Snapping
 

So I was just reading a thread and found myself wanting to snap in agreement with what someone said. Which got me thinking ...

When I went through recruitment, I thought, "WHY are all these girls snapping their fingers after someone says something?" Of course they explained that it was to show agreement after seeing our incredibly puzzled faces. It was a less noisy way of hearing 40 "me too!"s.

Once I started pledging, my PS's and I still felt awkward about the snapping. We weren't used to it, so we decided that we would shimmy instead. Because that was so much less awkward. :rolleyes:

But now, I find myself snapping at EVERYTHING. I do it around my friends from home, getting reactions of "WTF was THAT?" or I'll do it when I'm on the phone with someone. I've been known to do it in class.

So to my actual question- does your organization snap? If not, what do you do, if anything at all?

We snapped! It definitely kept noise volume down, especially during formal meetings:)

Organization? I don't think there's anything in my organization's handbook about snapping. I think it would vary from chapter to chapter.

My chapter didn't. Thank God, because I'm sorry, I think snapping's dumb. We just nodded or made some other expression of agreement.

Not sorority life, but when I has in resident Hall Counsil we had signs that said DITTO and we would hold them up when we agreeed with something that someone said. Now we sat at tables in a square and could see each other so that probably made a big difference, plus there was only like 30ish of us.

We totally snap. And yes, we had to explain it to the PNMs on the last night of recruitment. Ha!

Our chapter does not snap. When I went through recruitment and were visiting other chapters who were snapping I thought it was weird and kind of awkward. I made friends with 2 other PNM's who agreed. Funny as it is, we all became pledge sisters. Once we pledged, we discovered that we are the only chapter on campus that does not snap.

I really liked snapping because I think it made things go a lot faster - for example, let's say we were voting on whether to have a social with Sig Tau or Sig Pi. If Suzy Sister stands up and says "We just had a mixer with Sig Pi last week, we haven't done anything with Sig Tau yet this year" and then 80% of the chapter snaps, the sister who is pinned to a Sig Pi is a lot less likely to stand up and be like "but I looooooove Sig Pi, let's go there again!" I think it's a quick way to see who is in agreement. We never did it at recruitment because we thought it would confuse PNMs and we explained it to them during the new member retreat.

We snapped at meetings - not at recruitment. Hmm . . .maybe that is a Gamma Phi thing!

My chapter snapped, but we usually did it as a joke, and made Legally Blonde references while doing so.

We snapped.

Like GeekyPenguin said, it was a quick way to figure out the consensus.
Don't worry, a few years out of college and you'll stop doing it. :D

I use it in class because the kids don't get as out of hand and act over the top.

Agreed. At meetings this is what my chapter did as well (nodding or other expression of agreement). If it was something celebratory or a pat on the back type of thing at a greek function like Greek Week awards for example, then my chapter did it's own clapping sequence thing. Everyone else did the snapping thing so the clapping set us apart and we liked that.

Most of the chapters at my campus snapped, and when we founded we had a vote on what we would like out chapter to do. We decided to wave two fingers in the air to indicaite "ditto" instead of snapping! I got so used to doing it when I was active, I still find myself doing it at times!!! lol!!!

We snapped in the seventies. At first I thought it was odd but then-when people occasionally forgot to snap, it was awful when someone would say,"I want Amanda for president," to be followed by dozens of people going on and on and basically saying the same thing.

Snapping is a real time saver if you're in a big chapter!

My chapter snapped... not sure if they still do. There was even a recruitment song where we snapped.

After Legally Blonde 2 came out, our President also started a Snap Cup :p

We snapped [supposedly] because you can't clap with a drink in your hand.

My chapter did not snap, nor did the other three groups on campus. When I first attended a recruitment party at the chapter I now advise, the girls snapped, and I thought it was so weird. I think it would really annoy me as a PNM to see all these girls snapping. They never explained the snapping thing. Snapping at someone is considered rude where I'm from!

Agreed! Our chapter never did, but I remember hearing one or two chapters on campus snapping. I just remember thinking, "that is the oddest thing I've ever seen."

Like SWTXBelle, I remember snapping at our meetings but not recruitment. I still find myself snapping instead of clapping if I'm not thinking about it.

We snap, and I'm sure it's very common across the board within Beta. When I was a pledged, we were told that it was started to keep things quiet back when chapters existed sub rosa and had to keep their meetings secret.

We snap in my chapter..so do all the sororities with the exception of KD..they do this thing with their index and middle fingers where it looks like they are drawing a smiley face in the air...

Luv n tpa...what is a shimmy?

I snap in chapter meetings - i think my chapter just thinks im just artsy-fartsy. LOL

its either that or a chorus of "uh huh" and "amen" and what not.

for a while i'd applaud in ASL - way more effective in gathering consensus.

OPhiAs don't snap, we twirl roses in the air. At Convention, these are actual plastic roses. At other times, they are imaginary roses that only we see ... ;)

We just shimmied our shoulders. :)

Puts a whole new twist to "If I could shimmy like my sister Kate . . . "!

did you all sing that song? my chapter had a washboard band and that was one of the songs we sang-the "bass" player shimmied.

one chapter at fsu snapped when i was there. it really took me by surprise when i visited their house to make an announcement during dinner time, and instead of clapping after my announcement they snapped!

Just curious, under what circumstances does the snapping occur at recruitment events?
________
Carol

We usually do ice breakers that involve the PNMs answering questions, and so if we agree with what they say, we snap.

I attended school in the midwest and our chapter snapped all the time. I guess I assumed most chapters did this. It might seem strange to people who never did this in their chapter, but I will say that it came in handy when it was 2 am at an MS session and we were all tired and crabby and not that articulate anymore.

When I went on to grad school in the same area, many of my classmates were GLO alums. I recall one particular day in lecture, someone made a remark many of us agreed with, and a classmate who was a Psi U said, "Ok!!" and started snapping (he was one of these really outgoing, assertive types), and about 3/4 of the class started snapping with him. It was almost instinctive for most of us to show agreement this way. Only when I looked around at the non-Greeks in the room did I realize, oops-they have no flipping idea what we are doing or why. :rolleyes: I had to explain it to a few of my friends after lecture.

Our chapter snapped at meetings, not during recruitment - I think we would have scared the poor PNMs. :) To this day, I sometimes catch myself snapping in agreement whenever I'm in a large group.

When I was in school, only the FIJIs snapped.

But they're fratty. Or at least the ones in Florida are...

Oh, I see...so the PNMs who get lots of snaps realize the chapter really likes them?!

No. If someone at a rush party said something like "Gamma Phis have lots of school spirit!" and you agree, then you snap your fingers in agreement.

I sometimes catch myself snapping at PTA meetings!

We snap and I remember during my first formal meeting our pledge mom warned us ahead of time about snapping. Thank goodness, because I probably would have been a bit confused. Now I always find myself saying things like "snaps for that". Then I get some strange looks.