Greek letters / spelling out letters

[shirley1929]

Originally Posted by ChioLu

Not allowing your New Members to wear letters until being initiated is (now) called HAZING. It singles out what 1 group of members can do, or cannot do.

Chi Omega (also) can put letters on a shirt which non-members can wear, but no one except members can wear the crest.

Wait...what's the difference in letting a NM wear a shirt with letters but not one with the crest that makes one hazing and one not?

This is one of those cases of "it's hazing!" that muddies the water of what actual hazing is. IMHO.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by ChioLu

Not allowing your New Members to wear letters until being initiated is (now) called HAZING. It singles out what 1 group of members can do, or cannot do.

It's not called "hazing" by my fraternity. It's mandated in our national bylaws. Some orgs may consider it hazing, but many other orgs do not. Distinctions in what one group of members can do as opposed to another group is not the definition of hazing. If anything, it is just a bright line that some groups have adopted to try and make sure no one gets anywhere near hazing.

Serious Question: Do you allow New Members to wear the badge instead of a new member pin prior to initiation? Because if you don't, it seems like that would also be hazing if the criterion is singling out what one group of members can do and another group of members can't.

Originally Posted by shirley1929

This is one of those cases of "it's hazing!" that muddies the water of what actual hazing is. IMHO.

Absolutely.