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A VERY Retro Recruitment!
Yes, VERY retro as I recently received a Happy Anniversary card from my GLO to celebrate me on my 50th Anniversary as a sister. It's hard to even believe that it has been that long. A quick reality check is to look at the silver-haired lady looking back at me in my mirror!
I stumbled onto GC when having to keep off my feet to let a sprained foot heal. After many hours of reading Recruitment Stories, I was struck by how much things had changed as well as how much they had remained the same since I went through rush (as we called it) in September of 1963, to be initiated on 1964. Please bear with me as this is my first post! Things that have changed: No philanthropy party; no ranking; we received invitations to the next round of parties and could accept the prescribed number for each round; and NO casual dress i.e. shorts. No Rho Gammas. No RFM. We went to the largest auditorium on campus to pick up our invitation envelopes which were given out alphabetically by silent members of Panhellenic sitting behind a long table. Sororities at my campus had no mixers with the fraternities nor they with us. Unless it was for a local philanthropic event or homecoming, and then it was very task oriented. I never understood how that determination was made as we were never paired with a fraternity we had the most connection with. No Jewish members of the NPC sororities nor were any minorities ever pledged. Or even went through rush at my school. I'm sure I will remember more as my story progresses from my aging memory! A characteristic of my school that most of us didn't appreciate then as much as we appreciate it now is that rush was deferred an entire year. So all but a very few upperclassmen rushed as Sophomores. This was a very large school with an undergrad population of about 14,000 (HUGE now) and the GLOs were a very small percentage of the student population but essentially dominated virtually all the campus organizations, elected officers, as well as many of the honorary societies. So while there was definitely life on this campus outside of the GLOs, and one could have a very satisfying college experience without being a Greek, for those of us who wanted to get involved in campus life, being a Greek seemed to be the best way to go about that. Having this long period of deferment gave the six sororities more time to get to know us as well as we, them. Looking back on my formal rush, I don't know how I possibly could have made a decision on the basis of rush alone! And I truly admire those on both sides of rush now who are able to make good choices for the long haul during what is truly a hectic and nerve-wracking if exciting whirl of events. By the second semester of my Freshman year, the various general personalities of the six were emerging for me. And rush actually started for me the second semester of my Freshman year. Let me explain. As soon as grades for the first semester came out and coeds became members of one national honor society (Alpha Lambda Delta) and an even more selective local one, actives in the GLOs took notice. (Or I should say the ones that placed a high value on scholarship.) I had been elected to both, and was an elected officer of the local one. As I had placed out of Freshman English into the honors program, I was also allowed to take a few courses normally reserved for Sophomores. So I found myself in a class or two with active members on my campus as well as a couple of other women who had pledged as Freshmen at another very large school who had transferred but had not affiliated with the local chapters. They were very proud of their letters and wore their badges regularly. And of course talked up their groups! So I started getting calls inviting me to breakfast, go have pizza, and the like. Cold calls, except from one lovely woman I had a class with. I will call her Elizabeth here. Freshman class officers, yearbook beauties, and other Freshmen met on campus or known from her home town and/or high school started receiving invitations to these unstructured "rush functions" as we called them. These were small groups, usually not more than about 8-10 women at a time, which afforded all of us an opportunity to get to know each other better. I met many wonderful ladies, including some who would be going through rush with me come September. This continued over the summer as well, although I couldn't accept many invitations as I spent most of the summer visiting family who were quite far away. I took my yearbook with me and used this time to really, really check out the members of my favorites, as I wanted to see where they were involved on campus outside of their sororities. So many truly impressive women! With formal rush approaching, I also started getting advice from cousins who were already active members of their sororities, none of which were on my campus. My mother had died in a very tragic accident when I was 15, so many of the adult women in my world stepped in from time to time to see how I was doing and give me motherly guidance on the many things that can trouble a teenage girl. The summer before formal recruitment I started getting calls from my doctor's wife, the family lawyer's wife, as well as other friends of my parents or mothers of friends from high school. All talking about my upcoming rush. Very dizzying!!! Recommendations were very "hush hush" back then, and it was very bad form to solicit one. Soliciting one pretty much guaranteed that you wouldn't get one. Nor did alumnae tell you they were writing a rec for you. But from the questions I was being asked, I knew something was up! And I did know which sororities they were members of. My mother's legacy chapter did not have a chapter on my campus, nor did several of the other mothers I was in close contact with and who had known me for years and years. I had no idea which, if any, of my teachers had been Greeks at college, but I suspect that some had been. At long last formal rush and school was about to start. And I had been notified that I had been selected to be one of two Sophomore girls to participate in the formal welcoming ceremony for all Freshmen women on campus. For that I needed to buy a full length white ball gown. Add to that my being named as a Freshman Orientation panelist and my head was spinning. We were on campus two days before formal rush (and the start of Silence) and I also went to breakfast with my two favorite groups. After this long preamble, I will continue with formal rush in my next installment. As much as I remember, that is! |
I love this! Thank you for taking the time to share your memories.
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Oh my goodness - I LOVE this. I can't wait to read more!!
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I'm leaving in a little bit (with foot now healed) to meet up with two other women to plan an upcoming event in our community. So here it goes!
So formal rush begins!!! The clothes I had either made or purchased over the summer were unpacked, ironed, and ready to go. That was the summer that empire-waist dresses just started coming into fashion and I bought two having that silhouette. More about one of those dresses later. Open House with all of us going to each of the six houses over the course of two days was the first event. Some 600 had signed up for rush. With a maximum of 15-20 or so new pledges for each house, I knew the cuts/dropouts would be deep. At that time, there was a limit of 55 members allowed for each of the six sororities. No quota additions, no snap bids, no COB, no RFM. It was now or never. I knew where there was mutual interest for me, but I also knew that competition would be very stiff, especially for those I was most interested in. And I had heard that the group of women I was most interested in joining was VERY hard to get a bid to. So in pumps and pearls, panty hose and the full complement of jewelry, handbags, makeup,, nails and hair, all 600 of us minus some who had dropped out already spent about 30 minutes in each of the six houses over a period of one day. It was only the previous year that rushees had not worn hats and gloves! No door chants, no singing, just all of us lined up outside with the sorority actives along the hall and up the staircases to greet us. In no particular order I am giving each of them the name of a Shakespearean heroine. My undergrad degree was in English Lit after all! And they are all very interesting characters! They are: Portia Cleopatra Bianca Rosalind Miranda Beatrice I had someone escort me through each house, which I took as a favorable sign, as some of the rushees (ancient term, I know!) were in larger groups with one active for all of them. There really wasn't time for much conversation other than the amenities and the usual questions asked of all rushees. Much of the time was spent by the rush chairman of each giving a presentation on their sorority in the living rooms, including members who were known across campus and alums known nationally, as well as any awards the group had been given. I will go around in a circle with the same placement the houses were within the circle. Bianca was one of the groups which had starting rushing me my Freshman year, and I had formed a close friendship with one of them, a lovely, gracious young woman, Elizabeth. So I already knew and liked many of the members. This group was very, very well regarded on campus. I also went to breakfast with them right before formal rush started. Elizabeth met me at the door and took me through. I felt quite reassured to receive many warm greetings once in their house. I felt very confident when I left them. Rosalind was the sorority of the wife of a family friend who was also from this chapter. She was a real sweetheart. The members when I went through were a very eclectic, rather quirky, and interesting group. I had met several women previously in other venues I had felt a connection with. But seeing them with the rest of the chapter puzzled me as they seemed so different from the others. They seemed like they just loved their chapter, though. Next up was Beatrice, another impressive group to me for what I was looking for: excellent grades, activities, and reputation of having high standards and values. But I didn't really know very many of them, and they hadn't started rushing me until the summer when I was away and couldn't accept any invitations. They also had invited me to breakfast once we were back on campus, but I had already accepted my maximum for breakfast for the two days before rush started. A Beatrice member was the one who had written me to tell me that I had been one of two Sophomores selected to participate in the formal welcome to all Freshmen women. But I felt a bit adrift going through their house as I didn't really know any of them well personally. Being a "people person" this did affect me. Next around the circle all the housing was arranged in was Miranda. These girls were very, very sweet, reasonably active on campus, and "good" girls with a few standout members. They did a good job of presenting their sorority. But they seemed rather lackluster to me, as did a couple of actives who were in my dorm. I didn't see them as a place for me. Cleopatra was next, and I was surprised that their presentation was a lot more imaginative and creative than I had expected. They were the loudest and most boisterous group and clearly loved their sorority. But -and a BIG but for me- they had the (deserved) reputation of being pretty wild and hard partyers. They pretty much paired up with one fraternity which had the same profile most of them did: very good looking, very polished socially, and heavy drinking and party pals. Lowest grades of all the Greeks; and many pledges who had to wait a semester to get their grades up to become actives as they didn't make the grades required by their National the semester they pledged. They were a "desirable" sorority, but I felt I had very little I had in common with them. And I disliked the fact that as soon as a young woman pledged them she dyed her hair either very black or very blond and wore very heavy make-up. Last was Portia, which had also started rushing me my Freshman year. It was also the sorority of our family doctor's wife, the family lawyer's wife, and the aunt of a good friend from high school. I had met many more Portias than I had the Biancas, although I had probably spent more time with the Biancas.. The more I got to know them, the higher they went in my estimation. I also went to breakfast with them right before formal rush started. But going into the house for the first round, I saw ahead of me four other rushees wearing pins from the same very well-regarded fraternity and greeted like they were already best friends with many of the actives. Beautiful girls, very poised, and looking very confident. Lots of fraternity pins on lots of other actives including very prominent fraternities in private colleges. Also a good many LARGE rocks as engagement rings. I was warmly greeted, the presentation was very good, and of course included the fact that Portia had received the trophy for being the outstanding sorority on campus. Well, they had been rushing me, so they must be seeing something in me. But I was feeling less confident than I had in Bianca. We all went back to our dorms and waited until the next day to see which if any had invited us back for the second round of parties. I honestly hadn't noticed or made any judgement about which physical house was the nicest., other than the fact that the Cleopatra house looked like someone had put quite a bit of money into it. I also noticed that the Portia house had a framed, signed Picasso poster in it that I wanted to know more about. |
This is great! Sounds very much like rush at Texas in 1970.
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I think rush was much more "formal" nationwide at that time. My Theta cousin on the East Coast coached me on what to wear. Dress was pretty much the same where she went to college. On my campus, we could not wear pants of any kind until after 6PM or on the weekends. We had to always wear a skirt in the dorm cafeterias, even for breakfast. We all HAD to live in a dorm. No apartment living!
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Congratulations on your 50th anniversary!
I am so enjoying your story. We received our rush party invitations in the same way at FSU and we had 18 chapters at the time. The invitations looked like large versions of "RSVP" cards...perhaps they were 3 x 5 in size? They said "Beta Gamma of Zeta Tau Alpha invites you to __________." They were they same for all the sororities. Below that were lines to check that you accepted or regretted the invitation. Were yours similar? |
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Picasso and recruitment….two of my favorite things!
Love, love, love this! |
Love your story! Thank you for sharing it. :)
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This sounds very like the stories my Mother and Aunt told me from 1957 and 1962.
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As we didn't have any Gamma Rhos or one group of prospects that we went through rush with, any feedback, support, or encouragement we got was back in the dorm or from friends we had made elsewhere. Silence was STRICTLY observed, at least from what I saw. And I made sure that I did not more than smile at any active I ran into on campus. My dorm was a smaller one and practically off campus, but several girls on my hall were also rushing. I didn't know any of them very well, but one from about the middle of my long hall where I was on the end recruited me to "go through rush" with her. I liked her very much and we agreed to go to and from the auditorium to get what were hopefully our invitations to the next parties. We also agreed to not talk about what parties we were invited back to or talk about any of the individual sororities except in a very general way of what we were looking for. Turned out that we were pretty much looking for the same things. She had been in the Miss America state pageant that summer with all the poise and looks that went along with that. Along with a VERY nice wardrobe. For the purpose of my story here I will call her "Willa".
So Willa and I went off to get our bid envelopes, understanding that a "Regret" might be in it. No personal calls or visits to deliver that bad news to you in person at that time. We were in different lines to pick up our envelopes and got together afterwards to walk back to our dorm. We could return to a maximum of four second round parties. Both Willa and I had full return party cards! I received invitations to ALL SIX and had to decide on the spot which two invitations I would decline. I declined Miranda and Rosalind. I actually thought I would fit in better with Rosalind than Cleopatra, but I was more curious about Cleopatra so decided to go there instead. Willa and I didn't discuss which groups we were returning to or how many invitations we had received. But we were both very happy with the second round of parties we would be attending. So I prepared to return to: Portia Bianca Beatrice Cleopatra. We did no ranking, but I mentally ranked them in the order above. Back at the dorm my roommates, suite mates, and other friends were certain I would end up in Portia, although they liked all of my top three. A Pi Phi who had transferred to be with her fiance was certain I would end up in Portia. There was no Pi Phi on my campus, although one of my neighbors was one and I thought very well of her and them. And of course I wondered what she knew that I didn't! I had NO idea what went on on the other side of rush and of course imagined that every little flaw would be noticed and discussed and that the dreaded black ball might be cast. I later learned that cuts had been heavy after the first round, and that the Portia cuts were heaviest of all. I was thrilled to be going back, but also cautious about getting my hopes up as I had been told before that theirs was the hardest sorority to get a bid to. To be continued! |
The next round was two parties each night for two nights. Each party lasted about two hours, so there was more time to get to know members of the sororities. For the first night I went to Cleopatra and Bianca.
Cleopatra's party was held at the ranch of one of the alums, a pretty posh place. I don't remember much about it other than getting into a car with several of the actives and making general chit-chat with them as we drove out to the ranch. There were skits in this round, and I must say that the skit was very clever. They had written a short poem for each of the rushees there, and mine was very complimentary. As were all the others. All of them made reference to our LOOKS! But given that they were always at the bottom with their GPA, I had to wonder if they had hired a ghost writer! I met and chatted with a good many of the actives, but the subjects were more along the lines of cocktail party chatter. I didn't feel any connection with any of them, and I doubted that they did with me. The second and final party for that day was with Bianca, which had been rushing me very strongly and which I had liked all along. I don't remember the theme of their skit but did enjoy the opportunity to get to know several of their members better. Elizabeth once again greeted me and showed me around. Conversation flowed, but it was slowly dawning on me that my strongest connection to them was with the very sweet and gracious Elizabeth who had been my primary rusher from the beginning, starting the previous spring. I also started looking around to see which other rushees were attending the second round of parties and recognized several familiar and compatible faces at the Bianca party. Not so at the Cleopatra party. In fact there, there was one girl from my dorm who regularly came in drunk and looking like she had been ridden hard and put up wet! And they seemed to be crazy about her. The next evening it was on to Beatrice for my first party. I finally got some one on one time with several of their actives and had very substantial conversations. Oh, dear. They were slipping into occupying Bianca's place in the great scheme of things in my mind. Their skit was cute, but I won't say much about it as describing it would reveal their identity to many here. They incorporated each rushee individually by name into their skit. I didn't particularly care for that as it put each of us literally into the spotlight, which I figured was for the benefit of the actives to take a close look at each of us. But it also gave us a good opportunity to look at the other girls attending their party. Again, I saw several familiar faces and ones I appreciated seeing. I left feeling the connection with them but not the warmth of Bianca. I wondered if perhaps they were looking too much at resumes. Or just that I didn't know them as well as yet. Or that we really didn't connect on a personal, friendship level. My final party of the evening and also the skit round was Portia. I had decided to wear my new empire-waist dress to parties that night and had received many compliments on it. I didn't see that silhouette on anyone else at either party. The skit was a very clever circus theme, light-hearted and fun. Rushees and actives mixed and mingled the rest of the evening. I liked that the actives were introducing rushees to each other as well! I saw many more familiar faces, including two of the girls already pinned I had seen the first day as well as girls I had seen at other parties. One thing that emerged more clearly to me was how individualistic the members of Portia were. There were beauty queens, but not all were beauty queens. Lots of elected members of student government as well as many other organizations on campus., including honoraries and elected officers. Those among the less physically attractive had very compelling personalities and were campus leaders. Several others were members of a selective service club and yet others were members of Angel Flight, which was a big deal at that time. There was also a very wide cross-section of majors, including several having mine. I was feeling more and more that this was IT for me! I strongly felt that each member had been selected for her unique qualities,something I was looking for in a sisterhood. Then at the very end of the party, the president, an officer of the forum for women I was to be a "Candlelighter" for, and one of the varsity cheerleaders came over to talk with me. Two of them complimented my dress, which did stand out in a sea of shirtwaists and wrap skirts. I also wore my great grandmother's gold cuff bracelet for luck. But then the president said, "Yes, I like your dress, but aren't you afraid that people will think you are pregnant?" The other two actives went white and my jaw must have hit the floor! The other two immediately jumped in to chide her, but I honestly didn't know what to make of it. You must remember that back in that day no "nice" girl would do the deed no matter how tempted or how committed she and her boyfriend were to each other. There were no coed dorms, no men allowed in the dorms past the front desk, and a young lady could be expelled from school if caught in a man's apartment. I was really mortified that anyone would even hint that I might be pregnant and especially a Portia and the president no less! They all left me standing there alone for a few minutes. What was I to think of that? And what were my prospects? The rush chairman went out of her way to walk me out when the party was over which reassured me a bit but not entirely. |
Wow! Talk about an awkward moment.
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OMG! I can't even imagine. My face would have turned beet red!
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I'm surprised I didn't pass out! Of course I wondered if anyone else in Portia or in Beatrice would think I might be pregnant! And if so, if word would get around to the other houses.
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OMG that IS embarassing! I wouldve taken it to being called fat, which is a different level of mortification. But, the body ideals may have been different then.
I want more! |
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There was probably a lot of desperate hissing going on between the actives -- "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT? WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NOW? SHE'S GOING TO HATE US AND WE REALLY WANTED HER! WHAT IF SHE TELLS OTHER RUSHEES THE AWFUL THING YOU SAID TO HER? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? WE SHOULD JUST LEAVE YOU IN THE KITCHEN, BUT WE CAN'T BECAUSE YOU ARE PRESIDENT." |
Just wow. I can't imagine it being said today, but back then? Yikes. :eek:
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No, it wasn't a code for being "fat" as I was very slender. Being pregnant would have been MUCH worse than being fat!
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Willa and I once again walked over to the auditorium the next evening to pick up our envelopes which contained either a Regret or an invitation(s) for Preference. As before, we got into our respective lines and met up afterwards to walk back to our dorm.
We both had full dance cards! But still didn't tell each other whom we had preffed or what invitations we had received. I had told only my friends at the other end of our dorm hall about the "Pregnancy Dress". Willa knew nothing about it. I found invitations to: Bianca Beatrice Portia Yes! Portia had invited me to their Preferential Party! I didn't know of course where I stood vis a vis other rushees and wasn't nearly as confident with them as I was with Bianca. And of course I was also very interested in Beatrice. I felt confident that I would be a good fit with any of the three. But we had to respond on the spot to the invitations we had received. After some quick thinking and consulting with what I felt in my gut I accepted the invitations to Bianca Portia Both Preferential parties were held on the next evening. I was to go to Bianca first followed by Portia. By the time the invitations for the Preferential parties came out, the pool of rushees had dwindled substantially, either from cuts or self-removal. So we were really getting down to the wire. I'm sure that many young women were heartbroken about either not getting any invitations to preference or being cut from their favorites. But there was no public crying back then. For sure many likely went back to their dorm rooms, closed the door, and cried there. Rush back then was every bit as emotional as it is now but emotions kept in check in public. |
So the night for Preferential had finally come and I had decided to accept the invitations of the two groups which had been hanging in there with me since the prior spring semester. Cleopatra, by the way, had not invited me to their pref party, which was no surprise to me.
I had two possible dresses to wear, a pretty standard LBD to wear with pearls and a very pale icy pink one with trapunto detailing on the bodice. Both were flattering and good with my coloring. I decided to wear the pink dress as I liked it better, and it was more distinctive. AND it was fitted at the waist! We were all dressed to the nines, actives and rushees alike. The Bianca party was lovely and ethereal with many of the actives dressed accordingly. One of the members was playing the harp throughout the party and the singing was soft and beautiful in a very dim room. At the end the actives made two files with an aisle between them where each of us prospective members was walked down by our presenting member to the president where we received a flower, then walked back to our place. My presenter was of course Elizabeth, who had been with me every step of the way for many months now. Once back in our position, she leaned close to me and whispered in my ear an oral bid!!! She had said, "There's not a single woman in this room who wouldn't love to be your sister!" Panhellenic of course had told us several times that oral bids were strictly against the rules, and that if we received one at any time, we should pay no attention whatsoever to it. I was really taken off-guard, stunned, and said "Thank you" but nothing more. I think I was able to get my Bianca flower into my purse and went off to the Portia party, which was held in the beautiful home of an alum. I don't remember any theme for this party, heavenly or otherwise, other than a beautiful centerpiece on the dining room table with the Portia Greek letters incorporated into the design. And a second very similar one just outside floating in the swimming pool surrounded by floating candles. Very lovely understated elegance. And the home was beautifully furnished with what appeared to be antique family furniture pieces and some antique silver serving pieces.. Now my mother was from a very old Virginia family and my father from an almost equally old New Jersey family, so I was quite familiar with family pieces being incorporated into the decor of a home. I was wearing once again for luck the narrow gold cuff bracelet that had belonged to my great-grandmother and given her as a girl. Tradition was speaking to me. The lighting was such that I could clearly see the other prospects and by now recognized many. As I also had at the Bianca party with a fair amount of overlap. The formal part of the party was simple but meaningful. And each of us was given a flower tied with ribbons of Portia's colors but in a more spontaneous way without ceremony right before we all left. My flower was given me by none other than the President who had commented on my "pregnancy dress"! But she seemed very sincere. As did all the other actives. NO oral bid! Both parties and ceremonies were very meaningful and moving, but I saw no tears flowing! Perhaps a sign of the times as I think we were more publicly reserved back then. |
This is riveting!
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The pregnancy comment reminds me of a sister who upon meeting me (as an alum) said "wow, I'm pale, but you look like the Joker." Thanks, I love you too. :rolleyes: |
I love this story!
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I love it too! Change is mostly good but sometimes I wish the Greek world would take a little step back!
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We didn't have to contend with "tent talk" as the only time we were all together at the same place and the same time was to pick up our envelopes. We got into our line, picked up our envelopes, and then pretty much stepped off by ourselves to see what was in them. I don't remember much talking at all. And of course the Pan Hellenic members distributing the envelopes were observing Silence. I would say that most of us likely had an "image" of each of the six sororities by the time we went through rush as Sophomores. But I really don't remember much "trash talk" during rush. The increased formality of it probably set the tone. Also, back at that time, our professors called us "Miss Smith, Miss Jones" and the like! The general expectation was that we were to act like grown-ups any time we were on campus. |
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What was really ridiculous and which we resented mightily was having the same rules apply when we turned 21. Even if you were MARRIED you had to get permission from the Dean of Women to live with your husband! And it was often not forthcoming. I remember one woman in my Freshman dorm who was visibly pregnant who had not as yet received permission to live with her husband. She finally got it before she popped! A couple of years later I talked with the Dean of Women about these antediluvian practices. Her story -and she stuck with it- was that there were those on the Board of Directors as well as big financial donors who insisted on them. Most of us couldn't wait to get out by graduation time! |
Back to my story!
Willa and I walked over to the large auditorium together from our dorm to place our final selections. By then Willa and I both knew that we had been to the Portia Preferential Party, but not the same one. Willa broke her "silence" with me and told me that she wanted us to be in the same pledge class, namely Portia's! And Portia was what she was going to rank first! She asked me what I was going to do. I told her that I was more confident in getting a bid from Bianca. Then she said, 'But which one do you really WANT?!!!" I told her that my heart had been really set on Portia all along from the very beginning. So she told me she HOPED I would rank Portia first. Willa met me outside to walk back and said, "Well.......?" I told her I had screwed up my courage and placed Portia first as that was where my heart was. So we walked back to the dorm to wait until the next afternoon when the final bids or regrets would be delivered to our dorm. I didn't tell anyone else how I had ranked my pref bids. |
The next day was the looooongest day, but we were all certain to be in our dorm rooms during the afternoon when the envelopes would be delivered. The system in those days was a buzzer system which went into our rooms. A certain number of buzzes indicted a phone call, another pattern to come to the front desk, and so on. So we knew we would get a buzz to come to the front desk no matter what the outcome. We were also told that we wouldn't be buzzed until the person before us had left. We didn't know WHO would be delivering either a bid or a regret so of course were all looking out our windows. Willa and I were both on the back of the dorm so didn't have a good view of anything.
So we waited, and waited, and waited. Other girls were getting buzzed to come to the front desk, but neither of us did until the late afternoon. The girl on our hall who we both thought would be a Cleopatra did indeed get a Cleopatra bid and had already dyed her hair the lightest blond possible! A couple of Miranda bids had been delivered as well as one Beatrice and a Rosalind, both on the other side of the dorm. Both Willa and I were getting nervous, but we had been able to find out that bids were being delivered by an active member of each sorority. Or perhaps the regrets by Panhellenic representatives? FINALLY Willa got a buzz and went down to get her envelope. I didn't have chance to find out her outcome as I soon got a buzz and several friends from my end of the dorm hall went down to the front desk with me. So there was the envelope which I nervously opened. The first thing I saw was the Greek letter for the particular chapter giving me the bid and I saw XXX, which was the first letter of Bianca's Greek NPC name. But I soon recognized that it was the chapter designation for............. Portia!!! otherwise known as..... the home of the Cardinal and Straw........And the signed Picasso poster..... Chi Omega!!!! And YES! Willa and I were to be pledge sisters!!!! To be continued with our Bid Acceptance |
This is, hands down, one of the best recruitment stories I've ever read.
Can't wait to hear about Bid Acceptance! |
I've really enjoyed reading this story! Can't wait to read the rest! :)
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Loved reading this. Thank you so much for taking us back to your recruitment.
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Thanks so much for your kind comments! And now the conclusion:
It was with great excitement that Willa and I went over to the house that evening to accept our bids. No running in the streets! No frat boys holding cans of beer making their comments on our way over! Bid Acceptance was rather formal in dress, basically the same kinds of dresses we had worn to our pref parties. If I remember correctly, our pledge pins were pinned on us that night. And we were also given an owl lavalier which we were to wear with it. Also a name tag. We were instructed that we could wear our pledge pins only when wearing a skirt, but that we could wear our lavaliers any time. We were also given a long stemmed white carnation tied with the Chi Omega colors of Cardinal and Straw. Next came the Open House for Bid Acceptance. All of us new pledges were lined up into a receiving line holding our carnations where we received congratulations for about two hours. All of the actives of all the sorority houses filed through and congratulated the members of each new pledge classes. And the members of all the fraternities dressed in suit and tie filed through to congratulate each of us. We were told to turn our cheek so it would land there for any kiss any of the males wanted to give us, including any boyfriends. Then of course non-Greek friends and some parents also came to give us their best wishes. Also some faculty members, probably one from each department on campus. I was a bit apprehensive about Elizabeth coming through. She did and was as gracious and warm as always. I thanked her for all she had done for me, and that I greatly admired her sorority and that my decision had been a difficult one. We hugged each other and extended our best wishes to each other. After everyone had left but before we had to go back to our respective dorms, several of the actives told me how pleasantly surprised they were to hear my name when it was called out (amidst screaming) as they had thought I would go Bianca. They knew that they had rushed me very hard and for a long time. I told them that Chi O was my favorite from the beginning and that in the end I had followed my heart. And THEN of course I heard about the mortification about our president's comments about my "pregnancy dress"! There was great anxiety on their side and mine about ensuing cuts. We could all laugh about it then but of course hadn't when it happened. My pledge class was awesome with a larger number than usual because of the number of seniors who had graduated along with several who had graduated early. But quota was met. As I met them one by one, I discovered how delightful all my pledge sisters were. All four of the girls I had seen wearing their fraternity pins before the opening Open House for rush were now my sisters. I was in the wedding of one of them a couple of years later. My pledge sisters reflected the kind of diversity I had discovered among the actives during rush. Also, one of my pledge sisters was the other Sophomore chosen to participate in the formal welcome to the new Freshmen women of our school! She also had her long white dress ready! Little did either of us know that we would need that long white dress later on in the year! Epilogue We Chi Omegas continued to thrive, and many in my pledge class emerged as campus leaders. We again won the most outstanding sorority trophy and were tops in grades. I was elected student government secretary and the following year secretary of the XXX state association of student governments. Willa twisted my arm to accept the invitation to go through rush for Angel Flight where she was already a member, as were many other Chi Os. I did so reluctantly and actually was selected after several rounds. Willa also dragged me out of bed for the 7AM marching practices. Would she ever let up on me?!!! She also lived with me one summer at home when she got a summer job in the city where I lived. The Civil Rights Movement had come to the fore in our state and we Chi Omegas were split on the issue about 50/50 about my junior year. But we learned to disagree without being disagreeable about it and to not make it an issue with our sisterhood. My inspiring, incredible Pledge Trainer and one of her pledge sisters decided to both go into the Peace Corps after graduation. I had been seriously thinking about it for some time and decided to follow in their footsteps. I went through their rigorous selection process followed by an equally rigorous training and found my service there one of the most life-changing, challenging, and amazing experiences of my young life. I am still in touch with people in my country of service and will always have a deep bond with them. I went back to see them four years ago. But no, I was not able to end world hunger! Willa married and went to live in London with her professor husband, where she had her two boys. But returned after they divorced. Some years later after we were both divorced from our first husbands, we decided to get our pledge class and the other actives when we were in college together for a reunion on the occasion of our alma mater's centennial celebration. A good 25 or 30 were able to attend a luncheon, and we had a blast! We all sat together at the football game wearing our badges along with the current chapter of actives. Several of us from out of town stayed with Willa in her home and had quite a slumber party! We were gratified to see that Chi Omega hadn't changed at all over the years and was still attracting the same quality of girls. We met a good many of the current crop of actives who were young and dewy and just adorable. There are now 12 NPC sororities on campus! Willa never re-married despite having suitors. She returned to school and got her Masters in math and taught for many years back in the town of our alma mater before working in private industry. She did a beautiful job of rearing her two sons as a single mother. I did remarry, this time to an Ivy Leager. He came with three children, and we had one. We are still married; all the children are doing well and are happily married. None of them had the slightest interest in becoming a Greek. I did tons and tons of work in my community and raised lots of money for community organizations on a volunteer basis while also working full time, something I definitely carried over from my days as a Peace Corps volunteer. But I had also learned how to juggle a full schedule from my Chi Omega days. And most certainly leadership skills. I also became the recommendations chair for the southern part of my state. Much to my great surprise I was elected to first one Who's Who then subsequent others, something I had never expected. Before I had our son I returned to school for a Masters Degree and became a residential interior designer. That had never been in the cards for me as an undergraduate, but I loved working in design and helping to bring to fruition my clients' dreams for their homes. My husband and I are both now retired and remain active in our community here, which we both love. I still take out my Chi Omega Symphony to read from time to time. Yes, sisterhood CAN be forever! This is Willa's and my story, but there are many others. Chi Omega Yours Forever |
Wonderful story!
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