Quote:
Originally Posted by AnotherKD
Hi all,
I was speaking with my younger sister this past weekend and she brought up a situation that kind of puzzled me. Most, if not all, sororities and fraternities tend to have rules (spoken or unspoken) about not wearing your letters while doing certain things. Some say that letters shouldn't be worn out to a bar, while others forbid smoking while wearing letters. There are all sorts of rules, different for each group.
However, she told me about this situation: she is in a sorority in which two of the sisters will sometimes wear their letters in one way or another to political rallies and/or handing out literature on the street. Basically, they will wear shirts with the sorority's name on it from an event, or they will carry a bag with their letters on it, etc. Most of the members in the sorority agree with the causes that the two wearing letters support, and so they don't see any problem with it. There are no formal rules regarding this. However, my sister is one girl that feels differently and would rather her sorority's name not be affiliated with politics and causes that she doesn't really believe in. She would rather the letters not be involved at all.
She is getting a bit of resistance from the rest of the chapter, who agree with the two letter-wearers. What do you guys think? I'm not exactly sure what to tell her.
Thanks!!
|
I remember this coming up a lot around the 2008 election, a lot of people on FB having to specify that their letters and greek affiliation had no bearing on their political beliefs.
I think this has been discussed before on GC - while i think its great to show that, as a member of the greek community, you are politically engaged (and going to forums and voting could be an example of that) but its the how. Wearing a discreet pin, taking notes with a lettered notepad or pen, or even a tote is one thing.
However, if you're in a huge block-letter tee (or a line jacket, or something of that vein) holding a sign at a rally or protest, its a little more visible and vocal. Even without opening your mouth you're representing your organization, whether positive or negative, in a way you weren't necessarily given permission.
This is very similar to many companies' (and universities even) stance on wearing branded apparel at such events. Americorps has rules around this (speaking from experience) as well, since I'm representing a governmental entity on work hours.