white t-shirt and jeans, you're still greek and people will associate you with your organization with or without letters. etienne sigma alpha iota ------------------ "red is the color of music and has been since the very earliest of times. the caps of faeries and musicians are well-nigh always red."~*~w.b.yeats "I think that happiness is when you can let yourself feel every emotion you want at any time instead of being a lying little fuck." - Tori Amos |
We are not allowed to Drink, Smoke, or act in anyway that doesn't become the sorority while in letters or in public while around people who know our affiliations (aside from a social or party.....)as much as it is disrespectful towards my letters it is also respectful towards my sisters. I wouldn't want my reputation based on other sisters (for example, that I was easy, or that we are drug users, etc. etc.) based on the actions of others, and neither would I want my momentary indiscretion to define myself and especially not my sisters.
One side note, shortly after induction,during pledge period, I was hanging out with our prez, VP, and the rest of the exec. board, at the prez.'s apt and she offered me a beer (I pledged when i was 21 so I was the same age and naturally gravitiated towards the older sisters) and I forgot I had my pledge pin on (which has No letters, crest or anything relationg to the sorority) as soon as I took a sip, the VP icily, turned to me and asked to me to put my pin on my bra and not let it happen again. And this was my friend (it wasn't a older sister ego trip) Oooops. but I had really offended her by not respecting my letters! |
Here's a "back in the day" post.
Back in the day when I was in school (this is the late 80's), drinking in your letters was very common. No one looked at it as disrespectful or wrong. Sororities did not drink in their crests and some fraternities did not. This was ALL the orgs on my campus, mind you. Starting around '92 is when everyone got extremely image conscious and said no drinking in letters, etc. This was partly coming down from the various nationals and partly because we had a very anti-Greek new president and Greeks were being "targeted" on campus. If 2 people were walking home from a party equally tipsy, and one had letters on & one didn't, the one with letters on would get written up by campus police and the other would be let go. I think it's probably because I'm older and got the last gasp of "PC-Free" college life...but I still see nothing wrong with it. If you think that drinking or smoking are that bad you shouldn't be doing them at all, letters or not. |
I too was in college in the late 80s, but at a very Greek-friendly campus. However, our Greeks had made the decision "No drinking in letters" except at swaps or private parties. To go out on Thursdays, everyone dressed up, no one wore letters. The sororities also had the rule (for those who smoke or drank beer inpublic) of no smoking unless you are sitting down, and no drinking from cans or bottles- you must use a glass. Maybe it's bcause I went to school in the South? We were taught the same kind of thing at Cotillion.
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I have to agree with 33girl,
this whole PC-business educates us to become hypocritical. On the other hand, we have something similar in our fraternity chapter. We are much more relaxed when it comes to drinking because we know that the students who founded our fraternity (better: the association of fraternity chapters) did like to party and enjoyed it - so why shouldn't we? It doesn't change the predjudices anyway. Still, there is a differentiation made between establishments where we should not wear our colours and where we can. So from a certain level upwards we can wear our colors and drink, while from that level downwards we are asked not to wear colors whether we drink or not. |
TCSparky, you brought back memories. I grad. from a Texas school in 1975. I have been involved off and on in Delta Gamma alum activities since. In the early 90's alcohol policies changed drastically at the national level because of hazing, date rapes, and other bad scenarios that normally involve alcohol. Unfortunately, it has gone beyond mere image, drinking was finally recognized as a safety issue. My daughter is now a new sorority member at a Texas school also. There is alot of drinking, I don't know their policy in regard to wearing letters. I know that there is alot of alcohol at this particular school and in the Greek system there. I would like to see less of it altogether as a parent, and not drinking while representing your sorority/frat would be a good start. One needs only to look at this sad incident at Sam Houston State to see how badly an image can be tarnished.
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DGMomofZeta
I am in school in Texas also & will be rushing at Sam Houston State University in the spring. Do you mind if I ask where your daughter goes to school? An email is fine if you'd rather not post. IowaHawkeye Check the Greeklife or Risk Management Topics & look for 'Stand up for XO' Allison |
IowaHawkeye, refer to "Stand Up for Chi O" thread on Greek Life Forum. It is also posted on this Risk Management Forum. There are newspaper article links that will give the story.
And thanks to QT Pie for researching this incident and posting the links. |
My CHAPTER does not tolerate drinking in letters....If a sister wanted to smoke, it had to be off campus, and she had to be sitting down under a ceiling of some sort...until we found out very recently that that rule constitutes HAZING. No lie.
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Hi, I hope you took a look under the "risk management" thread of this site. You'll see how many people support you and your sisters!
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as far as sigma kappa is concerned, we also sign our code of conduct which basicallly states that when we wear our letters we are representing out sorority and must act appropriately. essentially no drinking or illegal activities of any sort while wearing letters. not even earrings or a ring that says our letters.
my chapter had serious issues with that when i was pledging. one of our underage pledges was caught drinking uptown and having some dude feeling her up under her sigkap t-shirt. another time a sister was smoking weed while wearing our letters. both sisters were brought before standards committee. my sisters freaked on night when we all went out to eat and i had an alcoholic beverage while wearing our letters. literally, the whole table stopped and looked at me. i had to step away from the drink in fear that i would be beaten if i drank anymore. (not really, i'm just being sarcastic, but i did have to stop drinking) shelley j sigma k |
what about sisters who have letters tattooed on? if the girls can't even be wearing a ring or earring with letters on while smoking, does that mean the tattooed girl has to quit alltogether?
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I was told during my pledge period that we were not to be drinking, smoking or doing anything that would take away from the image of Pi Phi angels while wearing letters or our badge. I'm not sure if that applies to a glass of wine with dinner, but I figure when I wear letters or my badge I am representing Pi Beta Phi and don't need to be drinking!
Jess |
actually one of my pledge sisters got sigma kappa tatooed on her back. she was one of the biggest booze hounds in the group. i don't think they ever did say anything about it. doesn't really matter anyway, she deactivated like a year after she was initiated so it's her problem that she has the letters tatooed on her back for the rest of her life. chances are she doesn't want to show them anyways now that she's not a sister. she never was all that proud to be a sigma k. she got it one night after the bar during out pledge period.
shelley j sigma k |
No letters while drinking, including lavilers or any jewelry engraved with letters. Also I found what TC Sparky said interesting about no drinking from cans or bottles interesting because just last night our advisor was telling us to always use a bottle or can for safety reasons, that you can open yourself so that you know nothing could've happened to that drink !! It may be more lady like to have a glass, but for safety reasons better to know you opened that drink on your own !!
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We're not allowed to have anythign with our letters (our bags, jewelry, clothes, etc) while drinking or something. As for colors, that's another story...how can you impose on someone's outfit like that, regardless of their glo's colors??
Blue is one of my favorite colors and I know that if i was an Alpha Xi Delta, I wouldn't not wear what I wear every day just because I'm going out at night...Clothes coloring shouldn't have any affiliation with your GLO unless the colors are letters as well.. Does that make sense to anyone else? |
Colors might be incendental. Ours are red and white. How do I not have clothes that don't have any red or white??
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My sorority does not allow smoking or drinking while wearing letters, on the property of the house, or even in a car with letters on it.
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ZTA rules at MTSU:
--"There is to be NO drug or alcoholic consumption or smoking in your ZTA letters. This includes lavalieres and cups!" (*also includes lettered tote bags, badges, flip flops, anything with the crest or crown on it, etc).
--"There is to be NO drinking of alcoholic beverages or staying overnight in fraternity houses." (*the first part of this- the no drinking at fraternity houses- is actually a recent Panhellenic implimented rule. *the second part is obvious- would you want the whole campus to see someone in your letters walking back from a fraternity house a 6am with a hangover & really messy clothes that were worn the night before? This is the kind of thing that starts rumors & stereotypes!) We're also not allowed to drink at any Zeta Tau Alpha sponsored function (such as formal or crush party, etc.) unless 21yrs or older, and those members must abide by the above rules of not wearing letters. |
From what I understand, we're not supposed to drink in our letters or with our badge on while we are collegiates. When we are alumni, we are allowed to drink alcoholic beverages while wearing our badge. However, that last part is just something I've heard from older sisters, so it may not be true. I can understand having a glass of wine with alumni sisters, as long as you're not being crazy and outrageous.
I've been really careful about not wearing letters and drinking. That was another reason I was glad that I didn't get an Alpha Phi tattoo, because I would be worried about that all the time. |
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