Pledging-what does it mean to you?
 

If you had to pick an item that shows what pledging your soroity or fraternity meant to you, what would it be?:)

My pledge pin (we kept ours)

My pledge pin-- it was a symbol of my pledgeship. It is given back to the national before initiation. From initiation on, I had my Pi Phi arrow, not the "Beta" dart pledge pin.

For a long time, I had the pledge ribbons, too-- I don't think that I have them anymore.

My pledge manual, the Bononia Docet... just everything about it, learning the history, time spent with others, etc.

I wish I could have kept my Pledge Pin, because to me it represented the journey I took from accepting my bid, and pledging to uphold the ideals of AGD; through learning the history of my Founders and how AGD came to be what it is today, learning my Purpose and what it means to me and my sisters; right up to the lifelong commitment I made to AGD and my sisters across Canada and the United States. I was so sad when I had to return it, because it had been with me since Day 1.

http://www.odlchapter.com/images/odl_sp10_sm.jpg

I am not in this picture, but they are carrying my answer.

I got to keep my pledge pin and pledge manual. I look back on both fairly often

I loved my pledge pin, but we give those back, as well as our pledge manual. in my chapter it's a tradition to keep all of the petals from the roses we receive (starting at from when we get our bids and throughout all the rituals). If being a new member is about learning the traditions of your organization and bonding with your new family, those roses represent that pretty well for me.

Ditto. (Except not the AGD part, obviously. :D)

I think brothers do get to keep their probationary members now; I wish that had been the case back in the day. We do keep pledge manuals. Mine disappeared in a move early on, but I have a copy of every manual published since I was initiated.

For me, the two items would be my paddle and my PM hat, which has the signature of every brother in the chapter when I pledged.

Actually MC the PM pins still go back at initiation.

Hmm. Maybe I dreamed that then.

Awesome responses =D

I would say my pin and paddle- the paddle especially as it represents how much my pledge class went through.

My AOII scrapbook. It has so much in it from my time as a NM. The rest of my time as a collegiate AOII is only sporadically covered. Every time we move my husband asks if I still want to keep it, and I look at him like he's grown an extra head. OF COURSE!

I don't have the Beta dart but I do still have the pledge ribbons! Unfaded, oddly enough.