Why would you want a new member who didn't like chocolate?:D
j/k - and I love the pearl candy idea!

Not for pref...but for our skit night, we served pink lemonaid, sherley temples, and water with limes. For the pink lemonaid, we rimmed the glasses with pink sugar crystals and the sherley temples had red sugar crystals. It looked super cute.

So two years ago (as UCFADPi said, no food only beverages) we got in trouble for having lemons on our water cups!! Talking about no frills, that would definitely cause a stir up!!

But it is very pretty!!

Tell us! Tell us!

ditto what IvySpice said!!

Oh yeah, back in the 80's right before campuses started going No Frills, the Rush budgets were outrageous. Food, drink, decorations, you name it we had it. I was at the University of Illinois, I can't even imagine how things were at University of Alabama and other SEC schools. It had to be mind boggling -- and ridiculously expensive! The Advisor in me is now looking back thinking "What a waste! Oh, the wonderful things we could have done with that money!"

I remember being absolutely stuffed after the leaving the last Chapter on Pref Night. I could have easily skipped eating as I'd already filled up at the other 2 beforehand, but I didn't want to appear rude.

Yep. You'll get ice water and some sodas, and that's it. On pref night, they may make some kind of fruit punch. Don't worry. You'll get fed on Bid Day! ;)

Make sure to eat breakfast and carry a power bar or something with you to recruitment (your recruitment counselor will watch it-- longingly-- when you're in a party). Bring a water bottle and some breath mints, too!

Every campus is different, but most should allow you to carry some sort of bag or purse. You just probably won't be allowed to take it into the parties. The Recruitment Councelor will watch over it, but even still I would leave anything of value at home. Also even if you have pockets don't bring anything in.

Things to leave at home:

- Cash/Credit cards
- Cell phones or other electronics
- Perfume (too many people are allergic)

Things to bring:

- Snack/power bar
- Makeup & those face oil blotter things (tissuepaper like things)
- Hairbrush, hairspray & mirror
- Breath mints (no gum as it's too easy to forget to spit out)
- Deoderant (the clear kind)
- Any medication you might need (like an inhaler, one PNM last year missed a few parties because she had to go home to get hers)
- Recruitment book, notepad, & pen
- Drinks should be provided at each party, but you may want to bring your own like maybe a sports drink
- Depending on the location of the sororities on your campus, some comfortable shoes to change into to walk between parties
- Femine products if necessary (Every year we have at least one PNM that is in need of something, so check your cycle ahead of time. How embarrassing to have an accident.)

Bring a purse or backpack or just a large plastic ziplock baggie with your name on it. Either way, lock your cell phone and money into the car and bring with you:

* Keys (so you can get back into the car!)
* Water bottle (helps to bring a frozen bottle with you that will melt as the day goes on)
* umbrella (it rains in the afternoon!)
* face powder or blotting papers
* lip gloss
* breath mints or strips
* a power bar or some crackers
* a notepad and pen
* tampon (just in case!)/emergency medicines (inhaler, epi-pen) that you would normally have
* Your PNM nametag

Any more makeup than that will melt, even under the tent. (Trust me, I learned the hard way when I was in your shoes! Wear waterproof mascara and break in your shoes beforehand because you will be doing a lot of standing!)

Your recruitment counselor will hold your stuff for you when you are in the houses. You can trust her!

You can't bring anything into the house with you except for yourself and an index card with your name and PNM ID# on it. You'll get this index card from your recruitment counselor and you'll hand it off to the sorority sister who greets you at the door when you enter a party. She'll pocket it and then you don't take anything out of the house with you.

Hope this helps!

^^ Great advice!

If you can't find actual blotting papers, try cutting coffee filters to "face size". The cone-shaped ones work better (because they're flat), and they'll take away the perspiration without messing up your makeup.

Our Panhellenic doesn't do this. But it is such a simple yet brilliant idea I immediately fired off an email to our Greek Advisor suggesting it.

Every year, every party, we have the same problems over and over, trying to remember "Was that the Jane Smith from Hoover or Huntsville?" or having a PNM go by a nickname but she registered under her full name. We do our best trying to keep everyone straight, but with so many PNMs going through it's tough. I'm sure every other Chapter on campus has the same problems too.

Thanks!

crabtree and evelyn sells an inexpensive little booklet of face blotting papers-smaller than a pack of cards and very convenient.

It's extremely low-tech, too! In most cases, they're just simple index cards. At the beginning of the day, the PNM is given one card for each party she will be attending and she writes her name and ID number on it. The recruitment counselor holds the cards and hands you one before each party. You go into your party, shake hands with the girl who greets you and she takes your card. It's a great way to make sure that the girl WAS there and in most cases, you as a sister are only rushing 1-2 girls, so surely you'll remember the person who you greeted at the door if you have her card in your hand!

Go with the ziplock. In fact, when I was going through Recruitment, my counselor had ziplocks for us, so we wouldn't bring purses/backpacks. They said they didn't want to carry around our purses/backpacks, and I agree - I'm going to be a recruitment counselor this next recruitment and I respect not wanting to be responsible for 10-20 purses/backpacks other than my own tote. Ziplocks I can handle.