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I actually think wearing letters as a new member is a beneficial way to promote your chapter, making it more prominent and top of mind in the campus population because you have more and more people in letters. It's also making new members acclimated to the organization and not feeling segregated, leading to cliques within pledge years, leading to divided chapters ... All members should be allowed to wear letters to embody the concept that that recruitment is a 365 day-a-year process.
Imagine not being able to wear your university emblems until you graduated... they want to make sure you get a degree first and truly represent the university, after all! I understand a university is not a secret society, but you understand the similiarities here.
I DO believe in good risk management to avoid your letters falling into the wrong hands. It does happen where members drop out or cancel their memberships, and it is unfortunate, but I think it is the chapter's responsibility to educate members on the etiquette of letters and to instill in sisters/brothers that if they leave the organization, they are to return all lettered items with no expectation of compensation. For example, if you quit ADPi, you are expected to return your badge to HQ. New members and initiated members alike should be reminded of the importance of letters, and that letters shouldn't be donated to charities, given to non-members, etc, and that if a member leaves the org, all letter items stay with the organization.
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