Non-Greeks wearing Greek Shirts

UNFSigmaChi · #1 03-04-2001, 09:13 PM

I went home over the weekend and went out partying with some friends of mine at a bar. Well i saw a guy there wearing a EX shirt and i was like In Hoc brother and he looked at me funny and was like im not your brother. Then i say...well your a sigma chi right and he's like what the f@#% is a sigma chi. Im like that shirt your wearing with that EX....thats my fraternity. Why are you wearing my letters if you aren't in my Fraternity. Well he said he found it at a goodwill and thought i'd look cool if he wore it out. Well we exchanged words and almost got into it but luckily he walked away and my friends calmed me down. unfortunatly i saw him later after leaving the bar getting arrested(im assuming a DUI).
Have you guys ever had similar experiences with people wearing your letters and not in your GLO? If so what do you say/do? Do you offer to buy the letters off of them? It totally took me off-guard and i was having a little too much fun earlier so i wasn't in the right mindset. I'd like to know how you all handled your situation(s).

Hootie · #2 03-04-2001, 09:50 PM

Do I have a story for you!
Every year our sorority gathers up old clothes and donates them to a shelter. Sometimes we'll throw in some old function t-shirts and stuff (no biggie). Well one Christmas one of my sorority sisters was driving with her family in the downtown area (which is where the homeless are usually found). At anyrate, she looked over and started laughing because some bum was wearing a XO sweatshirt

. It sounds funny but she was greatful that an old sweatshirt was helping some poor person stay warm!
So in that situation I wouldn't even bother talking to the person!
But I can definately understand your frustration and anger about some stranger wearing your letters and being so disrespectful! What's worse is that he was arrested in them

! That's just bad publicity! But really, what can you do? I think it's probably worse for guys...but I could be wrong. There could easily be some disrespectful young women running around wearing a sorority shirt, or worse yet a badge!

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What do you get when you cross and Alpha Omicron Pi and a Sigma Phi Epsilon? A beautiful Chi Omega!!!

Lil_G · #3 03-04-2001, 10:28 PM

Hahahaha, that's a good story Hootie

Something like that happened up here where a couple tri delt event shirts were found at a nearby homeless shelter.
Just last year there was this dollar store that was selling cheap hats of all the fraternities (even some that didn't have any chapters in the city) which pissed off a lot of the greeks here. I remeber sigma pi telling me some 12 yr. old kid thought wearing their letters looked cool.

carnation · #4 03-05-2001, 12:49 AM

I see a lot of that. I've recently seen several Guatemalan refugees wearing brand new AKA shirts--so new the creases from being folded were still in them!--and all I can get out of them is that they got them from some tienda in Atlanta.

Recently a whole bunch of them walked into class all bright in their pink and green and three other teachers (all Greek alums) and I feared that the fourth teacher--a fabulous, ladylike, elderly AKA who still wears para--might possibly have a coronary if she saw them so we found lots of reasons to get her down the hall when the ESOL class was on break. Luckily, she rarely teaches on ESOL night....

sigmagrrl · #5 03-05-2001, 07:37 AM

Back in summer 1993, I was at home in Queens and walking down Northern Blvd, here comes a bum with an SDT t-shirt!! I ALMOST PEED MY PANTS! Just goes to show you, discard of your letters with care!

33girl · #6 03-05-2001, 09:05 AM

I also have a "bum in a sweatshirt" story, only it was AOPi, and there aren't even any AOPi chapters by my mom & dad's (where I was). I've also seen jackets for sale at thrift shops.

I just wish I could say please, if you hated your Greek experience so much that you want to get rid of your letters/pin/whatever, get in touch with the chapter nearest you and have a heart and DONATE it!!! I'm sure they'd be ecstatic to have the extras, since sweatshirts (especially the nice ones) are not as cheap as they used to be!!

moe.ron · #7 03-05-2001, 10:37 AM

This is a weird one. According to our national rule, only thing that can't be worn by an "outsider" is the membership pin and coat of arm. As far as wearing a letter, doesn't say anything about it. Locally, it's very different. Some wouldn't care less, other will be greatly upset. Then you also have the question of functions shirt. I guess it depend on local tradition.

bucutie02 · #8 03-05-2001, 07:11 PM

today i was sitting in class and all of a sudden, this girl walks in to the classroom with a sweatshirt that had a fraternity's letters on it. It was really weird since i always thought you couldnt do that. Then, i thought the guy behind was her boyfriend and a member of that fraternity, but it was just a random guy that wasnt even with her.

[This message has been edited by bucutie02 (edited March 05, 2001).]

amycat412 · #9 03-05-2001, 07:13 PM

at my school a fraternity's little sisters were allowed and expected to wear the fraternity's letters.

we had plenty of bums in the neighborhood where I went to school (downtown los angeles) and it was always strange to see some huge guy in a sorority event t-shirt.

TxTechChiO · #10 03-05-2001, 07:24 PM

I really don't see what the big deal is about wearing Frat letters if you are a girl. To me, that just adds to the genre of a Frat if a cutie pie girl is wearing the Frat's greek letters. I am a Southern Belle for Kappa Alpha Order and we are actually inducted, and given big and little brothers. Our Big Brothers give us stitched shirts with KA Southern Belle emblazoned on it and I always wear it and my other KA shirts with pride! These guys take pride in their Belles and I am proud to be one.

TxTechChiO · #11 03-05-2001, 07:29 PM

I also wanted to add that my sister was a Delta Gamma and when she passed away I was given all of her clothes, including MANY MANY DG shirts. I wear them proudly and often. Hope this doesn't offend and Chi-O's but since she can't wear them, I live to "advertise" for her.

Just don't be so uptight about others wearing your letters, as long as they are proudly and honorably displayed.

amycat412 · #12 03-05-2001, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TxTechChiO:
I also wanted to add that my sister was a Delta Gamma and when she passed away I was given all of her clothes, including MANY MANY DG shirts. I wear them proudly and often. Hope this doesn't offend and Chi-O's but since she can't wear them, I live to "advertise" for her. Just don't be so uptight about others wearing your letters, as long as they are proudly and honorably displayed.

Well said.

BTW, I am a XO and I was a Belle too!

Amy

orchid2 · #13 03-05-2001, 08:50 PM

I've noticed several high school girls in my classes (I'm a senior) sporting sorority shirts. It always gives me the chuckles because it looks...well...wierd! I'll never forget, last semester in history class there was one girl talking about how she was going to try to pledge KD the next fall, as she said this she was in XO letters! I think alot of the high school kids do it for status purposes or what not, ("Look at me, I'm still in high school and I'm wearing a sorority shirt!") but even if I did have access to greek apparel I don't think I'd have the guts to wear it in public yet. Say that I wore these letters, and ended up pledging a different sorority in the fall? That would be awkward...

HeidiHo · #14 03-05-2001, 10:30 PM

I have to say that even as a new member, who was allowed to wear letters & whatnot, I didn't feel comfortable enought until initiation. I couldn't imagine wearing a sorority shirt and having no affiliation at all with the group, like the high school girls did.
Heidi

KappaGirl2 · #15 03-05-2001, 10:36 PM

I've never actually seen anyone with a greek shirt on who wasn't greek...at least not to my knowledge. I can definitely see how it would be weird, but it would make me feel good if a greek shirt were being put to good use on the back of a homeless person!

Erin

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Rise and shine and become a Kappa Gamma!