Black and Spring Rushing (2015) for a Panhellenic Sorority
 

Hey guys. So excited to have found this website. I am a sophomore and I recently made the decision to go through informal recruitment/spring rush at my southern public institution. Ever since then, I go through these moments of questioning my decision and wondering if I am going in the right direction. I have looked into NPHC sororities but I just do not vibe with me. It's almost to the point where in order to even feel slightly comfortable, I have to talk a certain way and avoid saying certain things and i absolutely hate that. I feel that I would be a lot more happier in a panhellenic sorority. There's one in particular that I am gunning for because I get along so well with the members. Everything that I look for in a sorority, they posses it and I love that. There are numerous minorities in that particular sorority so I am less worried about that and more anxious about the backlash. I am scared of the backlash from other black students because we do self segregate ourselves at my school and I have heard people on numerous occasions making snide comments about the black girls that were in panhellenic sororities. I am also nervous about fitting in with the other girls because of so many cultural differences. I have already made up about at least going through with the process because I want to give it a chance but were I to be given a bid, I do not know if I would accept it. Anyone have any advice? I would really love to hear them especially from any black girls in npc. Thanks!

You need to stop "gunning for" one sorority in particular and keep an open mind to ALL the groups. That's how NPC rush works. I would say that if you were black, white, or polka dot.

As for the rest of your question, not my lane.

well in her defense, informal is much less about keeping an open mind. However, the group in question may not be participating in informal rush. I would recommend attending parties at every chapter you can.

Good luck!

I don't agree.

LOL. I always wonder why people create polka dot humans when discussing race. ;)

To the OP, do not speak negative about NPHC sororities. Do not feel a need to explain why you are not interested in an NPHC sorority. Do not approach the NPC as you would the NPHC or adopt aspects of NPHC culture if you join an NPC sorority.

Perhaps I should explain further. At my school we can only rush for one sorority during the spring as it's more for people who were unable to do fall and as a result have gotten to learn about the different sororities and know which one they are interested in. If I had the option, I would move around to all the sororities but i can only pick one to show interest to.

When you're at a recruitment party/COB event and find yourself talking to a racial minority sister, you could ask her about her experiences. It would be more relevant to your situation and campus climate than anything someone here could tell you.

Because green is either Vulcan, She-hulk or Dryad (All of which would be fascinating to see go through NPC recruitment) and purple is passé.

How common is this at various schools?

Don't discriminate against burnt orange and hot pink.

I've never heard of it and I think she has misinterpreted the rules and process.

I agree. I'm in the south and never heard of this at any public institution here...or anywhere for that matter.

Well, if informal isn't structured at all, it may be that every group is having events at the same time, and it would be difficult to check out more than one.

In which case she could alternate....

The way our rush is set up, technically you can rush for more than one, but you're not really supposed to. The sororities have events at different periods. For example, one is recruiting and giving bids within the first week back while another doesn't hold any events until almost the end of January. Therefore, if you do not know which sorority you are interested in, there is almost no point in going through with recruitment.

Girls can't just attend each sororities event until they get a bid from one of them?

Certainly the wrong way to look at it. You can always decline an invitation if you decide a group is not a fit for you. Not to mention, what happens if you "think" you want the one recruiting last and they don't invite you??????

I can't imagine that NPC HQs would be okay with even the most informal of rushes as you've described it. Unless you're including groups that aren't NPC.

It is not the NPC way to make a girl choose in advance to rush one chapter over another. I would guess you are overlaying NPHC rules (because they DO expect you to choose in advance) or these are traditionally white but not actually NPC sororities.

And to put a finer point on it, screw what they expect you to do. I would rush at every possible chapter available to you so that you can make the most informed choice possible. You need to understand that while many girls make a sorority decision based on her college experience, most of us here have taken our lifetime commitment as just that. Flipping a coin about which parties you're going to attend for the next year and a half is not what joining a sorority should be about. At least it shouldn't be the only factor.

I don't know if this is the situation but at the school I went to, a large public institution, the chapters themselves decided whether they were going to have an informal rush in the spring. Most of the chapters are huge and are at chapter total and do not always participate in any type of informal or open rush activities. The chapters that do set their own schedules for parties so what OP is describing could very easily happen with one chapter holding parties one week and another later in the month. In this case the PNM would decide whether she wanted to attend the events for a particular group

Whether the chapters decide to recruit is not the issue. It's the idea that you have to pick one to visit and can't go to any others. That is NOT the NPC way and that's what we are discussing. She thinks she can only pick one group's parties to attend. If they don't give her a bid or invite her back to even a second party, then she's pretty much out of luck. Not the way NPC does it - more like NPHC or locals.