Glad this was bumped, so i could add my $19.13 worth. One of the reasons my org (can't speak for the rest of the NPHC) does not allow our Intake group to wear our letters is that completion of the process is not guaranteed. Look at some of the other threads in this forum about folx de-pledging.
Plus they have their own symbols (including a pin) to be worn until they are duly initiated as a member.
Also, it is not a matter of keeping the group secret so much as it is forbidding the walking in line, dressing identically, giving greetings, etc. in public as we did pre-1988. (Delta adopted a new process before the NPHC as a whole did in response to the growing number of hazing violations.) That process served as a model for the other NPHC groups to develop their own.
Why were the above seemingly innocent activities considered hazing? Because of the 20/80 rule. There were those who took them to the extreme causing financial hardship and public embarrassment. So because of the 20 percent we had to throw the baby out with the bath water.
