Pinning girlfriends? Opinions....

[thermobryan]

Alrite, I dont know how all GLO's or chapters do this but I'm curious what everyone's opinions are of a guy pinning his girlfriend. From how it works in my chapter when a guy wants to marry his girlfriend he gives his girlfriend a pika badge and puts it upon her, and then asks her to marry him. She can then wear his letters. Also, when he does this we get to haze the crap out of him (he's an active so dont give me any risk crap). What is everyone's opinion of pinning?

[KSigkid]

I never was a big fan of pinning girlfriends; my letters mean something to me, and I just don't think they'd mean as much to someone outside the fraternity. My whole opinion was that if I loved a girl enough, she would get a ring (and she did), not my letters.

To each their own though...I know people who have pinned or lavaliered girlfriends, and it meant a great deal to them to be able to do so.

[AlphaFrog]

I think it's a sweet gesture for the girl...

BUT...Active hazing is STILL hazing.....

[KSUViolet06]

I'm not a big fan of pinning. If you're someone who is pinned, good for you. I just think that your badge/letters are yours, not your girlfriends. I just think it's weird to see a girl walking around totally sporting someone's letters. It's even weirder when I see a greek woman wearing her bf's lavaliere/letters more than her own. Don't flame me, just my opinion

[Rio_Kohitsuji]

I'm pinned, and I love it, not due to that I get to wear his letters, but because of the significance

When my Teke pinned me it was completely unexpected since it is a very large step in the relationship. At his chapter it means that when you pin your girl she will recieve The Ring soon, or with his badge. So, it's only reserved for serious relationships.

I wear my letters w/his and whatnot. It's never been a big deal. Plus, during his rush it's good publicity for the guys if one of them has a hot fiance

Oh...and when they pin here...the guy gets thrown in a lake (haha!) and the girl gets sung to!

--Kayla

[Kevin]

Pinning is the precursor to engagement for my chapter. I never got around to it with my girlfriend. It's a nice gesture though.

As for the hazing issue, none of my business really, but if Pi Kappa Alpha has the same hazing policy that Sigma Nu does, then hazing can be done to actives, new members, whatever -- it doesn't matter.

[dzandiloo]

I think pinning is a lost art, if you know what I mean. It was very common in the past, but I think it has been replaced with lavaliering to an extent. I think it would have meant alot more to me to be pinned by my Lambda Chi than being lavaliered was...I know how much his pin means to him, so it would have that kind of significance. A lavalier isn't really the same.

[PinkRose1098]

I was lavaliered and pinned by my husband. When I was lavaliered I was super excited but when I was pinned I almost cried because I knew (and still know) how much his fraternity means to him. I didn't ask for either honor and was completely surprised that he pinned me because it is rarely done in his chapter. I'm the only girlfriend/ wife that I know that has been pinned.

[DeltAlum]

Pinning was MUCH bigger when I was in college -- and due to that may not have meant quite as much. It was still the last step before engagement.

Oh, hazing is hazing, whether you're an active or not. Numerous expamples of it, and resulting university actions, in the Risk Management forum -- many of them following lavalliering or pinning.

[angelove]

While pinning was not commonplace, it wasn't unheard of when I was in college. Mr. Angelove followed the standard sequence - first we were lavaliered, then pinned, then engaged (after I graduated from college). No hazing for the lavaliering, but he was out of college when we got pinned. I didn't get his real pin, just a recognition-type pin, but it was the act of pinning rather than the actual pin that was important. Pinning was just another step in the whole commitment process. We figured we would eventually get married, so we made it slightly more official than when we were lavaliered, but not so official that I picked out a wedding dress. Wearing each other's letters wasn't a big deal, since I was a little sister in his fraternity and he was one of our chapter's sweethearts (back in the olden days when that was okay) and we wore letters all the time.

[EXColony]

Not with my chapter, BUT girls wearing fraternity greek letters is not uncommon at all.

Basically any girl that serves gets a lettered T-shirt - like I said before, my chapter is not that way, heck until we get our charter we can't even wear the greek letters!

I think the letters thing should be for brothers and engaged girls only.

Pinning to me is a BIG deal....I just hope I pin my girl before I graduate...

Can't wait...

[Rudey]

Is there a policy against spamming for a GLO??

-Rudey

[James]

I agree. Why would you give away your letters like that? You are not wearing her letters are you?

Originally posted by KSigkid
I never was a big fan of pinning girlfriends; my letters mean something to me, and I just don't think they'd mean as much to someone outside the fraternity. My whole opinion was that if I loved a girl enough, she would get a ring (and she did), not my letters.

To each their own though...I know people who have pinned or lavaliered girlfriends, and it meant a great deal to them to be able to do so.

[DeltAlum]

I don't think anyone considered getting pinned "giving away your letters." It was more like sharing something very important to you with someone who was also very important to you.

In a more crass case, it was also kind of a status thing when one of the hottest women on campus was seen wearing your brother's or your badge. That was especially true when she wore it next to her pin from the "coolest" sorority on campus.

Well, I said it was crass -- at least the second paragraph.

I could be really wrong, but I have a feeling that when I was young "things" were more geared toward the romantic. My kids ran more in "groups" for dates, while in the 60's it was more one-on-one. There were things like "going steady" as well.

But, I could be wrong. Just the way it seems to me.

[Optimist Prime]

I think giving her your pledge pin is cool.