Plegdes wearing letters???

[kappaloo]

eh... when I pledged our NM chair told us no letters before initiation... but the first TC that heard that told us that NM are to be allowed to wear letters. To be honest, it didn't meet much if any resistance... but that's just my chapter.

My chapter however does not encourage NM to wear letters before initiation (by buying them letters or anything). Since we're in Canada and getting letters often takes 6-8 weeks, it's not really an issue.

During our initation sleepover, the NM make their own 'getto' letter shirt/bags/hats/whatever... so it's nice to hype that up and then see them all come out where their very first set of letters right after initation.

[ThetaPam]

As a new member who made it all the way to initiation without wearing letters, I must say, it does feel good to earn them.

And for the people who are concerned about how anyone will know which girls are pledging which sorority, most everyone who has posted that their new members don't wear letters has also explained that they can wear the name of their GLO spelled out. I'm sure people knew I was a Theta new member... I practically lived in my black and gold Bid day shirt!

[33girl]

As I said before I think a lot of it depends on your campus traditions. I can't think of any GLO (except the locals, who were looking to go national and therefore didn't have crests) who weren't allowed to wear letters before initiation. Crests however were a Big Big Deal and you didn't get them until after you initiated.

[alphabug02]

My Chapter allowed us to wear letters (any type stitched, sewn, glued, screen printed... whatever), in fact they were handed out with zeal. If a new member wanted a set of letters or shirt all she had to do was ask and she was always welcome to barrow another sisters shirts till she got her own. We were the only organization on campus that allowed this practice, but here’s the twist, the members of my chapter don’t value their letters and in turn don’t always value organization they belong too.

At first I couldn’t figure out why the new members didn’t value the chapter as much as I did or the other women I joined with. We take the new members in treat them as equals (as it should be) and share our sisterhood with them, while at the same time educating them about our heritage. What I have realized over time is that there is a distinct difference between when I joined and the new members the chapter is now taking. I was a founding member, so I had to put a lot of work, heart and soul into the chapter, as a group the women I rushed and joined with had to prove to the Greek Community and to our National Organization that we were a Colony that was ready to become a Chapter.

The new members now go through all the same rituals, and wear the same letters, but I know when wore my letters across campus, I was proud. When I received my pin I cried during our ritual (and I don’t cry). I don’t think the new members now have this same feeling of pride, because what they have has been given, rather than earned. Handing out letters to new members in theory it seems like a great idea, but in my opinion if you do not have to live with out then you never learn to truly appreciate what you have.

[AEPhiSierra]

We never let new members wear letters. What we will do is on certain occasions allow them to wear shirts with the Phi spelled out if we want to represent at Greek events like Greek Goddess or Greek Week but we don't even do that every semester.

[aephi alum]

Originally posted by AEPhiSierra
We never let new members wear letters. What we will do is on certain occasions allow them to wear shirts with the Phi spelled out if we want to represent at Greek events like Greek Goddess or Greek Week but we don't even do that every semester.

Is that a new national policy or your chapter's policy?

When I was an active, we had letter days once a week. New members would either wear their bid day shirts or borrow an older bid day or event shirt from a sister (with "Alpha Epsilon Phi" or "AEPhi" on it, not the Greek letters). NMs could wear such shirts on other days of the week as well, if they so chose. We were the smallest chapter on campus, so we needed everyone, including our NMs, representing.

[TKEmanKM]

In TKE we allow them to wear letters, but not the crest and such. These insignia are open to our challenge to distingiush brothers.

I think it is up to the chapter in most cases.

[GeekyPenguin]

Up until this semester, my chapter always discouraged girls from wearing letters until Initiation - we wouldn't stop them, but we preferred if they would wait. This semester each girl got one of our main lettered shirts (screenprinted shirts with our name inside our letters) to wear on Bid Day, and almost all of them put them on over their clothes and got really excited. We had one girl who was just traumatized she had to dress up to wear her nm pin because she wanted to wear it every day, it was super cute!

[tunatartare]

At my school no one (fraternities or sororities) allows their NM's to wear letters until after they get in. The only exception to this rule is Kappa which gives their NM's sweatpants with letters on the butt that they have to all wear on certain days. One of the other sororities here, their nationals told them they had to let NM's wear letters, so they bought the letters but I don't think that they were actually given them until after initiation. At my school it's the same thing as with Buttonz, you can tell exactly when everyone got in because that's when they're all wearing letters.

[DeltaUpsilon97]

The new members now go through all the same rituals, and wear the same letters, but I know when wore my letters across campus, I was proud. When I received my pin I cried during our ritual (and I don’t cry). I don’t think the new members now have this same feeling of pride, because what they have has been given, rather than earned. Handing out letters to new members in theory it seems like a great idea, but in my opinion if you do not have to live with out then you never learn to truly appreciate what you have.

I have to respectfully disagree here. In my chapter we were allowed to wear the name of the sorority spelled out until initiation, and technically were allowed to wear letters. I chose not to wear anything until after I was initiated, and I agree that i felt very overwhelmed and proud to wear my badge as a sister. I didn't earn the right to wear a sweatshirt, I earned the right to wear my badge--I could've worn a sweatshirt any day of the week, but it wouldn't have the same meaning as my badge ever.

Now having said that, letters while they represent the organization, are there on a much more casual basis. Someone can wear the letters, it's not until they go through the ritual of initiation that they become a sister and are allowed to wear the badge, which to me means so much more. Anyone off the street can and often does order letters -- however a sister is only someone with the badge.

[jmuphigam]

wearing letters should be a right reserved for brothers. in my chapter pledges can wear screen-printed written out names, but cannot wear the traditional letters (we dont use our real letters on shirts anyway, but thats beside the point pretty much everyone else).
wearing the letters for the first time is a very special thing and is something that should not be dealt with lightly-im of the opinion that you shouldnt wear letters until you know the all of the rituals, customs, and traditions of the fraternity and chapter, which doesnt come until after initiation

[mommag2]

In my Sorority pledges/new members are not allowed to wear anything but their pledge shirt and that is only on Wednesday of every week. They cannot write/touch or feel stitched letters. Same thing goes for girls trying to start a new chapter. Once they go from petitioning group to charter then they can wear only screenprinted letters. I know that when I begame a "full" fledged Sister I wore those letters forever. Now I wear my sweatshirt and my active jacket all the time. I think that our national policy about letters makes it much more emotional and we value our letters more. I know sororities here on my campus letter their NM wear their letters as soon as they accept their bid. My Sorority's belief is that "You earn your letters, We don't give them to you". And I know that for me once I earned the right to wear them, I will never take them off, or let anyone harm them. That's how proud I am to be A SISTER OF GAMMA ALPHA OMEGA!!!!!!!!!

[sigep533]

our guys cant wear the crest until initiated, but can wear letters..i duno that stitched or not stitched even matters...never even thought of it.

[AUDeltaGam]

Originally posted by Little E
Wow, some of your chapters, no offense, have lots of rules. We allow our NMs to wear letters (stiched or printed) (spelled out or letters) but do not allow them to wear the crest until after initation. We give the new initiates our chapter shirt, with the crest on it, to them on that day. Otherwise you are watching what people wear, and making them uncomfortable. They may not understand the full signifigance, but they understand that it is something special and that they will eventually mean more, and when you do wear, that same shirt, it has a new meaning after initiation.

blah...don't like lots of rules about clothing, sounds too big brotherish for me.

Wow, I agree! I had no clue other GLOs had rules like these!

[TigerLilly]

Originally posted by Zetagymnast
In my sorority, pledges (snip) are also not allowed to wear the colors of the sorority.

Uhh...out of curiousity, what happens if they do that by accident? What are your colors? I'm just thinking, b/c I'm sure I've inadvertantly worn AXiD colors while not specifically meaning to. It just so happens that I like to wear a lot of blue and yellow. Would you penalize a new member for something like that?