Gosh, don't you know that there always has to be a twist in a retro-thread?

Sure, but since there are just four -- why don't I name them at the end, ok?

Chapter 2
 

The 1st Round (Open House) and the 2nd Round (Ice Water Teas) the rushees attended parties at all 4 groups. The only thing served as refreshments at second round was, you guessed it – ice water. No fancy glasses or lemon wedges – just ice & water in a plastic cup! The conversations at this round were more in depth, since the parties lasted longer. Each group performed a short skit at the end of their party.

At the Emerald suite, Nut found herself surrounded by 4 or 5 members and it seemed like she was responsible for carrying the conversation. The girls there seemed nice and polite and genuinely interested in Nut.

The Sapphire sorority seemed a bit smaller in size, but Nut saw her OA and that made her very comfortable at this party. Some of Nut’s high school classmates had already pledged this sorority at the hometown university.

The Ruby group was Nut’s favorite group. She was introduced to many different sisters. They seemed to really like each other and were having a lot of fun. Their short skit at the end of the party was a take-off on Saturday Night Live. Nut enjoyed Weekend Update with Dan Akroyd and Jane Curtain – and the member who played the role of Roseanne Rosanna Danna!

The Pearl sorority was considered one of the best groups at Topia based on the things Nut and her friends had heard on campus. The girls were attractive and confident. Lots of blondes! A friend of Nut and Carol’s had pledged this group at Auburn a few weeks earlier.

Rush at UTopia was held during the first week of school. The campus cafeteria was the place to see and be seen. All of the sororities and fraternities had areas of the dining room where they congregated. As Nut and Carol were getting in line for lunch one day, a couple of the Rubies asked them to sit at their table! How exciting. As Nut and Carol exited the serving area, a member of the Pearl group waved and asked them to join their table. Ut oh. “Thank you,” Nut said, “but we’ve already been asked to sit over here.”

On Tuesday night, members of Pearl walked with Nut and her friends to fraternity row for parties. You see, Topia didn’t have school on Wednesdays (“Wonderful Wednesday”), so Tuesday night was a big party night. Once the girls began talking to the Pearls, the sorority members realized Nut and her friends were from the same city in Tennessee and had gone to the same high school as four current sophomore members of Ruby. Once they arrived at the Sigma Nu lodge, the Pearls drifted away and members of Ruby greeted the girls. Kay introduced Nut and Carol to Leslie, her RA. Leslie was great fun – we knew she was in a sorority, but not sure which one. Kegs of beer and PGA punch were served at each fraternity lodge. Members of Pearl and Ruby cautioned us about the punch – especially the “Yellow Fever” punch at the Kappa Sig lodge. It tasted like lemonade and many freshman girls didn’t realize it contained alcohol.

Aww, espadrilles and Saturday Night Live with the original cast. Oh how I miss the 70s!

I'm loving your story, Nut. :) Apparently there wasn't any 'silence' rule at the time, huh?

Loving the story, and I was about to ask about the silence period too!

Off topic - NutBrnhair, are you the "Star of the County Down"?:) Cause I always sang that to my daughter, who also has nut brown hair . . .

No silence until pref round. I know that it was crazy, but honestly -- we did get to know the sorority women a lot more than just a 15 minute conversation at the rush party.

Hmmm...not familiar with that song. My screen name comes from the little bunny named Lil Nut Brown Hare in the children's book "Guess How Much I Love You?" Plus, I have brown hair!

Star of the County Down
 

...she looked so sweet, from her two bare feet
to the crown of her nut brown hair,
such a winsome elf, that I pinched myself,
for to see if I was really there.

. . .no maid I've seen like the brown colleen that I met at the County Down!

Chapter 3
 

For the next round of Rush (Invitationals), the rushees could attend up to 3 parties. Nut received invitations to all four and decided to regret the invite from the Emeralds. In her mind, it was between the Emeralds and the Sapphires, but her OA was a Sapphire – plus, she had friends at home who were Sapphires, so she kept this group for another round.

Again during this round Nut recalls most everyone wore sundresses or skirts and blouses. Very few wore slacks – remember…it was Middle Georgia in late August! The parties were longer this round – maybe 45 minutes each. The decorations and themes were more elaborate in most of the suites.

The Pearl group had created a Cabaret in their suite. The rushees were seated at card tables for four. If room permitted, a member of Pearls also sat in a chair or knelt beside the rushee to which she was talking. At one point during this party, Nut and Carol were seated next to the noisy window air-conditioner with 2 other rushees and no member of the organization was talking to them. The skit began and it was a collection of songs performed by talented members of the group.

Nut then attended the party hosted by the Sapphires. There seemed to be a lot of local (hometown Middle GA) girls in this group. Again, Nut spoke to her OA and was introduced to many sweet and pleasant members. Their skit was similar to the Pearls with singing and dancing.

When Nut entered the Ruby suite, she noticed that there were no elaborate decorations or special seating. After several great conversations with Susan (remember her – the junior who had helped Nut & Carol move into the dorm?) and others, the members asked the rushees to gather in the middle of the room for a “ceremony.” The rushees sat on the floor and were surrounded by the Sisters of Ruby. The lights were dimmed and there were 5 Sisters kneeling in the front of the room. The first one lit a candle and began to tell the rushees that while others try to entertain you tonight – we want to share a part of our Sisterhood with you. Each speaker spoke about a different aspect of the group. The final speaker was Traci, a drama major who held the title of Miss Topia. After her speech – the candle was passed from rushee to rushee before the party ended.

The next day, Kay, Nut’s friend from home said she and her R.A. were going to walk off campus to a local drug store where they made fresh squeezed lemonade and asked if Nut and Carol wanted to go. Oh yes, Kay’s R.A. was Leslie, the one they’d met at the Sigma Nu party! Leslie led the pack of four freshmen down the street for lemonade! They all paid for their own and had great fun laughing at Leslie – she had a terrific sense of humor. There was no discussion of Rush at all, so this little foray kept the rushees minds off of Rush for a bit.

Later in the day, they would find out where they would be attending prefs!

Did the ceremony seem weird in contrast to the other groups doing more lighthearted activities or was it very effective in contrast?

At the time, I liked it -- of course though, Ruby was already my favorite group.

In retrospect, had I been advising the Rubies at that time, I doubt I would have recommended that they make that much of a departure from the norm.

that was quite a departure for the norm, but sometimes thinking outside the box can be a plus!

I could see it working both for the group and against it. It definitely makes them stand out, but some rushees might be put off by the seriousness of the party before Pref. I think I would have liked it, but that's just me.

Anxious to hear more!

NutBrnHair,

I think you are rushing at a school that I know with a chapter of my group. I certainly don't mind waiting for the big reveal, but please, please, please, tell us more.

I think I've got a pretty good mental image of the whole scene.