Joining another sorority after 2 years

[jazing]

Why can't they just call pledges "pledges"? Fraternities have no issue with this. Is NPC the one giving this PC order to call them "baby [whatevers]" or new members?

[WCsweet<3]

Originally Posted by jazing

Why can't they just call pledges "pledges"? Fraternities have no issue with this. Is NPC the one giving this PC order to call them "baby [whatevers]" or new members?

My nationals told us to never call our new members "babies" as it could be deemed as hazing... somehow. I believe the switch to "new members" over "pledges" was NPC, however that was before my time so another member could answer with more confidence.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

They may not be full fledged members, but I don't think they're babies either. That's my issue with it. It's dumb and condescending. Not to mention that your NM might be 21 years old and older than the people calling her a baby.

I agree it's dumb and condescending, but the blog post I read (it was the Alpha Phi one) was against it because it "differentiated" them as well. I'm not against a name for pledges that differentiates them, because they ARE different. I'm against "baby" because it is stupid. I would have zero issue with a name that makes sense for the sorority (which for us, pearls does) but the problem is, you can't apply those across the board. If I say to someone "I'm a Pearl" or "I'm an Alpha" (for ADPI) they may not know what I'm talking about. So "baby whatevers" becomes the defacto term...since...

Originally Posted by Old_Row

Calling new members baby whatevers is subtle hazing? It's the PC crap that prohibits members from using terms like pledge that created the environment where women now feel the need to come up with stupid cutesy names.

I'm from a very non-cutesy campus. The ZTAs were pushing it with the bunny stuff everywhere, let me tell you. I can't imagine us all running around calling each other babies, but I look on the sorority FB pages from my alma mater, and there the girls are, doing it. As I said before I think this is a generational thing in that this generation seems to have a higher "cutesy tolerance" than mine did...but the fact is...if we could still call them "pledges" it probably wouldn't be happening.

Originally Posted by jazing

Why can't they just call pledges "pledges"? Fraternities have no issue with this. Is NPC the one giving this PC order to call them "baby [whatevers]" or new members?

Because it has been decreed by the NPC PC police that "pledge" can be used in a demeaning manner and sets them apart. NPC doesn't like "baby whatevers" either, it wants them to all be called "new members." Which is a misnomer, as I stated above.

Basically NPC freaked out because numbers were in the toilet in the 90s and decided to make it sound "not so hard" to get in/be in/stay in a sorority.

[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by jazing

Why can't they just call pledges "pledges"? Fraternities have no issue with this. Is NPC the one giving this PC order to call them "baby [whatevers]" or new members?

Actually there is at least one NIC fraternity that calls them officially New Members. Unoffically is another story of course. And slight tangent, I remember being confused as hell when a sorority woman asked if I was a New Member during a mixer. "um.. I'm a pledge.."

[jazing]

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

Actually there is at least one NIC fraternity that calls them officially New Members. Unoffically is another story of course. And slight tangent, I remember being confused as hell when a sorority woman asked if I was a New Member during a mixer. "um.. I'm a pledge.."

Now that you bring this up, I know some fraternities have names for them, like Phi Delt has Phikeia. I only know of that one cause they are on the same campus as I'm on. I'm sure others have a similar trend as well. Some go a step further (ZBT, Sig Ep, Lambda Chi) and don't even call them pledges at all, but new members. I don't know if they know ritual stuff cause it's not my business though.