By Anne Steyer
candles, passing of pins,
house songs: Times may
change and houses may
have different ceremonies,
but the basics of a greek
pinning remain the same.
Jayne Wade Anderson, director
of Greek Affairs at the University of
Ncbraska-Lincoln, said there had
been pinnings going on as long as
she had been at UNL.
Pinning is a ceremony that
takes place when a fraternity
member presents his fraternity pin
to a woman in a sorority. It is,
Anderson said, usually a commit
ment to commit.
Anderson, a UNL alumna, said
that on some campuses, the first
step for the relationship, tradition
ally, was pearling, then pinning,
with the final step being engage
ment.
The standard ritual, she said,
has the women passing a lit candle
around the table after dinner.
Following it is a small basket of
candy. When the candle comes to
the sorority sister who is getting
pinned, she blows it out.
Following the announcement,
fraternity members come to the
sorority house, and the members of
the houses serenade each other with
house songs. Then the actual
ceremony takes place, and the man
pins his fraternity pin on the
woman.
Secrecy is an important part of
the ritual, and the woman getting
pinned usually only tells the house
president or social chairperson.
“It’s a real secret,” Anderson
said. “But the house mother usually
knows.”
Anderson said she thought the
fraternity men passed out cigars,
perhaps, or just made an announce
ment after dinner. From there, she
said, the fraternity members go to
the sorority house.
“There was a period of time in
the late ’60s, early ’70s where it
was not ‘mod’ to get pinned.”
Anderson said.
“It was just a sign of the times.”
Anderson said other things had
changed over the years as well.
When she was a UNL student in the
late ’40s and early ’50s, pinnings
were much simpler than they are
today.
“There was not any planned
function, there were no parties,” she
said. “It was strictly an announce
ment and was done in about 15
minutes.
“Now it becomes a big social
function.”
Anderson said many couples
getting pinned now planned large
parties and had invitations printed.
Although some things have
changed over the years, pinning is
still considered a big step in the
lives of those making the commit
ment, she said.
And a commitment it is.
“When I was in school we all
looked at it like a couple was going
steady, like they were pre-commit
ting,” Anderson said.
Scott Bunz, president of the
Interfratemity Council and a senior
agribusiness major, said pinnings
now gave couples more of a chance
to celebrate.
Pinning tradition changes, survives
Badge of
honor
“I think technically it is an
engagement to be engaged,” he
said.
Most pinnings occur on
Monday evenings, Bunz said,
because that’s meeting night for
UNL fraternities and sororities.
Generally all members arc dressed
up for chapter meetings, which
lends itself to the formality of the
occasion, he said.
Bunz said his fraternity, Alpha
Gamma Sigma, celebrated the
pinning before dinner, but they also
passed a candle.
The man about to be pinned
informs the chapter president and
the house mother, who lights the
candle before handing it off to the
Dresidcnt.
“If it goes around once, it’s a
pinning,” he said. “Twice if it’s an
engagement.
Bunz got pinned last spring to
Chi Omega member Danielle
Winscot. The two had dated for
about a year before getting pinned.
“We discussed it,” he said, “and
I kind of asked her.”
Winscot, a junior elementary
education major, said a pinning
could be as serious as the couple
chose to make it.
Pinnings are a good reason to
have a party, she said, but the
significance of the fraternity pin is
not one to take lightly.
“I just think a fraternity pin
means a lot to them,” Winscot said.
“It’s a lot for them to give it up.”
The pinning, she said, allowed
her to share the importance of w hat
Bunz’ pin meant to him.
Bunz and Winscot shared their
pinning celebration with a couple
from the same pledge class as
themselves.
“It seemed like a uood idea to
plan the celebration together,” he
said.
That idea allowed the two
couples to split the cost of a party
— a bash they threw at the
Comhusker Hotel, complete with
engraved invitations, a dance floor,
music, food and drinks.
Bunz said throwing a pinning
party took a great deal of planning,
and Winscot agreed.
“It’s a big deal,” she said. “It
takes an enormous amount of
money.
“The party is as elaborate as
you want to make it,” Winscot said.
“Some do it in the house, some
don’t. We wanted to accommodate
everyone. We wanted to have food.”
It’s as much a party for friends
“There was a period
of time in the late
’60s, early ’70s where
it was not ‘mod’ to
get pinned. ”
as it is for the couple, she said, and
a pinning puts everyone in a festive
mood.
Bunz said the invitations were
sent out to people not in the two
houses and were delivered on
Monday so as to be a surprise.
“We just had a good time,” he
said.
Matt Gocllcr and Tiffany
Norris also had a double pinning,
but theirs was a bit different: The
couple was engaged just before
school started, and only became
Dinned at the beeinnine of Novcm
ber.
Goeller, a junior
engineering major and
a member of Acacia,
said that the normal
order was to get pinned
first, then engaged.
“It was just the
perfect time for him to
ask,” Norris, a member
of Phi Beta Chi sorority
and a sophomore
hinlnov mainr said
“but we still wanted to do the
pinning thing, so we did.”
Goeller said his fraternity
didn’t have an announcement ritual,
but instead made a simple an
nouncement after dinner.
That simplicity doesn’t detract
from the event’s significance
though, he said.
“I think it’s really neat, and for
the person directly involved it’s
kind of a serious deal,” Goeller said
“It really makes you feel good
to have your brothers there support
ing you,” he said.
“It’s a real formal occasion.
When someone gets pinned, it’s
usually a good indication they’re
going to get engaged soon after. It’s
a pretty big commitment.”
Norris and Goeller also
celebrated a double pinning, and foi
them, money was also an issue.
Norris said having another couple
to share party expenses was helpful.
Having help in the planning was a
relief, too, she said.
“It took about two weeks to
plan,” Norris said. "But it was fun
and it turned out really well.”
The significance of Goeller’s
fraternity pm meant a great deal to
her, Norris said.
“Their pin was a symbol of
how special that part of their lives
were to them and they were giving
them to us because we were special
to them,” she said.
Goeller sang a song about the
meaning of the fraternity pin before
pinning it close to Norris’ heart.
“I almost cried,” she said.
“It’s really special, because
when you pledge a house, you
pledge a lot to the house,” Norris
said. “When someone gives you
their pin, it’s like a really big part of
their life.”
Winscot said how much that
importance carried over was
debatable. She said she was unsure
about how many pinnings truly
ended up ir engagements.
Anderson agreed.
“In my era it certainly did, but
I’m not sure I have any way of
knowing now for sure,” she said, “I
guess I think that (engagements)
might be the case.”
Bunz said many do end up in
engagemnets, and eventually
marriages.
“Generally, pinnings are
successful,” he said.
In his four years at the univer
sity and as part of a fraternity, Bunz
said perhaps two, maybe three
pinnings had not ended up in a
higher commitment.
Garth Lineman, a member of Sigma Nu fraternity, and Jennifer Schmidt, a member of Kappa Delta sorority, celebrate their pinning at the Kappa Delta house on Nov.
29. Schmidt and Lineman began dating in April.
Photos by Shaun Sartin