Pledges and Greek Clothing
 

Hi, there:

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this, so mods feel free to move if necessary.

It has been 30 years since I was a collegiate, and I can't remember if pledges can wear the letters before they go active. This may be something that varies from one chapter to another, but I thought I'd throw it out there. I was thinking of sending my daughter a little care package.

Thanks everyone :)

Thank you .... I forgot about the search function.

I'm going to add that even though some sororities may say it is their policy to let NMs wear letters, campus tradition might dictate otherwise. Also the TYPE of letters that may be worn (sewn on, screen print etc) may be something that factors in from campus to campus. (I'm guessing, mom, you're like me and remember the days where if we got a screen print from the bookstore we were happy. :) )

Just to be safe, stick with pens, notecards, totebags, stuffed mascots etc. for right now. The last thing you want is for your daughter to get some sort of shirt that's inappropriate.

It depends. There are national GLO rules, chapter policies, and campus culture to consider. It's not necessarily wrong to send your daughter items with letters, but she may not be able to wear/use them until she is initiated. Her NM educator can tell her (and, through her, you) what is appropriate.

Fail safe rule for campus culture: If the bid day shirt doesn't have letters on it, do not send letters. If the bid day shirt has tiny tiny letters and typically the chapter does wear block style letters, do not send letters.

I think it varies from chapter to chapter. At my school, nobody wears embroidered letters until they are initiated, but I'm in AEPhi and I can't wear,write,make the phi symbol at all until initiation.

Which is sad, because our pan shirt is super cute but it has a phi on it =[

Do you mean in general or to wear? Like can mom send pencils and stuff?

I would stick with 33girl's suggestion and get items in the colors or with the mascot until you know for sure.

I usually find that pencils and doodads (note pads, makeup bags, etc.) are okay. Or they usually don't have letters on them to begin with. This is just based on my observances of campus culture and not a solid guideline. It used to be that people'd complain if a new member had a makeup bag with letters, but typically now as long as she's not wearing it it's "safe" as a gift. I think things have changed now that there is more insistence from many HQs on providing new members with letters and watching chapters attempt to "get around" these things over time without being obvious and trying to remain in compliance.

They can "insist" all they want but if you go out wearing letters and hear "OMG! MY chapter doesn't let you wear letters (crest, block letters etc) till initiation...you guys must be REALLY lame" there's not a strong enough edict from any HQ that will get people into them. If HQs force the issue, that's kind of like reverse hazing.

I'm surprised that your chapter was ok with the Greek letters being on the Panhellenic shirt. Our Panhel shirts had all the names of the sororities spelled out, because two out of the five NPCs then on campus (AEPhi and Theta) don't let anyone who isn't an initiated sister wear their letters. I guess it's a little easier to do that when you're talking about five sororities and not 16. ;)

Fraternities probably have different standards with this, and I certainly can only speak to my chapter and observations, but in our chapter the rule for pledges was "no stitched letters." Screen-print were ok, in fact our bid day shirts had them. I would also assume (but not presume to know for certain) that Phi Delt is similar because I know a lot of the PDTs who were founders of the colony that just came on and they all got Founding Father shirts with printed letters.

At my chapter we were allowed to have items and clothing with letters and in fact my mom had a really nice jersey made in my sorority's colors for me the week after I got my bid, which I still have.

Which leads to another point...if you want to get her something like that, she could always put it in her closet until she is initiated if she's not allowed to wear it yet. I'm sure she wouldn't be the only one given letters too early in her chapter.