A Cheesy Disco Retro Recruitment!
 

Hi All –

I’m pretty new to Greek Chat and absolutely love it! These recruitment stories are downright addictive, so I thought I would share mine.

Now, this really is a retro recruitment. I went through what was then known as RUSH back in the fall of 1977! Yes, it was the era of far-out fashions and Farrah hair…dear Heavens, someone really should have TOLD us just how hideous we looked in those super-duper high waisted pants, western wear, jumpsuits and coordinating knits. Let us not forget the feathered hair, winged bangs and super shiny, roll on, fruit flavored lip-gloss. We were stylin, girls…STYLIN’!

There were seven sororities at my university. I’ll reveal the school and chapters at the end, but for now, will name them after the music that had the dance floors packed, the strobe lights strobing and inspired us college girls to wear Danskin body suits with wrap around skirts, and to sprinkle our chests and shoulders with a sparkly poweder called Dazzle Dust…

DISCO!!!!

Here are the sororities:

The Village People (YMCA, Macho Man)
KC and the Sunshine Band (Get Down Tonight, That’s The Way I Like It)
Donna Summer (I Feel Love, Hot Stuff)
The Commodores (Brick House, Three Times a Lady)
The Bee Gees (Stayin’ Alive, Night Fever)
Heat Wave (Boogie Nights, Groove Line)
ABBA (Waterloo, Dancing Queen; okay, they really weren't classified as disco, but we sure loved dancing to their songs!)

I really hope you don’t consider this story TOO retro to be interesting.

School Starts!

I was a very young freshman. My birthday was in October, making me only 17 when I went through September rush. My school was on quarters, so we started later than those on semester systems.

It was mid-September when I moved into my dorm, and boy, has resident housing changed since then! I basically lived in a square box with two other girls. We had a bunk bed and one single – and matching lime green bedspreads. These were a great compliment to the piece of gold, shag carpet we put down on the floor.

Both of my roommates were friends from high school, but neither of them chose to participate in Rush. I headed out for Orientation by myself, but quickly fell in with the many, many girls walking through our tree-lined campus towards the student center... where we would get our first introduction to sorority life...

You're my moms age. ;) Looking forward to the rest!

Oh, ask your mom about those high waisted, flare legged jeans! I'll bet she cringes just like I do. Seriously, they had to be the forerunner to "mom jeans"; thankfully, the straight legged Calvin Kleins came along in '78 or so, and we paired them with Candies slides. Better, much better -- of course, we had nowhere to go but up.

I am reaching the age where I can remember what happened 30 years ago, but not 30 minutes ago...so I think memory will serve me pretty well in telling my recruitment story. I also took a lot of pictures in college and kept scrapbooks, which makes for good references today.

Okay to the very best of my memory...here we go...

Back then, I think computers were the size of a compact car – so there were no PC’s set up in the student center or people toting laptops. They did have tables, though – as well as poster board and magic markers, which were used to designate each table by the first letters of last names: A-F, G-L and so on. We “Rushees”, as we were called, waited our turn in the appropriate line.

Most of us had pre-registered through the mail or at freshman orientation that had been held back in early summer. Our rush forms were in alphabetical order, and the girls working behind the tables were real pros at licking their index fingers and rapidly flipping through the forms – who needed computers!! When they found our form, we were sent to another station where our picture was taken with a Polaroid Instant camera. It was stapled to our rush form and we were then directed to our rush group for the week.

My Rho Chi wasn’t called a Rho Chi. She was simply referred to as a Rush Advisor and I knew from the get-go which sorority she belonged to. That’s because we were all given a booklet that outlined Rush Week, told us a little about Panhellenic and introduced each sorority. There was also a group picture of all the Rush Advisors – and someone had goofed. Next to each Rush Advisor’s name was her sorority! Oops.

My advisor was a Donna Summer – and a SENIOR. A senior in COLLEGE! I remember being both impressed and intimidated. Why, she had to be about 21-years-old! She was mature and professional looking in her polyester peach colored pantsuit, accented with a floral scarf tied around her neck. (She also wore this in the rush book picture) I also remember her hair. While many college women were going with shags, layers, feathers and lion manes, my rush advisor's hair was a bit of a leftover from the Flower Child era. Dark blonde, it fell to the middle of her back, was stick straight and perfectly parted dead center.

Before going on, please let me introduce you to some of the girls in my rush group. I love, love, love cheese and will name them after some of my favorites.

Bleu -- I loved this fellow rushee! She had a jet black Dorothy Hamil haircut, and though a little on the quiet side, was just so incredibly nice. She was a sophomore and had a boyfriend who was…in a FRATERNITY!! Wow! I’d never met anyone who was dating a FRATERNITY guy! How cool was college???

Swiss -- Another fellow rushee I absolutely adored. Her hometown was about six hours north and she really didn’t know many people. We connected right away and only grew closer as the week went on. We made a pact that, no matter which sorority we each joined, we would remain friends!

Extra Sharp -- This girl was stunning. She had a brunette head of Farrah hair and carried a pump bottle of Final Net hairspray in her purse. (Yes, we carried purses back then.) Her hair was so starched, it moved with her head whenever she turned it – but she was an extremely sweet girl who was interested in everyone and did not badmouth any sororities. She was heavily pursued by the sororities.

Gouda – Poor Gouda! She was from a tiny town. The fact that she had gone “away” to school was a huge deal in itself. She had a second cousin who was Donna Summer at another school. Unfortunately, Gouda thought this made her a legacy. She also incorrectly thought that Donna Summer HAD to bid a legacy. She was eager – boy, was she eager – but only for Donna Summer.

Limburger – I’ll name this girl after one of the smelliest cheeses. She often wore the facial expression of someone who had just gotten a whiff of something foul. Seriously, ask her the most simple question and she’d give you a sneering look as if to say, “why should I tell YOU if I think it’s going to rain or not?” She was pretty, but what a snoot.

Brie -- I had gone to high school with Brie. She was really nice and seemed tomboyish. Brie insisted she wasn’t going to pledge a sorority. She was only going through Rush “to meet people.”

Okay, I know this entry is long, but before going to Round 1, I have to tell you what happened the morning of the parties. Extra Sharp lived in my dorm, and she stopped by my room, looking a bit pale and a lot worried (though her hair was perfect). “Did you hear?” She asked

Alarmed, I gasped, “No! What?”

“Each sorority can only take 17 girls!”

Seventeen girls times seven sororities… that’s 119 girls! Whoa, hold on there Nellie! There sure seemed to be a lot more than 119 girls going through Rush. This news could only mean one thing: a lot of girls would not be getting bids.

Now, I don’t think the majority of us rushees even knew what quota was, but somehow, word spread like wildfire that sororities were limited to a max of 17 pledges. As it turned out, quota was higher and this evil #17 was nothing more than a rumor. Unfortunately, a lot of us arrived for Round 1 parties more nervous than we already were. I was also worried because Extra Sharp was worried. I mean, she was sweet, charming, beautiful, cutely dressed and HAD PERFECT HAIR!!! And me? Well, I couldn’t make mine do the Farrah Flip no matter how long I left those electric curlers in! If Extra Sharp thought she was in trouble, what did that mean for me?

My rush advisor did address the rumor, but honestly, I can’t remember what she said specifically about this thing called quota – or if she even said anything about it. She just kept stressing that most girls were fine as long as they didn’t suicide.

With that bit of advice seared into my brain, I was off for Round 1 Parties!!!

I'm hooked. OK, maybe because half the girls in my dorm had Farrah-type hair and half the guys had the Farrah poster on their dorm walls...

Oh, this is tooooo funny. Thanks for sharing!

My husband has VERY fond memories of that Farah poster. My oldest sisters were on the tail end of what is without doubt the ugliest era of fashion EVER. If I may say so, the shoulder pads of the 80's may look artificial, but they also make your waist look smaller, so at least there was SOME advantage.

Carry on... I'm loving this!

You have a great memory! I entered college the year after you, so this is a real blast from the past to read.

So glad you're liking it! It has been a blast writing this, pulling out the old photo albums, yearbooks, etc!! Here is the next installment:

Okay, my campus had fraternity houses but not sorority houses. They had a Panhellenic Building/Dorm that housed a large and beautifully decorated suite for each sorority. Each suite, of course, reflected the sororities colors, mascot and other symbols.

I remember which sorority I visited first and which one I visited last! I am not 100 percent sure what order the other five fell in, but will take you on my suite tour based on what seems most likely, considering where each suite was located. I do remember there were three on the first floor and four on the second.

I also recall what I wore – and it’s beyond me why I haven’t blocked this from memory . I remember the outfit because I wore it often, believing it to be cute and flattering. As they say, hindsight is 20/20 – and so are pictures and there are just way too many of me in this get-up.

I wore a pair of long culottes -- below the knee, wide legged babies that rivaled something Annie Oakley would wear when springing into the saddle of her favorite horse. Those legs were roomy enough to conceal a riffle and utensils to outfit an entire campsite. In keeping with the psychedelic decade at hand, they were a far-out, can’t-miss ‘em kelly green, and I paired them with a knit top that had thin, multi-colored horizontal stripes. Why, look at me– I’ll bet the colors of every sorority were woven into that top! On my feet, I wore chunky- clunky, three inch sandals that boasted platforms -- crafted from cork. In high school, we wore those walking bulletin boards with socks that had toes. Each toe was a different color. No, I did not wear the toe socks during Rush, but that’s about the only scary thing I didn’t present myself in.

We visited all seven suites on the first night! It was like getting sucked into a kaleidoscope of swirling colors, chants, cheers and songs. Exciting but hectic and everyone was glazy-eyed by the last party. I don’t think snacks or beverages were served.

BEE GEES: This was my first sorority suite and we were greeted by a group of enthusiastic sisters who were dressed alike. Though the styles of dresses varied slightly, the print and colors were identical. I was picked up by a very sweet girl who would be the first of many that night to ask me my major, hometown and dorm! After 10 minutes or so of chatting, the Bee Gees gathered in the center of the room and sang several songs. I remember they linked arms and appeared to care about each other a great deal. When they finished singing, several members took turns stepping forward to introduce themselves and share what the sorority meant to them. One girl who particularly stood out was a petite blonde who said, “I’m a senior and I just got married two weeks ago.” MARRIED??? Well now, I suddenly felt like I had stepped into a very mature and grown up world.

HEAT WAVE: Oh, this was so sad. There were only six sisters in Heat Wave. SIX. Several members from another chapter (at a school two hours away) had come in to help them rush, but it was still very obvious how small this sorority was. These girls were also dressed alike. There weren’t enough sisters to do a typical rotation, so each sister talked to a small group of rushees. I remember being seated on a sofa with several other rushees while a Heat Wave sat across from us, trying so hard to maintain eye contact and keep everyone included in the conversation. When she was bumped by another member, I looked up and saw one of the prettiest, most elegant girls I had ever laid eyes on. What impressed me about her was that she didn’t try to downplay their smallness. She did explain they had lost a lot of girls to graduation and transfer, but really emphasized the benefits of a small group, including their extreme closeness and having the opportunity to know each other through and through.

VILLAGE PEOPLE: We entered this suite to more singing, clapping and girls dressed alike! I was immediately picked up by a girl who lived in my dorm. Since we had already chatted some in the dorm, she didn’t ask me the typical rush questions. Instead, she led me around the suite and showed me a big collection of stuffed animals that represented their mascot, arrangements that featured their flower and the trophy case that displayed awards for Derby Week, Pikes Peak, All Sing and several other fraternity-sponsored events. This was one of the biggest sororities on campus and was perceived by most rushees as highly desirable. My rusher told me a little about their philanthropy and introduced me to several sisters before it was time for them to gather and sing. Perhaps it was because I knew someone in this sorority, combined with the casual manner in which I was rushed, but I felt very comfortable in this suite. I left Village People hoping to return!

COMMODORES: Guess what these girls were wearing? Right! The same dresses! They were also singing and cheering like the other sororities, but every song name dropped one of the top fraternities on campus: “We’re the number one likes of the Pikes” and “We like to go out with a Sigma Chi guy.” Commodores was the beauty queen sorority and it seemed like every sister was a former Miss Something. “Meet my sister Cathy, last year’s Homecoming Queen”…”Here is my sister Amy, former Princess of the Floyd County Silkworm Festival.” Other sisters were introduced as “the cheerleader”, “the drum majorette” , etc. This sorority was considered one of the best and the girls were flawlessly glossy in a Glamour magazine kind of a way. The girls I spoke with were very nice, though. At one point, their rotation went astray, leaving me and few other rushees sitting by ourselves. One very beautiful member looked directly at me, but made no attempt to rescue me – and it kind of hurt my feelings. A few minutes later, the party ended.

KC AND THE SUNSHINE BAND: We were over half way through Round 1 parties and everyone was wearing down a bit. Farrah Flips were starting to go flat and the KC suite didn’t help with that. It seemed a little smaller than the others, was definitely warmer and felt like a packed-in sardine convention. Different stokes for different folks, though. There was a rocker girl in my rush group who looked like Joan Jett. I remember she wore a denim jacket with a skirt – common today, but I can’t remember if that was weird in ’77 or not. She also wore Jungle Gardenia perfume and must have doused herself in it before we entered the suite. The cloud just would not desipitate and was gag-inducing for the person sitting next to her -- me. However, this party was the first time I heard Joan speak – and she became lively and animated with these girls in their identical dresses. They were very nice and especially proud of their national and local philanthropies. Nationally, this is a very large sorority and I wish I had rocked it like Joan did– but I was choking on Gardenia, really needed a drink of water and was fantasizing about a cool breeze. The sisters grouped, sang a few songs and it was time to move on.

DONNA SUMMER: I got my second wind the minute I walked into this suite! They were not – NOT – wearing the same dresses! A wide array of styles were represented by the girls of Donna Summer and each one wore the fall color of her choice. They explained they did this to show their individuality -- that while they were bonded by sisterhood, they were not a cookie cutter sorority and desired to embrace each girl for the unique person she was. Limburger wrinkled her nose like she’d just gotten the results of someone’s bean burrito and said the unmatched dresses showed a lack of unity, but Bleu, Swiss and I loved what they were trying to convey. Looking around, they were a diverse group of women, but when they grouped together to sing, there was no doubt they were connected by a love for their sorority. The girl who rushed me the most was awesome. She had this cute, shaggy Olivia Newton John hairstyle, but mostly, she made me feel like I was the only person in the room. She listened to me talk about my high school pep club painting banners for football games, and acted like it was the most fascinating topic on earth. I knew I wanted to go back to Donna Summer!!!

ABBA: This was my last party of the night. The Abbas were great, but had to feel as tired, if not more, than the rushees did. Gouda yawned, and I mean one of those yawns that shows every filling in your head! She made no attempt to stifle it, but she didn’t care. After all, she was going to be a Donna Summer – she was a second cousin legacy and Donna Summer had to take legacies, right? (Wrong on both counts.) I spoke with several of the sisters and was shown a scrapbook one of them had made the during her pledge ship – it had won Best Scrapbook and was displayed on their coffee table. The sister was a little quiet, but the scrapbook was a good tool to help her rush and included creative, colorful expressions of their philanthropy, pledge retreat and social activities. Compared to the other sororities, Abba was a little subdued in the chanting and singing department -- but it could have been because everyone was just tired! Seven consecutive parties with no break made for a long night!

We did not do any ranking after Round 1. If we had, I would have ranked Donna Summer and The Village People at the top; as for the rest, I’m not sure how they would have lined up. Theme Parties (skits) were up next and would go on for two nights. We could accept up to four invitations and attend two parties each night. We were to report to the Greek Office the next day to pick up our Theme invites.

For now, most of the rushees went back to their dorms; some of us changed clothes and headed out to fraternity parties – not a good idea. Though I don’t recall any fraternity men actively promoting a sorority, they had their opinions about who was top and who was not. These parties were also a fertile environment for rushees to talk and compare notes – also not a good idea.

Story had it, the sweet girls of Heat Wave were on their way out, and this rush was their last effort to save their sorority. Consensus was, there was no point in pledging Heat Wave -- they were doomed to fold and why join a group that wasn’t going to make it?

Story also had it that the Commodores were brutal when it came to voting on who to invite back to their parties. Those Polaroid pictures that were taken? Supposedly, if the Commodores didn’t like you, they would throw your picture around the room then make a big ceremony out of ripping it to shreds. I would later realize this was completely bogus, but as a gullible, 17-year-old rushee…well, I went to bed that night hoping my picture wasn’t being flung around the Commodores suite while a bunch of beauty queens laughed at me.

What a fun story! And thanks for posting it all so quickly. Keep it coming.

Great story! You started college the same year as my mom too :)

Hey -- I am trying to get this out quickly! Thankfully, I have a little down time tonight, but am leaving town in a few days, so I'll get the whole story posted shortly. Next:

Theme Parties!

My rush advisor told us this round of parties would be the most fun, complete with refreshments, conversation and each sorority expressing their ideals, opportunities and sisterhood through creative and entertaining skits. I couldn’t wait and hurried over to the Greek Office to get my invites.

I saw a few tears when I got to the Greek Office, and for the first time, was hit hard by the reality of cuts. They DID happen and there were disappointed girls here to prove it. My stomach twisted like a bowtie and I nervously accepted the envelope that held my invitations.

Tucked inside were…invites to six of the seven chapters! Whew! Abba had dropped me, but that was okay. I hadn’t really expected an invitation, given they had been my last party the night before and I was operating on slo-mo. I was so happy to see invitations from Donna Summer and The Village People, my top two! I was also flattered to see that The Commodores had invited me to Theme even though I knew – at the end of the day – I did not fit in with those girls. Still, they were THE COMMODORES, the most popular sorority on campus, the one the grapevine said got invited to the most fraternity mixers and the one that so many girls wanted to be a member of. At 17, those reasons were enough for me to accept their invitation, plus it was nice to think they hadn’t ripped up my photo!!

The question was – I had one more party I needed to attend, but who would it be? I looked at the invite from Heat Wave, remembering what nice girls they were. Yet, they were SO small and what if they really were on the edge of folding? I considered my invites from the Bee Gees and KC and the Sunshine Band. They seemed like great groups, but I honestly had not felt a connection with them. My thoughts went back to Heat Wave and the lovely sister who talked about how close-knit the sorority was.

I accepted the invite from Heat Wave.

Parties started at 6 o’clock that night. Sweet angels in Heaven, I wore a jumpsuit. Yes, I did. It was a light weight corduroy and the color of rusty nails. Yes, it was. Good grief, whoever thought mechanics-wear was attractive on women should be sent into exile, along with the person who dreamed up pastel leisure suits.

The jumpsuit was accentuated with a black belt -- a very WIDE black belt with an obnoxiously big gold buckle. Worn smack around the waist with a jumpsuit, it was a look that seemed to chop the body right in two. It was also an ensemble that made me self-conscience as to whether or not I looked like I had a pot belly. I really should not have worn the stupid thing, but I did, and had to fight the urge to tug and pull at it all night. Lesson learned : never wear a jumpsuit. TO ANYTHING AT ANYTIME.

My first party was Commdores and I was a bit taken aback at first. We were greeted by girls in red devil costumes, waving pitchforks and ushering us into hell. Now, my region of the country was one of the notches in the Bible Belt and I had definitely experienced a few Sunday mornings shuddering beneath the warnings of a hell and brimstone preacher. I did NOT want to go to hell!! But what was I to do? A beauty queen with a pitchfork was prodding me into the blackness of her sorority suite. I, and some other wide-eyed rushees, made our way in and were seated amid strobe lights that were supposed to give the illusion of flickering and leaping flames. Pretty impressive special effects for 1977!

If memory serves, the skit was a story of good versus evil. Angels draped in white, flowing dresses also appeared and they, of course, were the Commodores. I’m pretty sure the message was that they were there to save a rushee from the eternal mistake of pledging the wrong sorority. It was actually a very cute skit and apparently had a very strong impact on some rushees. When the lights came on and we were filing out, I saw Brie…crying, hugging the sisters and resisting the need to leave. She just kept lingering and finding one more Commodore to hug.

Finally, Brie joined us in the lobby, a look of complete contentment on her face. “Oh, I’ve found the one I want,” she said. “Commodores.”

“I didn’t think you were going to pledge this quarter,” I reminded her. I was also thinking how the Commodores seemed like one of the last sororities Brie would be drawn to. Though Brie was very cute, she was tomboyish and a no frills kind of girl. Perfectly coiffed and fully made up girls just didn’t seem like her type, but go figure. She had done a complete 180 and was ready to pledge!

The next party was Donna Summer and I was so looking forward to it; not only because they were one of my favorites, but also because I would be attending with Bleu and Swiss. I can’t recall what theme party Bleu had attended first, but knew Swiss had been to Abba and loved it. As she entered the Donna Summer suite that night, it would be the beginning of an agonizing tug-of-war within herself.

The suite had been transformed into a lively, colorful world of circus music, lion tamers, clowns, trapeze artists and a mistress of ceremonies who guided us through a one ring show/skit. If I’m recalling it correctly, each performer represented an element of the sorority, and borrowing the Ringling Brothers theme, it made them the “greatest sisterhood on earth.” I loved this energetic skit, as did Bleu and Swiss.

“That’s it,” Bleu said as we left. “I want them to be one of my prefs.”

I felt the same way. Of course, Gouda did too. Actually, if I had a dollar for every time Gouda mentioned her Donna Summer cousin at another school, I probably could have paid for my next two quarters of college! Even though Gouda really was not a legacy, she believed herself to be one. You would think she would be gracious, interested and respectful towards the Donna Summers, right? Apparently, she wasn’t. Even though Gouda and I did not attend the Donna Summer theme at the same time, another girl in our rush group did. She said Gouda adopted some airs and insinuated a couple of times that she was “in” no matter what. She was also presumptuous enough to ask one of the sisters, “when will I be initiated?” The other rushee said she almost felt punch come up and spew through her nose on that one – thank goodness, it didn’t.

Another thing I heard that night was that one of the sorority’s initiation ceremonies required you to get inside of a casket and trust your sisters to close the lid then reopen it. Creepy, but other than that, the rumor mill was pretty quiet this night. We had one more night of theme parties to go; then it would be time for pref.

More Please!!!!

so good!

I am loving this!

I'm pulling for Heat Wave... I love a good underdog!

What are the sizes of the other chapters? Was it 6 vs. about 30 or so or 6 vs. 100+?

I'm sorry -- should have included that info. After formal rush, most of the chapters had about 50-55 girls in them. One carried around the low 40's, one struggled around 30 and then there was Heat Wave with such a sharp drop.

Theme Parties – Second Night
Second Night of Theme Parties

I can’t remember for sure what I wore this night, but I THINK I borrowed an outfit from one of my roommates. We were so deluded into thinking she had an ever-growing closet full of such pretty clothes (it would be years before we realized how horrible they truly were) because her mother worked at an upscale department store with generous employee discounts. I’m thinking I wore a pair of slate blue (I know, I know) slacks with a matching sweater set – vest and cardigan.

One applause I do have to give the 70’s is that we did have pretty sweaters. They were colorful and scenic, often featuring a country or mountain scene, flowers or snowflakes, or a menagerie of animals. The sweater vest I wore had graduating shades of blue in it and a band of orange and yellow flowers going straight across the bust. We used to joke about the position of those flowers -- nothing like creating a focal point.

I arrived at Panhellenic ready for my first theme party of the second night, which was Heat Wave. I wish I could say they had a surprise turn out and were hosting a full house; in reality, you could count the attendees on one hand. There were three, maybe four, of us. For some reason, we sat in the floor, though I can’t for the life of me remember why.

Heat Wave didn’t perform a skit. Or if they did, I have no recollection of it whatsoever. I guess they felt like they just didn’t have enough members to do one. Our time was spent talking. A couple of older women (who I suspect were the age I am now) were present and serving finger foods. Naively, I thought they were mothers; I’d later realize they were alums! Duh. I was so young!!!

These girls were so nice, but in all honesty, they really were not rushing very hard. Maybe they had lost heart or felt defeated before they began. Rebuilding had to seem like such a daunting task --and how could they compete with these mega-excited sororities bopping all around them? The rumors that they were close to folding sure didn’t help.

Even though there were only six members, believe it or not, I didn’t meet all of them! For whatever reason, a couple of the members hung back, choosing to work in the kitchen and be task-oriented instead of mixing with the rushees. The lovely girl who talked to me on the first night also did at the theme party. I remember she sat on the floor beside me, her long legs curved beneath her, took my hand and said “Oh ________, I just know you’d be so happy in Heat Wave.” Other than that, I really was not rushed that night and the rest of the party was spent talking about classes, majors and dorm life.

I left Heat Wave feeling sad. If the small turn out at this party was any indication to how their rush was going, I suspected the rumors about them folding would prove to be true.

Next, I went to Village People, where the skit was a Bavarian Beer Party theme. What I remember is that it was really funny, especially the girls who played soldiers clunking around in combat boots and talking in heavy German accents. Laughing, I got choked on a cookie and just about went into one of those spastic barking fits of coughing --thank goodness, one of the sisters plied me with water and I pulled myself together before all control went out the window.

I had a great time at this party! They were also the top favorite of Extra Sharp…and of Limburger.

Next up: invitations to pref! And what a day it would be.

LOL! It's funny how long rumorss have been around! (The one about the coffin...)

Our rush advisors told us the heaviest cuts would come after theme parties. Waiting for pref invitations had to be the most nerve racking of days. I believe they were available at noon; trying to get through morning classes was almost impossible. When I’m nervous, I cross my legs and shake my suspended foot. And I mean, it shakes like a five on the Richter scale. One of my classes was in an auditorium, and as I sat shaking away, a guy I didn’t even know reached over and grabbed the offending foot. Uh, sorry.

We could accept two invitations to pref. If there were no invites, we would be given an envelope that contained a note of regret. I remember opening the envelope very slowly because I was so afraid it contained “the note”…but it didn’t! I had invites to Donna Summer, Village People and Heat Wave.

So, the Commodores had cut me! Actually, I was surprised I had gotten as far as I did with the Commodores because I knew I really wasn’t a good fit. I wasn’t too hurt; besides, I had invites to my top two!!

Accepting the invites to Donna Summer and Village People was easy; regretting the invite to Heat Wave was hard. It really was. They were sweet girls and I wished them well, but I was so concerned they were going to fold. Feeling a genuine twinge of sadness, I circled the regrets option on the invite and handed it back to the Panhellenic representative.

I didn’t see Gouda arrive to collect her invites; I did, however, see her leave. Her exit was dramatic, prefaced with a scream…a blood curdling scream as though she had been stabbed through the heart. In a way, I guess she felt like she had been.

No surprise here: Donna Summer had not invited her to pref.

All eyes turned in her direction and silence fell over the room as Gouda threw her envelope on the floor and ran through the nearest exit. Our rush advisor ran after her, as did Swiss who gathered up the purse and windbreaker Gouda had left behind. Activity in the room resumed, but I think the air seemed charged with even more nervous energy than before. No doubt, girls who had not yet opened their envelopes were probably having heart palpitation after seeing Gouda’s reaction to not getting an invite to a sorority she wanted. Even though it wasn’t announced, everybody knew that could be the only thing to cause such an outburst.

Swiss returned about five minutes later, shaking her head as she approached me and a couple of other girls from our rush group. Gouda, she said, was in the ladies room completely inconsolable. She did have an invite to at least one pref party but chose to drop out of rush, as did a few other girls in our group.

I felt bad for Gouda. I know she should have handled herself better during Rush, but I also know how MUCH she wanted to be a Donna Summer. Even today, after all these years, I sometimes find myself thinking about her. Does it still hurt to talk about it? Does she have a daughter, and if so, how did she feel about her going through Rush?

Pref parties were tonight. Swiss was going to Donna Summer and Abba.

Well, now some of you youngest GCers know what it was like before RFM. The heaviest cuts were done before prefs and that was heartbreaking because women would go to all those parties thinking that they had a chance with certain groups and they never really did. Now at least you can reevaluate your choices much earlier.

Pref

The Dress

It cost $42.00, which at the time seemed out…RAGEOUS. I mean, it wasn’t floor length or even semi-formal; it was just a really “nice” dress as we were instructed to wear. So let me tell you about this beauty.

First, as in keeping with the latter 70’s fashion, it fell just below the knee – could there be a dowdier, more unflattering length for most women? It was some kind of sheer fabric that the salesgirl called “fluid” and had a satin lining in a shade of yellow that I don’t think is truly found in nature. The closest thing I can compare it to is the yellowish-tan color of a piece of Mary Jane, pull-your-crowns-off chewy candy.

The sheer overlay was a floral paradise of yellow, yellow and yellow. Well, it was different shades of light to medium yellows, with such a tight floral pattern you could only feel like it needed to be pruned and thinned out. It had a firm elastic waist and was worn with a very thin (think shoe lace) fabric belt that matched the lining. Here’s the best part – the skirt was designed to billow, and billow it did if you twirled fast enough. You just had to be careful it didn’t helicopter up on you and show the world your unmentionables.

It had short, semi-puffy sleeves that also contained skin-cutting elastic to make the bottom edge of the sleeves ruffle out. And speaking of ruffles, a bounty of them ran up and down the V-neck—my, but it was a busy little dress! I loved it, though, and wore it with my thick, six inch platform shoes…okay, not really. I think a simple pair of slingbacks in one of the safe neutrals did the trick.

Dressed and ready, I was off for my first pref at Village People. It was held off campus at the home of an alumni and I remember how beautiful the girls looked in gowns that matched their sorority colors. They seemed to shimmer in the candlelight, and really, I was so overwhelmed by the quiet beauty that the entire party felt surreal. I don’t remember a whole lot of ceremonial details about this pref! The sister who sat with me spoke ever-so-softly about what the Village People meant to her and how they had rallied around her during a difficult time in her life. The time passed quickly and I never really felt like I snapped out of the dream-like state that settled on me when I first arrived. I left knowing, though, that I would be very happy as a member of the Village People.

Donna Summer’s pref was also held at an alumni’s house. It was a magnificent home brimming with antiques and had dark hardwood floors. Again, a sister engaged me in one-on-one talk and spoke of the important role the sorority played in her life. In some ways, the pref was going a lot like the one at Village People…until …

I was led up a staircase and into a small alcove lit by two hurricane lamps where the sorority president stood next to a vintage mirror. After saying a few words about the sorority, she gently turned me around so that I faced my reflection in mirror. “Now tell me _________,” she said, “can you see yourself as a sister in Donna Summer?”

I’m not normally a crier, but tonight I was. I normally AM a talker, but tonight I wasn’t. As tears streamed down my cheeks, I could only look in the mirror and nod. The president smiled and made eye contact through our reflections. I knew. I just knew.

I listed Donna Summer first and Village People second.

My friend Swiss was having a real difficult time! She had attended prefs for Donna Summer and Abba and was really struggling with which way to go. She loved both and had been trying to choose between them since the first night of theme parties. Sitting in the student center (where we returned to after prefs), she cried, talked to our rush advisor and cried some more. One by one, people were filling out their cards and leaving – but not Swiss. She finally waved me on and I returned to my dorm and waited for her to call – but she never did! I knew I’d have to wait until tomorrow and see which suite she walked into after bids were extended.

Bid Day!!!

Before we were allowed to open our bids, we had to wait for the rush advisors to do their big “reveal” -- ha, we already knew their affiliations thanks to the boo boo in the rush booklet! Still, each rush advisor took part in a small ceremony where she walked up to a podium, lit a candle and said, “My name is _______ and I light the candle of…(sorority name).

Finally, we got to open our bids and I was beyond thrilled to see that I was invited to join the wonderful sisterhood of……………









DONNA SUMMER!
Otherwise known as…..







I Feel Love…







For…












PHI MU!!!!!

Follow Up

What happened to my friend Swiss? She pledged Abba! Did we stay friends like we promised? You bet! We were in each other’s weddings, have vacationed together with our husbands and children and are still in touch today, getting together whenever opportunity allows.

Bleu became my sister in Phi Mu!

Extra Sharp and Limburger both went Village People and Brie pledged Commodores.

Joan Jett pledged KC and the Sunshine Band. Gouda actually pledged them too – later through open rush – but did end up depledging.

Sadly, Heat Wave did end up folding towards the end of that school year.

Here is the code:

ABBA: Alpha Delta Pi
BEE GEES: Alpha Xi Delta
COMMODORES: Kappa Delta
DONNA SUMMER: Phi Mu
HEAT WAVE: Alpha Omicron Pi
KC SUNSHINE: Delta Zeta
VILLAGE PEOPLE: Sigma Kappa

My school was East Tennessee State University


Thanks for reading!!!

So true what Carnation said. Those pre-pref cuts were rough. There were some cuts after Round 1, but nothing like what you see earlier in the recruitment process today. Really, back in my day, most women were invited to the majority of theme parties, but the ax started to fall after that. I was a rush advisor my senior year and did, sadly, see some girls really get hurt.

What a fun story! Thanks for sharing it.

I love hearing endings like this!

i loved your story! thanks so much for sharing.

i loved your description of your outfits-flashbacks for sure for me! we did think we were styling!

Ha ha, it was a fun drive down Memory Lane! I looked through the sorority group pictures in my 77-78 yearbook-- boy, we sure did like our sweater sets and sweater jackets with belts.

As for those far-out pantsuits, they were so old lady-ish and I can't believe they caught on. Of course, I remember when it was frowned on for women to wear anything but skirts/dresses to school or work. I think the pantsuit was the first thing, slacks-wise, that became acceptable for those areas. Maybe that helps explain their popularity. My sister had one in navy blue with brass buttons -- hideous! I had one in petal pink -- more hideous!

Great story! I really enjoyed reading it!

I was a rushee at the very same time and also had a few pairs of those culottes, only we called them gauchos. Some of them were in sets with matching vests; I remember having one in brown corduroy. I also remember sets of below-knee-length plaid skirts with matching shawls, which often were worn tied around the waist.

Jungle Gardenia! Haven't thought about that in ages. I remember my roommate's perfume was Aliage, but I was still wearing Love perfumes.

My initiation was in January 1978 because KD required grades beforehand, and that January was so snowy that school was closed at least once. I didn't think such a thing would happen in college. I think the snow might have affected the timing of White Rose Week, the week between our second-degree ceremony and initiation, and it certainly led to some epic campus-wide snowball fights.

Well told & interesting! I was given "the mirror treatment" at Pref, too!

Awesome story! I especially loved the fashion details! :-)

Reading this story was so much fun! The fashion back then really was at an all-time low. I remember the colottes and the cordouroy. You so expertly brought back that decade.
What a trip!

I can't remember what I have for dinner the night before and you can remember all of this. Simply amazing. What a great story.
I noticed that there are only 4 sororities left at your school.
What happened, I hate to see that.

Yay! I love a Phi Mu ending!

[QUOTE=greekdee;2005567]

My first party was Commdores and I was a bit taken aback at first. We were greeted by girls in red devil costumes, waving pitchforks and ushering us into hell. Now, my region of the country was one of the notches in the Bible Belt and I had definitely experienced a few Sunday mornings shuddering beneath the warnings of a hell and brimstone preacher. I did NOT want to go to hell!! But what was I to do? A beauty queen with a pitchfork was prodding me into the blackness of her sorority suite. I, and some other wide-eyed rushees, made our way in and were seated amid strobe lights that were supposed to give the illusion of flickering and leaping flames. Pretty impressive special effects for 1977!

If memory serves, the skit was a story of good versus evil. Angels draped in white, flowing dresses also appeared and they, of course, were the Commodores. I’m pretty sure the message was that they were there to save a rushee from the eternal mistake of pledging the wrong sorority. It was actually a very cute skit and apparently had a very strong impact on some rushees. When the lights came on and we were filing out, I saw Brie…crying, hugging the sisters and resisting the need to leave. She just kept lingering and finding one more Commodore to hug.

[QUOTE]

Based on this skit, I was so convinced that the commodores was Pi Beta Phi.

Thanks for sharing such a fun story!

My people!

We called them gauchos too. We wore them with tall tan Frye boots.

Aliage was my first grown up perfume, but before that it was Love's Baby Soft, Eau de Love, Love's Fresh Lemon and Windsong.

OMG, I'm a bit older than you guys...but I remember those clothes! Gauchos...and the Farrah hair...I loved this story. It set a time and place and the tone perfectly. I'm ALMOST nostalgic for those clothes. I remember Woodhur (?) perfume, but my favorite was Je Reviens (which I wear to this day).

Well, maybe not.