In the olden days at my school, mixers were called "woodsies" It involved a keg and a bonfire and I'll leave it at that. How any of us survived the '60's I'll never know. I am about to celebrate my 50th high school reunion so at least most of us did and are now grandparents with kids in college.

I wish someone who was of a creative bent would finish it off for all of us.

I read it too
 

Although I skimmed much of it, especially the jabs at her. Disappointed it was never finished but then again, I like imagining what could have happened. A classic for sure.

Ok, so I was watching a video that Barcelona posted a few days ago and I noticed a picture of them at a mixer. It didn't stay up long so I'm thinking maybe this is something they just don't emphasize. It actually makes me like them more because I know that even though they go out, they push their philanthropy and academics much more. It would make me feel much better if I had to skip an event to catch up on homework or something.

Can't you ask your recruitment counselor?

No kidding, I need an ending! What was that "thing"? Where did Recruitment pledge? Aspen like her sister Sydney? Taos? What happened to Callie, did she pull strings for Vail? What about her Mother???

I just need some closure. It's like Season 1 ended and we are all waiting for a Season 2 that got cancelled. :mad:

Back on the day at Illinois, they were called exchanges. We had 4 exchanges per year. These were one-on-one parties with a fraternity, and the way they "asked" was by serenading the semester prior. The chapter would vote on all the invitations and pick the 2 per semester they wanted to accept. Some were themed, most were not. No one except members of that fraternity and sorority could attend.

Exchanges were totally different from other social events. They were more official. Of course, back then Bid Day was an official event hosted by a fraternity (my how things have changed) as well.

Fall semester
Bid Day (sorority formally matched up with a fraternity)
Football block (formal match up with fraternity)
Barn dance (date party)
Stocking/winter formal (date party)
2 exchanges (matched with a fraternity)

Spring semester
Pledge dance (date party put on by "pledges")
Atius (Mom's day show - official pairing with a fraternity)
Rose formal (date party)
2 exchanges (matched with a fraternity)

There were tons of other events too, but that was the backbone of the sorority social calendar. it seemed like the other chapters all had similar set ups.

At my school we had:

* formals (usually 1-2 per year, hosted by an individual sorority or fraternity for members/dates only).
* date parties (hosted by one or two groups, usually on a Saturday night - either sorority/sorority or fraternity/fraternity for the duos - usually themed and often the same theme annually)
* weekends (fraternities often hosted a date party one night and then a formal the next - both usually with the same date... some had week-long parties with an event every night for members/dates - Old South for KA and Paddy Murphy for SAE were like this, some were out of town for part or all of the weekend)
* mixers (1/1 or 2/2 sorority/fraternity, usually on a Friday night... we had a few 3/3 before national organizations pulled the plug on the multi-sponsor events - always themed and at the fraternity's house - closed to members only until 11 pm and then it became an open party for girls and "guest list" men)
* presentation (sororities only - fall formal dinner/dance with parents where the new member class for the year is "presented" formally)
* football blocks (arranged seating for 1-2 organizations in the stadium for a home game - usually fraternity/sorority or fraternity plus dates - often with a pre and/or post event)
* charity parties (gigantic fraternity parties on steroids where tickets were sold to the general public - at my school the often featured big name entertainers in 5,000 person venues - Pikefest was the most famous back in my day)
* pledge mixers (fraternity/sorority on a Thursday night, new members only)

A typical Friday night found us going to a mixer - usually our own first and then we'd make the rounds ending up at whatever house was our favorite at the time. (It was common for new members to show up at 9:00, actives to come at 9:45, and seniors at 10:30... Not sure why we dd that, but we did.)

A Saturday generally involved either football (and associated pre/post parties), a date party, or if it was a "big" weekend, one of the charity parties (everyone Greek pretty much went to those). If you didn't have one of those things, you went out dancing or to house parties at off-campus apartments or houses.

I now look back and realize where we got our party school reputation - we usually had more on our social calendar for a month than most chapters I see now have in an entire year.

Seriously! There needs to be a disclaimer saying: Reader Beware-Story Never Finished! I spent almost two hours reading the thread and I have no idea what happened to Callie! Did Sydney and Sequin Hose grow up to be part of OJs legal dream team? Did Miss America Mom disown her daughter for pledging Taos? And most importantly, why didn't Sequin Hose believe in starting her sentences with capital letters (did she not pay her assistant overtime)? I don't know! I'll never know!

@pinkglitter. I hope you have a fabulous recruitment! Can't wait to hear the rest of your story!!

^^^^ this!^^^ I seriously almost cried yesterday afternoon when I found out that she was never going to finish. Then I had to think long and hard about who needed therapy more- the one who wrote it, or myself, for being soooo wrapped up in it that I am desolate that it was not finished and I will never know what happens to Cowgirl Callie:D:D:D.... FSUZeta Thank you for pointing out that Pinkglitter is the one that found it.... PINKGLITTER YOU ARE MY NEW "RUSH CRUSH"!!!! :p I love you for finding this for me!!!

I'm so excited! And I just can't hide it!
 

@oldolemiss - Thanks!

Update
This really isn't as much of an update as it is me venting my excitement. I met my Pi Chis yesterday (can't say much about them bc I think they way the introduce themselves may be specific to my school). I am soooo excited about tomorrow and could barely sleep last night. When I finally did sleep, I kept dreaming about recruitment (lame, I know).

I had to make myself stop reading recruitment stories because it's making me a bit anxious. I'm hoping to get into London, Milan, or Barcelona. Of course that could change. But so far, they seem to have everything I'm looking for and speculation helps calm me down a bit.

My mom and I stayed up ALLLL night talking about it. She's just as excited as I am. Everyone in my family has always gone NPHC if they went greek, so I would be the 1st Panhellenic. My mom told me she is proud of me for following my heart instead of being worried what others will think. I haven't told any of my family other than her and 2 cousins yet because my dad will be furious, so I'm glad that so far everyone I've told is excited for me and very supportive.

Ok, sorry for the long post. That's all I've got for now. :D

Your mom sounds awesome! It's great to hear how supportive she is. And she's right, follow your heart and it doesn't matter what other people think!

Thanks! She really is awesome :)

,

I KNOW!!! Me too, I think I screamed out loud: NOOOOOOOO. Right there with you about therapy question....:D

I hope she comes back to finish this thread and that the delay is due to her finding a sisterhood to join!

I remember Pinkglitter saying that she would post after recruitment is over. Hope she is having fun and rush is going her way!

Philanthropy Day
 

Okay, guys. I'm finally ready to post. I'm going to add a small bit of background so you can understand my full experience.

First off, I'm a senior. I have a few years left because I switched majors, but still, I'm a senior. I was very afraid what this might mean for my chances, but I still wanted to try. I'm a transfer student and have NO friends at my school so it has been lonely. I knew being in a sorority is just what I needed. I went through Spring Recruitment last semester, but didn't finish for personal reasons. I was considered a junior then, and all summer I wondered if I should have just done Spring Recruitment.

PHILANTHROPY DAY

The first day of recruitment at my school is philanthropy day. I was so excited! I had been waiting for this day all summer and even had a countdown going. Okay, here goes:

London - I went here first. The girl I met was really sweet. The conversation was awkward at first but then it became more natural. I think it was just because I was so nervous. We watched a video on the philanthropy which I personally related to (Can't say how without saying what the philanthropy they have). After the video we talked a little bit more, but the party was soon over. I liked this house but wasn't wowed.

Milan - I went to this house expecting to be completely in love. Like I said, I had met some of these girls before and I thought we really got along. My conversation with the first girl was completely awkward. We had nothing in common it seemed and I had to fill empty silences with saying how excited I was. After the 3rd time saying it, I'm sure I seemed a little weird, but what was i to do. The next girl I talked to was even worse. Occasionally, she'd look around like she knew it too. There was a SUPER long pause in our convo. I knew I wouldn't be asked back here.

Barcelona - Ok, I had the most AWESOME time in here. The 2 girls I talked to had soooo much in common with me. We talked about just about everything. We watched a video of they're philanthropy and I loooooved it. I could see myself here and felt like it was my home.

Paris - Did not like this one at all. The girl seemed to just be rambling on about facts about her sorority and never mentioned her sisterhood until I said "I'm excited for the sisterhood part". At which she said, "Oh, I love my sisters. We're always together" or something like that and continued spitting out facts.

New York City - This house was still just ok. Although i will say that I loved the philanthropy. Like Pais this girl seemed to be rambling out facts. However, when I met other girls, they did a better job of making it more conversational while also giving info. I think the 1st girl was just nervous. She did mention that this was her first time doing recruitment. I did find it comforting that she was 23 and was 22 when she pledged (my current age). Maybe that's why they had her pick me up. Not sure but if so, great idea. Unfortunately, I had read something about them that tainted my opinion. I know that's bad, but it's true so..

After all the parties I ranked them:

Barcelona
London
Milan
New York City
Paris

I was considering posting it all today. Let me know if you guys want more.

I vote yes!

Yes!!!

Post it ALL! Hold nothing back!

Co-sign on the posting all!

Ugh, philanthropy day on the first day is one of the worst ideas I've ever heard.

SISTERHOOD DAY

Our next day of recruitment is Sisterhood Day. This is the day I was most looking forward to (except Bid Night) because this was the most important to me. We came in and got our schedule and I got:

London
New York City

I was super bummed that Barcelona didn't ask me back because they were my favorite. I was also bummed to only have 2 (out of 4) parties but was grateful because some girls, not many, only got 1 back and others were completely dropped.

London - I loved the chant these girls did. Even now, it's stuck in my head. The first girl I talked to was very sweet and we had a great conversation, al though I can't remember it. We watched the sisterhood video next. I can't remember it for the life of me but remember it being cute. After that another girl picked me up. We spent the next few minutes talking about sisterhood and the rest talking about our dogs. lol I liked them but felt no strong connection like with Barcelona. I didn't think I would though. I can see myself here.

New York City - The first girl who picked me up was really sweet. We talked to me about their sisterhood, living in the house, how they had the highest GPA on campus, and some upcoming mixers and events. After that we watched the sisterhood video, which was the favorite video of the whole week. It really showed their personality. So cute! After that I talked to another girl. We talked about their study programs, my major, and a bunch of other things.

Honestly at the end of this day, I couldn't choose, which was fine because I only had 2 which is the max for Pref Day

Hoping that you got them both back.

About 5am Sunday morning, the morning of Pref Day, I got a call from my Pi Chi. She said I had been released from Recruitment. I held it together on the phone but as soon as I hung up I cried so much. I drove to see my mom and we spent the day watching movies and went to eat. I felt a little better but every once in a while, I'd think about it and cry again.

We rented more movies and I ended up falling asleep on the couch. Then my phone rang. The number was a Kentucky number and I started not to answer it, but I have a new phone and thought it may be an unsaved number. When I answered it, the girl on the line told me that someone had dropped before Bid Night started and I was next on the list.

"Do you want to accept the bid?" she asked.
"Oh my God! Yes!" I said trying not to shout.
"You have to be at the school by 6:00" she said.

I looked at my watch and noticed it was 5:45. I hurried and got dressed and sped all the way to the school. I smiled the whole time, already knowing whose house I belonged to and when it was announced for us to look at our cards, I ripped mine open, read what I always knew and ran all the way..



:o




:)





:D





New York City!!!



Also known as....

















ZETA TAU ALPHA!!!!!


I must admit, I wasn't completely thrilled at first. They weren't my absolute first choice. But I was a senior, and they wanted me when no one else did. Even if I wasn't top pick, who cared?! As soon as I ran to them, it all changed. My Crown Sister was soooo sweet and as I talked to her someone tapped me on the shoulder. It was a girl I'd met the first day who I'd absolutely clicked with. We screamed and hugged and I was so happy. Later, as I mingled at Bid Night, I realized that this was where I was meant to be. I got along so well with all the girls I talked to and we had soooo much in common. I love being a Zeta already. And you know what they say... Only the best get crowned!!!

Congratulations!

Whoa so different now!! I would say most sororities have 6-8 exchanges a semester now, with maybe one of them being a big one per year. We have dinner announcements at the beginning of the semester where fraternities stop and bring gifts (flowers, a song/skit, food) to the sororities and ask us to keep them in mind for an exchange this year). Sororities do the same for fraternities, although the gift is always food! Then there is a social chair barcrawl that the social chairs go on and socialize and basically mingle to meet one another to pair up for exchanges. There is no chapter voting, but I think social chairs tend to take unofficial suggestions.

Your standard exchanges are just a mixer that is ALWAYS themed at an on or off campus bar. Sometimes you just have a Friday night happy hour that’s very casual. Then there’s usually one BIG exchange a year such as a Bulls Game/Blackhawks Game/Cubs Game/Cards Game (no love for my Sox) or something like a Riverboat exchange (I was not around when my chapter finally did one—you basically drive to wherever they have those Riverboat cruises…Don’t know much more info).

We still have football block in the fall—sounds like that’s exactly the same. Barn dance is so popular that it’s held in the fall and spring now (that trend started my senior year). Semi formals are usually in the fall, with formals in the spring. We still do Atius although it’s very much focused on the new member classes only and are not considered too big of an event, socially. Impromptus were pretty popular a few years ago—you get like a 2 day warning that you’re going to have a “date” event (usually just at an off campus bar) and it’s kind of semi formal attire.

Fraternities are pretty much the same as the above, although I think they all still do pledge dances (my husband’s did) and a lot of them have their big “trade mark” event that are pretty much for their chapter and then a certain number of invites. I know my husband’s chapter did “Samoa”, an island/tropical party that I know has been going on since at LEAST the 70s, cause I saw a picture in a yearbook lol My brother’s does Double Trouble (or Block Party—I think the name changed at some point) where it’s just a big shared party between his fraternity and the neighboring fraternity. AEPi always had a foam party when I was there. And I cannot think of any others. Fail :(

Back to the thread...

CONGRATS ON ZETA TAU ALPHA!!!!!!!! :) :) :)

Congrats!

That's awesome!

Awwww...Congrats! Your story had a few ups and downs, didn't it?! Enjoy!

Contratulations!! What a cliff-hanger!

Congratulations!

Congrats! I'm so glad you found a home :)

Yes, there definitely were. But in glad it happened the way it did. I feel so grateful now. I love my sisters already.

Congratulations! My sister and cousin are both Zetas. They're chapter sisters. My sister was a junior when our cousin went through recruitment and our cousin preffed Zeta and Gamma Phi, so we were fighting over her! :)

love that you have found your home, you have many years ahead to enjoy ZTA. remember that invisible crown...

Congrats! I am so happy for you! What a great sisterhood to be a part of!

I am so glad that you were open to accepting a bid to a sorority that was not a favorite in the beginning. I hope that you will enjoy your collegiate ZTA time, and remember that we alumnae will be waiting to welcome you with open arms into the alumnae world!

Your happy, although somewhat nerve wracking, ending made me smile. You sound like a wonderful young lady with a good head on her shoulders! Best wishes as you get to know your chapter and have all kinds of fun! :D

I teared up when I read your post. Congrats!