Scriptwriter looking for help
 

I'm Mike Ellis from Austin, Texas, and I hope I can get some help on this site.

I've got a job writing a script that deals (in part only) with a college freshman going through rush. My problem is that I went through only informal rush more than 20 years ago and I didn't actually pledge after that. I need to find some people who are willing to answer some basic questions for me.

This is the first script I've written for these people, and I want to get the details right. Any help would be appreciated.

If the questions are basic, you should be able to find information by browsing the recruitment threads.

You're confusing sorority and fraternity rush in that first paragraph.

Your best bet is to go to the Greek life page of a school that resembles the school in your screenplay and go from that description. Fraternity rush varies widely from school to school.

If you did get the details right, you'd be the first screenwriter to do so. Ever.

From this, I'm assuming that you mean fraternities still say "rush" but that sororities don't use that word anymore. Did I understand you correctly?

lol

That's why I want the information.

I like the suggestion about basing the university in the script on one real university and then just copying what they do. I'm going to be spending a lot of time reading the various fora here, but I still hope it's cool if I post specific questions and get feedback. I don't want to be obnoxious, but I do want the information.

She means both that and that sorority recruitment is often more structured than fraternity rush. Beyond that, what you're looking for can vary widely depending not only on the specific campus but on what kind of fraternity (or sorority) you're talking about: NIC, NPC, NPHC, NALFO, locals or any of a number of other possibilities.

*giggle*

Hey, I bet it means he understands the difference between alumnus, alumna, alumni and alumnae. ;)

Well, he definitely looks more promising than the other "researchers" we've had around these parts.

Wouldn't it be easier if he walked over to some of the fraternity houses at UT and asked them? I know, stupid question about the obvious.

After the script is written you have to WGA it. I will tell you the odds of representation is little. No production company will open an unsolicited script. I can also tell you that unless you have a VERY unusual spin (all other things being conquered) you will be smack in the way of legal challenges because the script has been done...and done.

He's writing the script for someone, he's already hired not writing solo and trying to sell it to a studio or production company.

I don't know the ins and outs of Writers Guild but it would seem that this is a non-issue for the OP?

Wow. Somebody besides me paid attention during high school Latin. :cool:

In a nutshell:

NPC formal sorority recruitment (previously called rush): Potential new members (PNMs, previously termed rushees) visit all chapters, then rank their favorites. Sororities invite back whomever they like (for instance, they might invite back everyone who meets their minimum GPA... the specifics of membership selection are confidential). PNMs then re-visit those chapters that invited them back, up to a set maximum, and then rank their favorites amongst those chapters. Lather, rinse, repeat until a PNM goes to preference parties for 2 or 3 chapters and ranks those chapters according to her preference. The next day, she (hopefully) receives a bid to one of those chapters. A PNM may be cut by all chapters before pref, or may only be invited to one pref party. There is also informal recruitment, where a sorority wants to add a few new members and will invite a few friends of members to meet everyone else in the chapter - and some of those women may receive bids.

IFC rush: You have 2-3 days to visit chapters you're interested in. At my school, you would be "flushed" if you visited a chapter that didn't want you as a member - a brother (usually rush chair or president) would "suggest" that you visit other chapters as you would not be getting a bid from the chapter you were currently visiting. This is so that you wouldn't waste time hanging out at a fraternity where you didn't have a shot. (And my car is starting to drift over the dashed white line on the road, so that's all I'll say.)

NPHC, LGLO, MCGLO rush: For me to say anything about their rush would involve my car drifting over the double yellow line, never mind the dashed white line, so I will definitely be holding my tongue here.

Yes and no. If a script turns up, written by X, and is produced and released here....and it has similarities to some other project....and makes some money (this is crucial) lawyers await.

I'm confused as to why you think it's going to be similar to any other project? He's trying to portray an accurate rush. As MysticCat pointed out, if he successfully does that it will be unlike any other project in the history of man. He also stated that the rush experience was only a small part of the script. Where is this statement coming from?

I do. And I can pronounce them in Greek even.

After preciousjeni's comment about other "researchers" (her quotation marks, not mine), I get the feeling that this place has had some trolls coming in asking questions like mine. Thenafter there were mostly comments and questions about the script, so maybe I should explain a bit, to establish some credibility.

A local company is trying to produce and sell a syndicated television series about a family of five. I'm one of three guys hired to turn their outlines into actual scripts, and I get to deal mostly with the oldest son character, who's a freshman at some fictional university. This is really just a writing job, which means I get a paycheck whether the show gets aired or not, but it could lead to bigger things so I want to get this right.

Like I said earlier, I went through rush at a very small college more than 20 years ago. Drinking was a lot more tolerated; STDs were not something people talked about, and there were no cell phones, text messages, or Facebook. After rush, I realized that I couldn't pledge, so I never got to see what went on from the inside.

What I'm most concerned right now with boils down to two things:
- The time schedule of rush. What kinds of events go, in what order, and how much time does the whole process take. (From what I've read so far, the guy seem to be expected to make a rather big decision in a few days. I don't remember being that rushed about it, but maybe we were.)
- How have things been changed by the fact that everybody can communicate instantly now? For example, I can imagine actives circulating a room of prospective pledges, saying polite things to them while texting their real opinions to their brothers around the room. Does crap like that actually happen?

Again, thanks for any help. Especially, so far, to MysticCat and aephi alum for giving me some specific leads to research.

And, aephi alum, please don't try to read/type while driving. You're a danger to yourself and others.

Actually, a very sensible, obvious question. The simple fact is that I don't know any fraternity members at UT, so I don't have any personal contacts to pursue there. I have left some phone messages and posted to some websites, but no responses so far. Hopefully, that will change.

LOL. She was referring to a common GC expression: staying in your lane or lane swerving. It means, in the context of things like rush/recruitment, commenting only on the things that you have experience with or that are truly common knowledge. So, for example, a guy trying to give detailed information about how NPC sororities conduct recruitment might be told to "stay in his lane." aephi was simply noting that if she said too much about how orgs other than NPC orgs do rush/recruitment/whatever they call it, she'd be swerving into other people's "lanes."

;)

I will add that it seems that for many universities that pull students mostly from the same area (i.e. students from State U all live in State), fraternities will call graduated HS seniors attending State U and hold functions over the summer. I have heard of cookouts, NASCAR races, even outings for steak dinners and a strip club (NOTA BENE that the strip club is hearsay, but the other outings I know of people who went on them). This allows the guys to get a chance to know fraternity members, and also get an idea of who wants them (i.e. Went to one event for ABC but never got another call, has gone to 3 XYZ events) before school and rush start.

Sorority members are pretty strictly prohibited from holding this sort of thing. SOME sorority members might participate and help in fraternity rush, but it's a but frowned on.

//back in my lane.

AlphaFrog, I didn't get that inference from what ellebud wrote. The way I interpreted it, she was giving a general explanation and answer to previous posters' questions/remarks/comments about WGA and unsolicited scripts in general.

and agzg - that is one great Hallelujah graphic. Plus I learned a new word in this thread: fora is the plural form of forum. (say that five times, fast).

Thanks for clarifying...we do get (more than) our fair share of trolls, as well as students doing "research" for term papers (do your own dang homework). I appreciate your concern for being accurate when it would be easier to just throw in a typical stereotype.

Re: texting actual opinions during a rush party...I don't think it's a common occurrence, but I'm sure it happens and could make for some hilarious copy. I kinda dig the idea.

Just a suggestion, and I don't know if this is valid at UT. Some councils at larger schools require PHA and IFC chapter representatives to hold "office hours". Typically, most required hold an office in the council. Call the IFC office and ask if there are such hours or find out who the IFC recruitment chair is and contact him. He can give you general information about rush over all, but not specifics on each chapter. At least you will get accurate info based one of the largest greek communities in the country.

I feel like office hours aren't uncommon at smaller schools, too. I used to use mine for naps.

AZTheta: Please clear your pm for one spot.

The only guys at UT who might respond to that kind of thing would not be in chapters that would give you an accurate depiction of what fraternity rush is like for an "in demand" freshman at a school with a strong Greek life.

Recruitment styles, methods and time frames vary wildly depending on the campus and its culture.

done. sorry - I tend to not delete things and it's a small mailbox.

Cool. What are the Greek words for alumnus, alumna, alumnae and alumni? Are they close to the Latin words that have come into English, or are they considerably different? (I'm aware that Latin and Greek are related Indo-European languages, and English is related to them, too. But they can and do differ widely at many points.)

Yes, "lifelong learning" can include whining to try to get other people to do research for me.

Although it seems strange to say so, Rusty's Rush events on the TV show, Greek were not atypical, (with the exception of Kappa Tau of course). At most campuses, at least those with which I am familiar, Rush is very open with only a minimum structure. If you look at the Fraternity Rushes in the Recruitment Stories section of GC, you will find only a few and those few have little drama compared to the NPC. Both the houses and the Rushees make hurried decisions which are usually correct. But it's OK since both the Fraternities and Pledges have a Do-over (see below).

Some big southern schools have their own culture upon which I can't comment.

I have learned on GC that it is generally easier to get a Fraternity bid than a Sorority one because of the intensity of Sorority Recruitment versus the more relaxed format of Fraternity Rush. The difference is, again as I have learned on GC, that once you get an NPC bid, you are pretty much in, since you have gone through so much to get it. With most NIC Fraternities though, the process is just beginning. The pledges must be bound to their pledge class and that class bound to the whole Fraternity. Not everyone makes it, and it's not unusual to pull some Pledge Pins after Rush.

My point is that for most of the NIC, it is not a done deal after the few days of Rush. Some leave on their own and some have to leave. Those who are left are the new brothers.

The OP is to be applauded for asking questions of those that he thinks may know something, instead of making it up, which is easier and much more common.

MC, thank you for posting this explanation.

When I drive, my main focus is on exactly one thing: the road. If it's a nice sunny day I'll have the radio on, I'll chat with my passengers, and I'll make and accept cell phone calls (my car has Bluetooth so it's hands-free). If I'm driving in a snowstorm at night, the radio stays off, and I've been known to tell passengers to shut up as I really need to concentrate on keeping us all safe.

My "lane drifting" reference, as MC explained, has nothing to do with actually driving a car. I am an NPC sorority alumna. As such, I can speak in general terms about NPC recruitment, but I am not qualified to speak about intake processes for non-NPC groups.

The words would be completely different. Is there even a direct translation between the Latin and Greek? Maybe mathetes/matheti for alumnus/alumni?

I'm guessing that he thought alumnus, etc., are Greek, not Latin. The Latin pronunciation is different from the English pronunctiation. In Latin, alumni = alum-nee, while alumnae = alum-neye.

BTW, alumnus and alumna literally mean "foster son" and "foster daughter," which can in turn mean "pupil." They come from the same root as alma in alma mater, which means "nurturing mother."

Mmhmm ;)

Just don't use that word in the script. :p