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Back to basics. Why do we wear greek letters in the first place? Why do we wear our badge?
If the answer is just “to promote our organization and show our pride”, then great. Hand ‘em out to everyone. Have a blast.
Well, as treacly as it sounds, my answer is: “All of the above, but primarily… to bear a symbol of the ideals for which I’ll strive the rest of my life”.
I was a pledge trainer, so I have some strong opinions about properly preparing pledges/NMs for membership. It’s about education and building friendships and working hard for something of value, certainly. But it’s also about getting them in the proper mindset to understand what is presented to them at their initiation, so they can appreciate its full impact and meaning.
The main thrust of my ritual (and virtually ever other) is the message that what makes us brothers are our shared ideals as symbolized by the letters/mottoes, the badge and various other secret signs, and that we work every day for the rest of our lives to be worthy of those symbols. If prior to taking that oath and making that lifelong commitment, these guys have already been wearing letters for the last several weeks without understanding their meaning, this very central ritualistic theme is diluted.
To use Betarulz!’ example, things like Wooglin and Kai are ritualistic, but they’re not central principles of the ritual. They’re not the essence of what makes someone a Beta. They’re the icing on the cake, but they’re not the cake itself. He uses the word “superficial”.
Betarulz! And others seem to put the greek letters in this same “icing” category. I’m not sure why. It’s odd to me that people would restrict the wearing of the badge until initiation (for good reason), but allow the wearing of the greek letters. I would argue that the letters are even MORE sacred than the badge. Ask yourself what is planted prominently on every single GLO badge? Hell, for about 20% of the NIC/NPC groups, the letters ARE the badge.
Well, that explains the varying opinions on this board. Some people consider the letters icing, and some consider them the cake itself. But I think there’s a larger agenda at work here.
This doesn’t seem to be an issue of local or chapter level preference. Most groups seem to have clear national policies one way or another. What really concerns me is this large scale campaign to eliminate all barriers between the initiated and the non-initiated. National HQs are terrified of anything that remotely resembles hazing or elitism. First we eliminate pledge programs and start calling people new members and rewrite our rituals to reflect this new nomenclature. Then we let them wear the letters. Then we call them brother and sister from day one. Then we stop requiring them to wear a pledge pin. Then we give them every privilege of membership accorded to fully initiated members. I wonder how long it will be before we’re reduced to the movie portrayal of greek inductions where the guys are herded in off the street, given a brief speech by candlelight and then thrown a letter jersey with a hearty “welcome to the frat!”
This quote scares the bejeezus out of me: “It is my opinion b/c that is the way I was treated”. This of course has been the mantra of true hazers for decades, but it’s equally frightening when used as a justification for inaction when the world is trying to dumb down the essence of what our organizations are.
I really don’t get it. I would feel completely foolish wearing something whose meaning was unknown to me. More importantly though, I can’t imagine my founders being OK with someone sporting the letters prior to taking that oath.
wptw
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