We actually didn't use the term "mixer" either. We called parties with just one fraternity and one sorority a "dessert." They were the most common type of parties on my campus and members of another sorority showing up would not have been looked well upon.

And all this time I thought that the way we did it was the way it was done everywhere. Nope! Different campuses, different traditions. I'm always learning new things on GC. :D

We used the term "mixer". The only people welcome at the mixer were members of the hosting fraternity and members of the invited sorority. But mixers usually took place preceding a party hosted by the fraternity. So the mixer might start at, say, 8pm, and at 10pm the fraternity would bust out the booze and start the actual party. At that point, anyone with a college ID could get in. (This was back in the Stone Age, when fraternities actually had open parties. :p )

So ... if you join sorority X, and you have a friend in sorority Y, and sorority Y is having a mixer with fraternity Z ... you wouldn't be able to tag along to the mixer, but if there's a party following the mixer, your friend in sorority Y could potentially get you on the invite list. Or, if you have a friend in fraternity Z, he could put you on the invite list.

One of the things spending 5 minutes on this site teaches you is everything you know about sorority life means about jack squat where it applies to everyone else. There are nearly as many ways to have a vibrant and successful Greek system as there ARE Greek systems.

Indiana and Iowa are pretty similar in the demographics, student population, etc. (of course, Indiana is a bit larger), but the way they handle their social calendar is COMPLETELY different than the experience I had. Ours better? Theirs better? I guess it depends on how much priority you put on parties. At Iowa there were seldom open parties and you would have been VERY odd to show up at an exchange (a social as Indiana SigKap defined it). And the multi-chapter parties weren't unheard of, but was uncommon. Like Monmouth Duo was a big one every year, but it's pretty clear who was invited to that! Ok, and their dates. The one variation there is the parties that happened in conjunction with philanthropies. The parties at the end of Derby Days or the Beta softball tournament were open parties, but I don't recall any open parties that weren't also part of a philanthropy. One result, I think, is less mixing between the sororities, and the fraternities who didn't make it onto your exchange calendar. So there's a real benefit to the system she describes. Presuming you can handle your alcohol that is ;)

I am learning a lot tonight. I just assumed that everyone had big parties (4-ways and 6 ways). Usually 6-ways were around Little 500 and you were bussed to an outside venue and you had to have 6 chapters to pay for the band and rental space. Thursday night was low key like a house party or room parties. Friday was a usually an in house DJ and Saturdays were paired parties with a band or themed with a DJ.

If we wanted to have a "social" with a fraternity, we usually had a dinner exchange. We invited 10 or so guys over for dinner, then they hosted dessert, by dessert I mean adult beverages.

I'm so glad the last word of that last sentence was beverages...;)

The chapter I advise, and my daughter's campus are polar opposites when it comes to parties, socials/mixers, etc.

It's like the 80s never ended at her campus (this is what our Director of Student Life told me when comparing the two!). Everyone accepts this as par for the course.

At our campus, the letter of the law is followed for all events...no alcohol at any mixers, and only 21+ students can drink at formals and date parties. Everyone accepts this as par for the course.

Anyway, good luck to you, Pinkglitter! Enjoy your recruitment! Pay no mind to us ADHD ladies for side-tracking your story! :o

You found it!

Pinkglitter, it may be that the sorority who doesn't do mixers has other parties instead of mixers.

Thank you guys for all your info. It's pretty interesting. And no worries on sidetracking the thread. I won't be posting on recruitment till Friday and enjoy reading you all's experiences in the meantime.

AFter reading around the forums, I've decided I won't be posting until after Bid Night (which is Sunday). My school's Greek Life is kind of small and I think I would have to leave out a LOT of important info to avoid revealing who I am. I hope you all don't mind, but I don't want to ruin my chances because of something I said on GC.

That is a good idea. Please come back and let us know how everything went. Good luck!

Completely understandable! Wishing you a successful recruitment...without that one thing. ;)

I do hope you got to read through some of the thread you found, it is quite legendary....Someone makes a reference to it at least a couple of times a year.

I think that mixer is a generic term. Ohio State calls them TGs: Themed Gatherings. They were called TGs when I was in school; 30 years later, they still are. Typically, TGs were held on Fridays, so most non-Greeks thought it meant TGIF.

Great idea!

I hope you enjoy recruitment.

Good idea and best of luck to you. PLEASE come back and update us when you are done.

FSUZeta- wow... just wow... I have spent the better part of the day combing through the treasure trove that you found and posted!!! my mind is completely blown!!! :-)

Don't know what is worse - the thread itself or that I read 21 pages of it. Is it wrong that I wished she had finished her thread so I knew what happened to sweet Callie even if she was make believe?