Silly Question
 

When you are a pledge for an NPC sorority, it is public knowledge and open to non-members to know. I am under the impression that for NPHC groups, you don't let people know when you are a pledge.

Are pledges allowed to be public about their status in APO, or is it not revealed until their initiation?

Just curious.. and if this is too secretive, I apologize.

(What prompted my question: I saw a friend of mine with a pledge pin and asked what group he was pledging. He refused to tell me anything, saying it was secret. I saw another friend of mine with what appeared to be the same pin, and she told me she was pledging APO.)

In my chapter, we weren't allowed to wear letters or any APO paraphernalia except our pledge pin until initiation. However, it was not secret that we were pledging. In fact, my chapter sometimes put ads in the IDS welcoming the pledge class and naming names, so there was no way it could be secret. :D

ok, thank you. I'm now starting to think that it isn't APO though.. the pin they were both wearing was sort of shaped like beta theta pi's pin and had some sort of h-like symbol on it. The APO pledge pin I saw online had the letters A, P, and O on it with a P in the middle.

In that case, it means the girl lied to me... but I don't know what other co-ed groups they could be pledging, especially one secret enough where they would wear pledge pins but be so secretive about the group?

Not secret
 

Alpha Phi Omega chapters would be expect to definately be at the public end of the spectrum, in fact many chapters have requirements that pledges wear their pins all the time it makes sense (no requirement in the shower, or in ROTC uniform for example). And with the pledge pins showing the fraternity letters just as clearly as the service/brother pins, wearing them sort of tells people you are a part of the group.

Only thing I can think of is that they *might* be pledging Alpha *Psi* Omega, which also refers to itself as APO, which is the Drama Honorary. But I don't know know if APsiO *has* pledge pins.

Randy

it also depends on the chapter, i knwo at some chapter people where there pins but when asked if they are pledging some people will either say, no or change the subject, its more of an anticipation thing for the campus if they are havng a coming out performance or probate as they call it on the black campuses. I know of some chapter that dont even wear pledge pins so it depends on the chapter, there is no by-law that saids that a pledge HAS to say they are pledging to non-members.

Revealing pleding
 

The National Pledge Standards include
5. Wearing of Insignia. An appropriate period of pledging
includes wearing an official Pledge pin at all times.
Rationale: Chapter Image, on and off campus, is a vital
concern of all Members, new and old. The prominent and
proud display of an Alpha Phi Omega Pledge Pin instills
pride through identity with Alpha Phi Omega, signifies the
Chapter’s presence on campus and in the community, and
may also habituate all Members to proudly wear Fraternity
insignia.

Our pledge pin is considerably more obvious than most of the GLOs, with the letters and the identical shape to the brotherhood pin. And we definately don't want the pledges to say they are *brothers* of the fraternity whose letters they wear on their collar.

BTW, normally how long from Pledging ceremony to Probate/coming out?

The probate show usually comes one day to maybe a week or so after the initiation. It depends...

After initiation into pledgeship or initiation into brotherhood?

after initiation into the brotherhood.

So in practice, that means at some historically black campuses, pledges do not identify themselves at all? Aren't they identifiable during activities that the line does in public?

Randy

Exactly, most don't identify themselves, yet if you "happen" to see them out in public, then well, you see them.

Very different than what I am used to...

So would adding the fact that you are pledging to a personal webpage be considered "bragging" or otherwise frowned on?

Yes

randy what u probably don't realize is that when pledges are in public at a black school its looked at as hazing even if you are not!!! you can just be studying but it can be easily misinterpreted as hazing and b/c BGLO's can't use the term pledging any more b/c to them pledging = hazing, so if we say we are "pledging" it sounds like we are "hazing" to administration so even though we wear our pledge pins we dont tell people *meanin students on the yard* the admin of course knows...if they find out they do...but we like to surprise people at the probate...like I DIDNT KNOW JOE BLOW WAS PLEDGING APO!!!

Pledging
 

I do know that the NPHC Greeks have had to switch to much shorter intake procedures and that that has caused considerable stress with "paper" vs. "pledging".
OK, there are several audiences to be dealt with here...

Administration. As I understand it, at least at some HBCUs, a list of Potention New Members, known to APO as pledges, must be given to the administration to verify that their GPA is such that that are allowed to join Alpha Phi Omega. As such they would have the list of students joining Alpha Phi Omega. If the appropriate members of the administration do not understand our terminology then it needs to be explained to them in private, including the fact that Alpha Phi Omega is not bound by decisions of the NPHC. (If it takes a national board member to properly explain this to them, by all means get one. 1/2 :)

NPHC members. Are they the ones objecting? Are they objecting to the events that we are doing are hazing *or* are they envious that we continue to have pledge periods that, in length, are closer to what the NPHC fraternities had before they were forced to do "paper"?

Non Greeks. A response that the Noble Nine may have decided what is right for them, but that they did not decide what is for Alpha Phi Omega.

Studying = Hazing. Obviously chapters have to with whichever is the strictest out of APO rules, State Law and University Regulations. But I've seen required joint studying at PWIs that has passed muster without a problem, are the HBCUs going to have stricter rules on that?

Pins. I reference back to the previous copying of Standard #5 in the National Pledging Standards. While a reference to light and bushels may be more appropriate to Alpha Nu Omega and if I were Christian, I think it applies in this case.

Surprise at Probate. Announce them, honor them, and have other surprises: Routine, amount of service, line name...


I know that what I have posted here may not be practical and I'm looking from outside, but to me any circumstance that would encourage an Alpha Phi Omega pledge to lie about whether they have pledged needs to be investigated to see if change is possible.

Randy