Hi!
Here at our chapter it is more of a tradition to give a nickname than anything else...
all of the org's on campus give nicknames and i guess we just did it too...
but as far as nationals go it is not nationally recognized and i dont think many of the chapters do it at all...
to us its just something to signify being inntiated..its not anything that big at all..just something silly we do..when you are innitiated your big gives you your first stitch on letters and your nickname...we dont use them for anything else..its just a cute lil thing...some big's will get creative in how they "present" the nickname...like one girl in my pledge class was nicknamed gator aide b/c when we had gone to gator growl a sisters car broke down and she volunteered to drive the people that came in her car all the way back to miami and then come back for them.... so her big sister gave her a gator aid bottle but put a label on it and changed the spelling and made it cute
thats about the extent of our nickname giving