I talked to Annie, my technical but mostly absent Rho Gamma about what I should do when we got back to the Armory. I was pretty sure that 42nd Street was going to be first and Wicked second, but I wasn’t sure if I should rank Hairspray or not. I had heard that when you don’t rank all three chapters, you have a lower chance of getting a bid. Now we know it makes you ineligible for quota additions. Obviously that is way too complicated to explain to a PNM. Annie put it plainly, “I don't think you have to worry, but would you rather have Hairspray or no sorority?” I was thinking no sorority given the dichotomy, so I ranked 42nd Street first and Wicked second. I guessed that LaRhonda was in Phantom of the Opera and that Annie was in Sound of Music, only because I had overheard a conversation, but I really had no idea which chapter she was in based on her personality. I felt good leaving the Armory that I would be happy in either chapter.

Bid day!
 

It is Wednesday finally, and it is bid day. I did not get a phone call from my Rho Gamma and that means that I got a bid! I went to the Union and decided to hang out outside the PG Room and do some homework for 45 minutes before bid pick up---I had to be first!

Noon rolls around and PHA calls out the numbers of the Rho Gammas that are there, and of course like my crazy self, I got in there first from my group...

I walked up to Annie's table, and smiled. She handed me an envelope...






































and it wasn't mine. Rinse and repeat once more before I had to tell her my name because she couldn't remember. Then she handed me an envelope with my name on it...









































for 42nd Street or Sigma Kappa as many of you have guessed by now! Annie asked me if I was happy, but I was already jumping up and down, but LaRhonda knew I got Sigma Kappa! I gave both of them big hugs and thanked LaRhonda for making me stick it out!

My friend Danielle went Anything Goes
Stephanie went Phantom of the Opera
Both Annie and LaRhonda are members of Phantom of the Opera

Katie, from my theater class was my heart sister on bid day. I saw Sarah and Kelly on bid day and they were so happy that I joined Sig Kap! Our bid day shirts were really cool. They were baseball tees, white with red sleeves. The front left had what looked like a Special K logo but it said Sigma K instead, and the back said, "Treat yourself right!" We took pictures and went to Hard Rock Cafe in DC. I was so overwhelmed but in a good way!

Sarah later became my big. :) She told me that she wanted to pref me and be my heart sister but other people beat he to it and she's not one to fight.

Yay! for a happy ending! (even though we already knew there was one) :)

What a great story...with (we already knew it) a happy ending!

Hooray! I win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

I thought it was so funny that you picked 42nd Street and Anything Goes before I said a word, since they were among my favorites.

YAYYY! Even though we knew it was good ending, it was still great to hear what bid day was like!

Wicked is Delta Gamma!
Therefore, Hairspray is Alpha Delta Pi.

I choose to believe we are Wicked in the New England sense of the word (e.g. Wicked Awesome). ;)

This made me think of the Sans, Fallon, and Dratch SNL skits of the kids from Boston, right?

I LOVE those! Don't forget about Ben Affleck!

Those sketches were spot on! :)

Lessons Learned
 

Things I did right:

1. I kept an open mind. At schools with a deferred recruitment, it is almost impossible to go into recruitment without pre-conceived notions about some of the chapters, but I didn't let my friend Richard dissuade me from chapters that I liked, and I didn't try so hard to be in the "top" chapters that he talked up if I felt like it was a bad fit.

2. I stuck it out through preference. Even though I was disappointed about not being invited back to Anything Goes, I went to preference and found my home. You can drop out of recruitment at any time, so why drop out before you have the full story?

Things I could've done better:

1. I should have known what to expect. Talking to Jessie might have helped me to know what goes on at each party so I could mentally prepare myself for the chanting, the rotating conversations, etc.

2. I should have known where I was supposed to be and when. I guess this wasn't really my fault as much as it was the fault of OFSL not assigning me a Rho Gamma in due time and/or my Rho Gamma not contacting me. I had class all day, but I had my cell phone on me and I was waiting for a call.

This is what I was most impressed by in your story! I can't imagine how hard it would be to do this with deferred recruitment.

Continuing the hijaking,

I totally agree. There were a few chapters when I went through rush that tried to "sell! sell! sell!", but I felt there were also chapters who would just stop trying (or worse, not try at all) when the actives realize that the PNM wants nothing to do with the chapter. Nothing depresses me more than a "I give up" attitude.

Okay, how horrible do you think this idea is: have each active in your chapter "rank" all the chapters at the school from the best to the worst on secret ballots, and see where, on average, your own chapter stands (as far as how your chapter percieves itself)? It was just an idea I came up with, but I'm not sure if it would help or hurt the morale, if say your chapter ranked itself 5 out of 10. I think that if you had a very inspirational, motivational officer, that person could turn the whole thing into a learning experience, and try to change the attitudes of actives to a "we are the best!" attitude pre-recruitment. I guess it could go the other way- no one ever really wants to hear where you "rank" unless it's #1!