How do you feel when people who are not in your Frat/Sor. wear your letters?

[prophet]

I think your right, it is TEAM

[TPASteph]

I agree with PM_Mama00, at our school a fraternity's letters (not party shirts or even shirts that are with sororities, I'm talking about JUST that fraternity's letters) are only worn by girls if they're engaged (or close to it) to a brother. My one roommate is engaged to a brother and she has his lettered sweatshirt. If someone was just wearing a lettered sweatshirt just because they were cold *not engaged or anything* (like in a prior post) that would cause some problems in the house and more or less get that brother whose letters they are in trouble with the house.

[pinkey08]

I don't believe that anyone should wear the letters of an orginaization that they are not a member of. My step dad is an Alpha and my mom would always wear his shirts around the house and it would always make him mad so he went and got her a black t'shirt with gold letters made stating " My man is an Alpha man". If someone is wearing the letters of a sorority/fraternity they are representing that organization and if they are not a part of it they may do or say something to make that organization look bad.
________
Shower tube

[CarolinaDG]

Oh, yeah, I think that if it's the huge block letters on a sweatshirt or something, then you shouldn't be able to wear that... unless you're lavaliered. Part of being lavaliered is saying that the person's special enough to wear the fraternity's letters. And, let's face it, if my sister (who is married to a Pi Kapp) were walking around with a sweatshirt with the big block Pi Kappa Phi letters on it, then people would know that she's not actually IN the fraternity, she's just seriously involved with someone who is. I've never seen her do that, anyway, I just see her with the bid day shirts on and stuff.

[texas*princess]

I didn't want to start a whole other thread on this, so I tried to find a thread already started to put this in, I'm bumping it up..

... Since I work retail, I like making conversation with customers, and today a young lady came in the store wearing a GFB sweatshirt. I asked how she was doing and where she was a Gamma Phi.

"Huh?"

"A Gamma Phi Beta.. like on your sweatshirt"

"What is that? I don't know, my friend just made this sweatshirt and gave it to me"

"Gamma Phi is a national sorority"

"Oh.. where are they?"

"I'm pretty sure they have chapters all over the place"

"Is it at least a girls' sorority?"

(huh? I didn't know there were any other kinds of sororities)

... I just thought it was weird she said her friend made the sweatshirt and gave it to her and she didn't even know that the symbols were greek letters?

[ztakrissy]

My b/f is a lambda chi...and we've been dating for over 2 years...so when I wear his letters let me tell you...I feel like I earned 'em with everything we've been through, but on a serious note--this might make me sound like an awful mean person, but seriously...when we do crush party with another sorority...I hate having their letters and ours on the shirt. I don't want people to confuse me with them. Isn't that awful? I'm all for Greek unity and whatever, but my letters are just that: MINE!

[babyhootie]

So, I was walking around Opry Mills mall once in pin-attire (I was wearing my pledge pin and a lavaliere) and I saw a girl with a HUGE bag with Chi Omega on it (the greek letters over the crest)... I was soooo freaking ecstatic! I go over to her and ask what chapter she is from and she looks at me like I am a freak. I point to her bag and tell her that I am a new member from the Austin Peay chapter. She still had no clue what I was saying... so, embarrassed I asked if she was a Chi Omega. She asked,” What’s Chi Omega?" I about died! She told me that she found it at Goodwill and thought it looked cute.

Even though I was so angry I explained that Chi-O is a women's fraternity and went into the huge shpeil about why it is fabulous. I was so mad, but I didn't want her first experience with a Chi-O to be a crazy girl ripping off her bag! Anyway, she then said laughing,"Oh my gosh, I should totally tell people I am a Chi Omega from now oh, huh?"

Ah! I told her calmly (I was so impressed I was being so diplomatic) that it probably wouldn't be a good idea because it might cause so much confusion with future run-ins with another Chi Omega. I also made some statement to the affect that only members of Chi Omega should own such items... but I said it in a way that was nice and nonaggressive. I mean, I wasn't about to give her a huge lecture about Greek Life since she obviously had no concept of it at all! Sigh... yeah, needless to say, I was so freaking embarrassed.

[Tom Earp]

WOW, didnt know Clarksville Had a Shopping Center!

Would I be upset, Maybe, if upon asking questions and go DA, yepper I would get a little upset myself! Question being are they representing Your Chapter and Greek Org. in the proper way!

Ask any Court Judge Ignoranze is not a killing Offense!

[Tippiechick]

Tom, Clarksville has Governor's Square Mall. The mall BabyHootie is referring to, Opry Mills, is in Nashville.

[EGDeepher]

I actually have 4 Sig EP lettered shirts. They all came from my X. It's common for girlfriends to wear their boyfriends letters around the house or campus to promote big events. None of the boys seem to mind. Even though we broke up I still wear the shirts once in a while because we're still close and I'm close with a lot of the guys as well.

[sageofages]

Several years ago I noticed a shirt that said "Phi Mu Halloween Bash" on a woman in line at the grocery store. At first I thought "cool" as there are no collegiate chapters in the area, and then I realized (NO offense to anyone) that she was probably one of the intinerant worker from the local orchards (given the time of year and those accompanying her). I could have been annoyed that she had our name on her chest, but I took it more like "thank goodness a sister gave her shirt so that someone who really needed it had clothes to wear". I would rather help clothe someone who could use the help than have our "letters" etc end up in a landfill when there is still wearability in the shirt.

[lonestaradpi]

At my school, girls wore guys fraternity shirts all the time. It was, like an earlier post said, kind of good PR to see a nice looking girl walking around in some fraternity's letters. I was given several shirts by fraternity men and so were many of my sisters. It wasn't a huge deal.

I am married now and my husband went with me to several date parties. He still wears some of the date party shirts to the gym. We live in an area close to the school we attended and I think that he wants to show off that he went to these date parties. I see no problem with men wearing date party shirts. I invited the person and paid for the shirt. Men at my school loved to get the shirts from the events.

Now, I do have a problem when other women (non greek or other sorority women) are wearing my letters. This would usually be acquired as a "shack" shirt. It would totally make me mad b/c the person had not been given the shirt by a member of my sorority and really had no right to wear the letters. This didn't happen very often at my school.

BTW, when I talk about letters, it can be the letters written out in english or greek on t-shirts or even stitched on letters. I have two fraternity shirts that have stitched on letters and that wasn't a problem. I guess that norms and standards are really set by each campus and it's greek system. What is totally acceptable at one school, is so wrong at another school.

I no longer wear most of my sorority shirts (been out a few years) but I will NOT throw them away or give them away. I admire the statement above about someone being glad that someone had something to wear, but I guess that I'm not that nice. I donate tons of my nongreek clothing to charities. I will take my GLO shirts and have them made into a quilt. The ones I don't use for the quilt I will just keep until they rot.

Just my $.02 worth...

[starang21]

this will never happen

[AUDeltaGam]

This is a question for members of BGLOs:

I know ya'll don't approve of non-members wearing your letters. But on our Greek Week shirt, all the fraternity and sorority letters are on the back, including BLGO letters. Do ya'll dislike that, or is it different?

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally posted by starang21
this will never happen

It does. I've seen women wearing your letters.

Anyway, I had a funny run-in that I don't think I ever posted about. I was working at the wrap desk during the Christmas rush, and had met quite a few sorority women - I always wear my lavalier to work so people notice it. One woman came up to me and was wearing an Illinois Sigma Chi/Delta Delta Delta Homecoming sweatshirt. I asked her if she was a Tri Delt, and she said "No, my sister dated one and he gave it to her, then she gave me this sweatshirt." I told her that she probably meant her sister dated a Sigma Chi, and she's like "Oh, I guess so, I just wear it because I like it." It was so random.