Quote:
Originally Posted by tld221
recruitment for ALL greek orgs are 24/7, whether it is programs/events held or merely eating lunch with your sisters in the caf. and i can understand people seeing their friends with letters and saying "oh thats cool, maybe i should join." but we all know you dont need to wear letters to represent your org. especially if you JUST joined.
i compare it to being an athlete who gets a medal BEFORE they finish competing. who knows what they will place, if at all. you get the perks of saying "i'm a gold/silver/bronze medalist in _________" before you actually did it. i just feel like having the rights to letters that early on gives less of an "i earned these letters" mentality. unless such doesnt exist within NPC - is that right?
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When I initiated into my NPC group in 1992, we were not permitted to wear letters during our pledge period. We could wear the words spelled out (i.e. - Alpha Gam or Alpha Gamma Delta), but not the Greek letters.
Things changed at some point around the time I was graduating. NPC groups (or at least the decision makers) took the stance that not allowing new members to wear the Greek letters was a form of hazing. This was also around the same time where the term "new member" vs. "pledge" was starting to be implemented. Therefore, in my own chapter and in other groups on our campus, new members were permitted to wear the Greek letters.
At the time, I wasn't terribly fond of the change. (After all, its human nature to resist change!) However, now that I reflect on it with a few more years perspective...the reason I respected my organization and wanted to uphold the standards of membership as a pledge wasn't to earn the opportunity to wear the letters. It was because I respected my sisters, our history (both on an individual chapter level and on the International level), our Purpose. Not being permitted to wear the Greek letters really didn't have much bearing on my actions one way or the other.
The meaning and symbolism of the Greek letters is explained to us at Initiation, and that's the important part. Anyone can walk into a Greek store and buy a lettered item, or obtain it by other purposes. (As evidenced by the fact that there was an old man who was frequently spotted picking through dumpsters at my campus, and he always wore a Sigma Delta Tau hat.
Certainly the Sigma Delta Tau pledges at our campus had more of a right to wear their letters than he did.
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I personally found it more meaningful to learn all of the secret meanings of the symbols and letters at initiation, than finally being able to wear a lettered sweatshirt. (Again, this is after 15 years perspective since initiating - as I mentioned, I griped along with everyone else when the changes started happening.
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