It is on the back of the guy in front of you in English class; the girl on the stairmaster at the Rec Center always has one on - it's the Greek T-shirt, and it's everywhere you look.

The 24 letters of the Greek alphabet adorn shirts across campus advertising the date dashes and functions of the University of Arizona's vwarious sororities and fraternities. These shirts are not free, and while each house has a different policy, most do not include shirts in chapter dues, meaning additional expenses for the chapters' members

Erin Scholl, president of Delta Delta Delta sorority, said she spends about $60 a year on sorority T-shirts.

"The main reason girls get T-shirts is to have a memory of the event," she said.

Scholl said sorority dues do not cover T-shirts. The sorority usually fronts the money for the shirts and is reimbursed when members buy them.

Scholl said neither the sororities nor the Panhellenic Council makes any money off the sale of the shirts. Members are never required to buy the shirts, she added.

Bryan Giglia, representative of Kappa Alpha fraternity, said shirts for an event usually run about $6 each. He said members usually get about three shirts a year from their fraternity dues and the others they buy themselves.

"You usually don't wear the shirts until you have been initiated," Giglia said. "It is kind of like a rite of passage and a sense of achievement."

Bruce Wilton of Phi Kappa Tau said T-shirts are a symbol of pride.

"Wearing your letters lets everyone see who you are. It is a way of showing pride for your sorority or fraternity," he said.

"On the other hand," Wilton said, "it might be the only clean shirt you have to wear that day."

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