On the other side of that coin, sometimes older members can say "well we had our formal at Poopy Gardens, and it just didn't work out" and prevent the young chapter who is all high on Poopy Gardens from making a costly mistake.
I think that traditions are pushed to the wayside too quickly nowadays, with "positive change" as a buzzword. Sometimes changes are positive, sometimes they are not and they are changes just for the sake of change. I didn't like when we changed our coats either
but considering half the campus was doing the same thing, I wasn't about to throw a fit. If they wanted to keep white coats clean it was fine by me.
I just hate to see older members relegated to the sidelines - we had a sister who took 5+ years to graduate because of financial constraints. She was pledge mom in her 6th year and got along fine with the girls. Plus she was a very important link to the alumnae.
The day of the 4 year student as typical is dead and buried and has been for a while.