There are about 4 or 5 Rho Chis at each party. They walk in every bedroom to make sure we have pictures covered of alcohol or anything Panhellenic considers inappropriate. We rush our girls in the formal room, and they stand in the entranceway to make sure we aren't breaking any rules, like hotboxing, but they don't enter the room. A lot of the time, especially towards the end of the week, they just sit around on the couches until the party is over.

What's hotboxing?

What is hotboxing? I've never heard that term before...

Our Panhel folks would stop by just before parties started and would check things out. The RC stayed on the porch outside the party, and if a Panhel person was there, they were outside too. The RC only came in once when I was the Recruitment chair Sr. year, and that was b/c someone got faint and had to be escorted to the bathroom! :) She ended up becoming a Theta, haha!

We used to check inside the party rooms before the day's parties started to make sure they were all decorated according to rules. Other than that, we sat outside during the parties, and would duck our heads in to tell them when there was only five minutes left.

Usually "hotboxing" includes intentionally separating a PNM and engaging in intimidating conversation or being in a situation where there are more than two active members with one potential member.

Someone feel free to correct me if I"m wrong. That's how I've always understood it.

This is the only usage I've ever heard for hotboxing, but I really hope they weren't doing it at a party: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hotbox (The first two definitions here)

LOL, and it was the really elegant sorority too! OTW has the definition right.

And thanks Alphagamuga, I suppose I do have a fun life!

There will be about 4 or 5 at each party. Then Panhellenic Execs will come around as well. They usually just hang out in corners of the room where the party is and watch. The head of Greek Life will also stop in to probably at least one party at each house.

In year's past there have also been members of other sororities (like people from their headquarters) who have watched parties. This has only been done twice that I can remember and those headquarters officials have to get permission of the chapters and from what I've understand the chatpers can say no to having them. However, I don't think anyone told them no!

At mine, Rho Chi's are present at open house (usually put in a corner and given a cup of hot chocolate) and at a novelty party of a house they're not a member of. They *are* permitted to attend their own final party if the chapter allows them to. We're not an NPC campus so ours is a bit different.

Can we please have a thread where Carnation just reminisces endlessly about SEC rush back in the day? Please?

That would be heaven to read...come on C, it really would be a blast to read your memories!

Our rho chis would do "pop-ins" during parties, to make announcements to the PNMs. Basically this boiled down to logistical announcements like "Remember to pick up your invitations tomorrow at <time> at <location>" and the oft-repeated "Keep your options open, and call your parents!" That was pretty much it... we were there to keep the PNMs informed, not look for rush violations.

We had a visit from one of DG's NPC reps this fall and she told our Panhel that they were not allowed to have recruitment counselors or Panhel execs in our house during our parties. Parties are private events and only those women who have been invited may be in attendance. They are still allowed to come before the parties and check the decorations or skit.

I can't tell you how happy I was to hear that! A couple years ago we put a recruitment counselor in the office during our pref party and found her taking detailed notes on our party a few minutes later when we came to offer her refreshments!

Ditto on this for UF. The only time the Pi Chis were allowed to 'attend' a party was during the video round, and that was by invitation only (although I can't think of a single chapter that didn't invite them to watch). They stood in the very back corner of the room. If there was a Panhel Exec member there, she usually timed the video with her stopwatch to make sure it wasn't over time, but we'd already submitted the videos for review before recruitment began, so it was more of a double-check than anything else.

I am in favor of this! We could provide topics to prompt some memories, like maybe in the form of awards: for example, this thread's story might be Most Creative Use of a Toilet During a Rush Party.

Or for the arm punching PNM in orange and purple: Most Original Costume.

I suggest Best Corrupted Rush Chant as the next topic.