[AOII Angel]

As an NPC woman, I'm glad that we don't put an emphasis on "earning" letters. I don't, however, begrudge anyone who thinks it's an important part of their groups rites (as long as "earning" really doesn't mean hazing.) For AOII (and I presume the other NPC groups) the women we choose to invite for membership are felt to represent the ideals of our organizations before being taught them. The new member period is really meant to educate the member so she can decide whether or not to make that lifetime commitment not to determine whether or not she is worthy of initiation (no need to comment on our lower than stellar alum involvement rates, we're well aware of them!) Turning down a new member for initiation is an almost unheard of event. We let them wear our letters because even without being initiated, they are MEMBERS of the organization. It's also really good advertisement, which in the cut-throat world of NPC recruitment is extremely important. If other groups do it differently, that's their prerogative. We like the way we do it.