Why do GLO's abbreviate their names?

[Psi U MC Vito]

Psi U for Psi Upsilon was pretty much a no brainier I think.

[CougarGrad]

Originally Posted by honeychile

I'll never get the FIJI bit, though - I've just accepted it as a given.

I have heard that Fiji only allows their Greek letters to be written/used in certain circumstances.

Obviously, as a non-member, I don't know that to be a fact, but I think the idea is interesting.

[texas*princess]

Why not? People abbreviate everything else.

Why do some Jessica's call themselves "Jess"

Why do some Jennifer's go by "Jenn"

... because it's a quick way to refer to something.

Sames goes for GLO names.

[CutiePie2000]

Originally Posted by CougarGrad

I have heard that Fiji only allows their Greek letters to be written/used in certain circumstances.

Obviously, as a non-member, I don't know that to be a fact, but I think the idea is interesting.

I am quite confident that it is a fact.
(Shamlessly copied and pasted from another thread:
The letters are allowed to be displayed in six places; the badge, the official seal of the fraternity, the flag, the chapter house marker, memorials to members, and the certificate of membership. To allow the letters to appear anywhere else is considered disrespectful.)

A Fiji in my English class (back in the day) explained it to me along the lines of that they hold their letters in such high regard, that they only allow it to be used in a few circumstances, such as items that are deemed "permanent". (house and badge being 2 examples).


The end.

PS I found an ancient thread here: http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=1397

[LucyKKG]

Originally Posted by honeychile

In a lot of our truly old songbooks (like 60-80 years ago!!!), Alpha Delta Pis are called "Alpha Delts" - too easily confused with Alpha Gamma Delta or Alpha Xi Delta.

I've seen old Kappa songs and captions on pictures calling us "Kappa Gams." Ha!

Oh, and I thought of something funny while I was driving. So if gams = legs, are Alpha Gams like #1 legs?

[agzg]

Originally Posted by LucyKKG

Oh, and I thought of something funny while I was driving. So if gams = legs, are Alpha Gams like #1 legs?

Drat, you've figured us out!

[naraht]

In Alpha Phi Omega, you can tell some things about the chapter from the Abbreviation that they use. Note, it is policy that there is no official abbreviation.

APO is the most common abbreviation.

APhiO is most commonly used in "Region V" (Western PA, Ohio, West Virginia, Eastern KY)

APhiQ (or A Phi Que) is used at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (Presumably from Omega Psi Phi using Que as the abbreviation for their fraternity.

Other abbreviations have been used in the past, for example, when Alpha Phi Omega started at Georgetown University they were known as Alpha Phi. (Note there is no social fraternity system at Georgetown, so it isn't like they would have been confused with Alpha Phi Sorority.

Note, these apply to only Alpha Phi Omega - USA. Alpha Phi Omega of the Philippines is a slightly different kettle of fish.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by honeychile

In a lot of our truly old songbooks (like 60-80 years ago!!!), Alpha Delta Pis are called "Alpha Delts" - too easily confused with Alpha Gamma Delta or Alpha Xi Delta.

In some of our old songbooks (from long before we officially added Phi Mu Alpha to our name), we are called "Phi Mus." I should note that the songbook when the song first appeared is old enough (1914) that Phi Mu sorority wouldn't have been that well known nationally yet.

As I've noted before, we're one of the only fraternities I know of that doesn't have an accepted nickname. Occasionally I'll see PMA, but never in anything official -- it seems to be limited to (1) a relatively few chapters and (2) use by non-members to refer to us. I've only been seeing it the last decade or so (and I would never use it). The accepted "short form" for us is our original name -- Sinfonia.

Originally Posted by CougarGrad

I have heard that Fiji only allows their Greek letters to be written/used in certain circumstances.

Obviously, as a non-member, I don't know that to be a fact, but I think the idea is interesting.

As CutiePie2000 notes, it's not secret information. It's a fairly well-known aspect of FIJI (Phi Gam) that can be verified any number of places.

Originally Posted by Au2maticPrncess

See?? U guys are as confused as I am! ;p ---Glad I could start this nice long discussion...

It's an interesting discussion to be sure, but I don't think anyone is confused. People are just noting regional differences and differences over time in what are otherwise well-understood nicknames.

[DubaiSis]

Nicknames are an interesting argument within Alpha Xi Delta. Some parts of the country find Fuzzy great and others find it completely offensive. We have several nicknames and it's not even regional, just house to house. Interestingly, even though the Xi makes us unusual, I've never heard us called Xi's anywhere. Maybe it's too visual and is too easily confused with the Zetas or DZ's.

[naraht]

Originally Posted by CutiePie2000

I am quite confident that it is a fact.
(Shamlessly copied and pasted from another thread:
The letters are allowed to be displayed in six places; the badge, the official seal of the fraternity, the flag, the chapter house marker, memorials to members, and the certificate of membership. To allow the letters to appear anywhere else is considered disrespectful.)

As far as I can tell, even from the Phi Gamma Delta national web page, it is 7 places, the six that you mentioned and the official college ring. See http://www.phigam.org/NetCommunity/Document.Doc?id=41 , page 84 (has 88 down at the bottom of the page) for example.

[CougarGrad]

Originally Posted by CutiePie2000

I am quite confident that it is a fact.
(Shamlessly copied and pasted from another thread:
The letters are allowed to be displayed in six places; the badge, the official seal of the fraternity, the flag, the chapter house marker, memorials to members, and the certificate of membership. To allow the letters to appear anywhere else is considered disrespectful.)

A Fiji in my English class (back in the day) explained it to me along the lines of that they hold their letters in such high regard, that they only allow it to be used in a few circumstances, such as items that are deemed "permanent". (house and badge being 2 examples).


The end.

PS I found an ancient thread here: http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=1397

Good for you for doing homework! That's the basic idea I was thinking, but I'm glad it's clarified, however shamelessly.

[CougarGrad]

Originally Posted by agzg

Drat, you've figured us out!

I thought the "#1 legs" thing was the whole reason there ain't nothin' finer in the land than a sweet, adorable Alpha Gam?

[dukemama]

When I was at Duke back in the mid-80s, the brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon were called SPEs ("Speez") - never heard of any other school calling them that. I learned later on that Sig Eps was/is the more commonly used abbreviation.

[Xylochick216]

Originally Posted by dukemama

When I was at Duke back in the mid-80s, the brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon were called SPEs ("Speez") - never heard of any other school calling them that. I learned later on that Sig Eps was/is the more commonly used abbreviation.

They're SPEs at UVA, too, which took me awhile to get used to last year.

[emb021]

Originally Posted by naraht

In Alpha Phi Omega, you can tell some things about the chapter from the Abbreviation that they use. Note, it is policy that there is no official abbreviation.

APO is the most common abbreviation.

APhiO is most commonly used in "Region V" (Western PA, Ohio, West Virginia, Eastern KY)

My experience is that most people write APO, but many people say "APhiO".

I know in my Region (IV) I hear a lot of people saying APhiO.