Her badge

[ColdInCanada11]

This makes me wonder: new members must purchase a badge (order is placed before initiation), it's not optional, it must be done. Is this not the case in all NPC orgs?

[aephi alum]

Originally Posted by ColdInCanada11

This makes me wonder: new members must purchase a badge (order is placed before initiation), it's not optional, it must be done. Is this not the case in all NPC orgs?

It's required for AEPhi. You must purchase a badge unless you are going to wear your sister's, mother's, or grandmother's badge. You cannot give away your badge while you're an active, so if your sister is still an active, you must buy your own badge.

If you've seen the "badge trends" thread, you've seen my not-infrequent complaints about how AEPhi badges cannot be customized. Letters in sequence, 27 pearls, gold bar, end of story - no opals, sapphires, emeralds, rubies, diamonds, white gold, etc. But one nice thing about this is that, since no customization is allowed, we almost always had our new members' badges before initiation. The other sororities at my school did allow customization, so it took time to craft those badges - new initiates wore their big sisters' badges, sometimes for as long as a semester, until their own badges came in.

[GreekOne]

Originally Posted by ColdInCanada11

This makes me wonder: new members must purchase a badge (order is placed before initiation), it's not optional, it must be done. Is this not the case in all NPC orgs?

In the 80s, the cost of our badge was embedded in our initiation fee and it was compulsory. Today, sadly, it is an option. New members are initiated with their big sister's badges and given an order form to get their own. This takes time and some young women with financial difficulties never place that order, and therefore never own a badge. I don't know when this change took place but it saddens me when a young women tells me that she does not own a badge due to the cost. The most basic option is under $40. With the expense of membership, I strongly preferred the days that it was embedded into the initiation fees and every sister had one.

[ColdInCanada11]

Originally Posted by GreekOne

In the 80s, the cost of our badge was embedded in our initiation fee and it was compulsory. Today, sadly, it is an option. New members are initiated with their big sister's badges and given an order form to get their own. This takes time and some young women with financial difficulties never place that order, and therefore never own a badge. I don't know when this change took place but it saddens me when a young women tells me that she does not own a badge due to the cost. The most basic option is under $40. With the expense of membership, I strongly preferred the days that it was embedded into the initiation fees and every sister had one.

It is embedded in our dues! (I mean, it's a separate fee, but you must pay it before you initiate, and it's not overly expensive) I could see if only 14k gold or jewelled badges were your options, but a simple gold-plated badge should be required. A badge is such an important identifier of our vows and bond, I couldn't imagine not having my badge!

[APhi2KD]

Just saw this on Ebay and think it's funny timing:

One more thing, please don't complain about my sale of this pin, I do not feel that it is my job to return any item to your organization or headquarters. I am not selling copies of pins, nor do I make any claim of ownership of the design of the pins. Just a guy saving a lot of nice Greek pins from the refiner. If anymore of my auctions get pulled for copyright infringement, I will make it a point to melt every one of that groups pins from now on, Delta Sigma Theta, I'm talking to you...

[aephi alum]

Originally Posted by GreekOne

The most basic option is under $40.

That's not bad at all! Heck, textbooks go for 5-10x that!

When I joined AEPhi, our only option was a 14k yellow gold badge with pearls. It was $75. You could also get a chapter guard - it had to be yellow gold set with pearls - for an additional fee. There is now a 10k gold option. I'm not sure what the badges are priced at today.

[navane]

Originally Posted by GreekOne

In the 80s, the cost of our badge was embedded in our initiation fee and it was compulsory. Today, sadly, it is an option. New members are initiated with their big sister's badges and given an order form to get their own. This takes time and some young women with financial difficulties never place that order, and therefore never own a badge. I don't know when this change took place but it saddens me when a young women tells me that she does not own a badge due to the cost. The most basic option is under $40. With the expense of membership, I strongly preferred the days that it was embedded into the initiation fees and every sister had one.

Aww...that's a shame. I had always assumed that all sororities required their members to wear their badges for ritual and formal meetings.

[bevinpiphi]

If her chapter is still standing, it may be lovely to donate one as an honor badge to her chapter - we have a badge that members can "borrow" for weddings. I wore my rescued pearl badge over my heart on my wedding day - my husband found it in a thrift shop, and recognized it because of "all those stinking arrows in the house".
I would LOVE to see pictures of those arrows. I love seeing old styles of the badge.

[NYCMS]

Originally Posted by bevinpiphi

If her chapter is still standing, it may be lovely to donate one as an honor badge to her chapter - we have a badge that members can "borrow" for weddings. I wore my rescued pearl badge over my heart on my wedding day - my husband found it in a thrift shop, and recognized it because of "all those stinking arrows in the house".
I would LOVE to see pictures of those arrows. I love seeing old styles of the badge.

What a lovely idea!

I recently had the opportunity to visit the founding chapter of my sorority (not Pi Phi - although I love your arrow badge) and they had a huge display of badges, including those encrusted with rubies, sapphires, diamonds and opals as well as pearls (which is the traditional stone for my sorority badge) as well as with very embellished engraving. It was such a treat

[honeychile]

My chapter of initiation has two special badges: a President's Pin, which had belonged to our chapter founder, and a Sister of the Year Pin, which had been donated to the chapter. I think it's a lovely idea!

[PhilTau]

Originally Posted by GreekOne

In the 80s, the cost of our badge was embedded in our initiation fee and it was compulsory. Today, sadly, it is an option. New members are initiated with their big sister's badges and given an order form to get their own. This takes time and some young women with financial difficulties never place that order, and therefore never own a badge. I don't know when this change took place but it saddens me when a young women tells me that she does not own a badge due to the cost. The most basic option is under $40. With the expense of membership, I strongly preferred the days that it was embedded into the initiation fees and every sister had one.

Just thought I'd point out that some fraternities have the same issues. I was an active at a large state university. Our members were from all types of families and from all walks of life and all social-economic backgrounds. Some of our members simply could not afford to buy a pin. As an active, I never even saw an active badge of my fraternity. And we were not offered one to buy, though I suspect some members did have them but never wore them. This local "tradition" had been well established long before I arrived.