Plegdes wearing letters???

[ASTalumna06]

Well, sorry if that's how I came off. Not my intention at all.

And you're missing my point about the actual letters, and choosing them, and needing history to make them important... so I'm not going to attempt to explain that further

And by saying that my letters are "meaningless" to other people, is to say that they don't know anything about my organization. My letters mean little to you because you're not part of my organization. Just like yours mean little to me. Do I understand that your letters are important to you and that they mean something, yes. Because I'm part of a Greek organization I understand that. But I couldn't tell you one thing about your organization, so when I look at them, all they are is printing on a shirt. And that's not insulting your organization, that's simply your take on why a new member can't wear letters.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

Well, sorry if that's how I came off. Not my intention at all.

And you're missing my point about the actual letters, and choosing them, and needing history to make them important... so I'm not going to attempt to explain that further

No, I get what you're trying to say. While this may have been the case with several organizations, it's not wise to assume that this is the way all organizations do it. Unless you're a founder yourself, you really don't know what went into choosing letters.

And by saying that my letters are "meaningless" to other people, is to say that they don't know anything about my organization. My letters mean little to you because you're not part of my organization. Just like yours mean little to me. Do I understand that your letters are important to you and that they mean something, yes. Because I'm part of a Greek organization I understand that. But I couldn't tell you one thing about your organization, so when I look at them, all they are is printing on a shirt. And that's not insulting your organization, that's simply your take on why a new member can't wear letters.

That's not where I was going with that. Like MysticCat's organization, wearing letters is something reserved for brothers of my organization. If you don't know the history of my organization and the meaning/significance of our symbols and ritual, you are not a brother. Therefore, you can't wear letters.

[pbear19]

For my local organization at the time I was in college (I don't know how much they may have changed policy in the time since I graduated - I keep in contact with them but not in regards to things like this) we were not allowed to wear or display letters until after initiation. Not because we hadn't earned them. But because until initiation we weren't considered members. Only members of the sorority could wear letters, and we were still considered to be, for lack of a better term, aspiring members. At least, that is how I interpreted it.

When the more PC terms came about, we struggled quite a bit with what to call our pledges, because we didn't like the term 'new member' as that didn't embody what our pledges were. They weren't new members, not yet. To us, new members were those sisters who had most recently been initiated, not those ladies who had most recently received bids.

At one point when it came up for discussion about wearing letters, we decided to allow Taus (pledges) to wear the recruitment shirt for the recruitment that they joined under. They participated in that recruitment, so it seemed fair to acknowledge their participation. I'm not sure how logical that may seem to others, but it worked for us.

I thought I would toss in the example as yet another reason to withhold letters until after initiation, one which has absolutely nothing to do with hazing.