I hated skits so much when I went through recruitment. They were so awkward. Even when done well, they were cheesy. For someone who feels embarrassed for people who have to do the whole song and dance thing, it was terrible sitting through these parties watching girls who were clearly uncomfortable singing some of these songs. The worst was our Mardi Gras party with AOIIs running around in halloween/costume party gear singing Cabaret songs modified to fit an AOII theme. Terrible!

Mein Herr?

Two Ladies?

I would love to see what you do with those at sorority rush. hahahahaha

Although "Maybe This Time" would be great if you changed the lyrics.

ADPi gave single pearl necklaces at Pref - a HUGE hit, whether you went ADPi or not! And yes, the spreads were endless - ours was considered low key, with larger petit fours that looked like our pin. Thetas also went dessert buffet, with their feature an amazing cream cake with sparkling gold "glitter. But the DZs went all out, with everything from fondue to mini-sheesecakes.

But back on topic, when I went through Rush, I found the skits a bit demeaning. But! They also gave me a chance to think about the chapter without someone telling me why I needed to go XYZ and away from the many anti-greeks I knew. As a sister, I saw the skits as a chance to go on autopilot (clap, sing or whatever at the appropriate time) and figure out how to mend something stupid I said, or which women I still needed to meet.

I'm actually surprised to hear they used to give out gifts you could take with you at Pref--sounds awesome, although I can see where it could get "sticky." When did they stop doing that?

Thanks for all the responses--very interesting to read!

I'm the type of person who doesn't really like "structured fun" (when we were about 9 or so, my mom starting offering my brother and me $100 not to have birthday parties--she hated them, too, and figured she would spend about that much on a party, anyway--and we both happily took her up on it and had 2-3 person sleepovers instead). Anyway, that's probably part of the reason I dislike skits on instinct--they just seem kind of "hokey" and "awkward," to quote other posters. That, and they seem like they'd showcase a small subset of the sisters in a chapter--those who can act or sing--while kind of glazing over everyone else for the night. That said, if they work well for some people and schools, great. :)

The closest to skits my alma marter got was slide shows set to music on pref night. I only saw ours (I went through Spring COB), but I felt like they generally did pretty good job of capturing the chapter--fun times, friendship, philanthrophy events, and more solemn "deep" times. The potential downside was that sometimes only a few people would submit most of the pictures, and therefore many of the pictures would be of a handful of members.

I think they quit the favors in the 80's though I might be wrong. It was kind of fun and I still treasure that lyre though anchors are my first love!

Cheesy and stupid as they are, I'd hate to get rid of skits. I loved the "creative" part - seeing the acting, singing, and dancing talents of sisters. It was also a break from having to talk talk talk - I definitely looked forward to that!

I just missed the food and gifts during recruitment. Thank goodness - imagine having to feed anything to 1,500 girls! I advised a year at a chapter where a pref meal at an alum's house was the norm. Of course you have to plan a menu that's fairly light, because the girls eat twice that night...and of course they just pick at their food.

That year a generous alum let us use her home. She did heavy-duty corporate entertaining for her husband. Her huge kitchen was set up with duplicates on opposite walls - double dishwashers, ovens, sinks, etc. etc. You see a lot of that now, but we thought we were in heaven!

And here I thought maybe she was keeping Kosher.

Could be...we were just told that she did a lot of corporate entertaining...

She probably would have told you if you weren't allowed to use certain fixtures for certain foods, so what you were told was probably right ;)

I was kidding. If she kept Kosher, you would have known.

I'd heard stories about CRAZY rushes in the south, but by 1984 in the Midwest, all the gifts were gone. Even the fancy construction paper name tags were gone. I didn't know about the gifts at pref, but I did hear that rushees would send the sororities gifts, like pizza for the house during member selection. Can you imagine? I don't know if that's actually true, however.

I've heard about alum chapters sending gifts "on behalf" of PNMs from their area, but that may very well be urban legend, as the source didn't seem that reliable. Anyone know for sure whether this practice was once common or acceptable?

I'm with ya psy. My sister told me a lot of stories about sorority life that were less than factual, so although I can imagine these things happening in another era, I can't say it is true. I'd be interested to hear the stories though if they are.

I can't fathom what rush must have cost years ago. Where did the money come from? Pledging rich girls must have been higher priority than anything else. I can just hear it - screw her grade point, can she pony up for the pref gifts next year?

Being in the South and having attending Alabama, I can tell you that at some places, things are still extremely costly at some places. While most of the food is gone now - some do drinks but nothing else - and favors are pretty much totally gone - the decorations are insanely costly. Flowers for pref alone would rival a royal wedding. How I wish no frills would really come to pass! When a chapter spends thousands for cream roses at pref...that's over the top. And yes, all recruitment costs are in the chapter budget.

As for alums sending gifts/goodies to the chapter house on "behalf" of certain PNMs, yes, that's a fact. Nothing like a little marketing....

I can remember seeing massive floral arrangements in several houses that had been sent "on behalf" of rushees.