No frills recruitment ... what does that mean?
 

I met with a house director last night and was told that Ole Miss is going "no frills" during recruitment. What does that mean?

“No Frills” recruitment: A recruitment style that focuses on quality communication with
potential new members as opposed to decorations and matching outfits.“No frills” recruitment is defined by the National Panhellenic Conference as “an effort to eliminate high cost and time demands for decorating and
entertainment.” Recruitment focuses on quality communication with potential new members” (NPC Manual of Information, p. 137)
EX:
The following is a list of (but not limited to) items which are/not considered frills:

Considered Frills
- Attire that has potential to inflate financial
burden of membership and be considered
a costume for chapter members.
- Banners, Posters, Flags* Composite pictures, trophies or plaques
- Recruitment video during the rounds
- Crafts
- Music, additional lighting
- elaborate skits

Not considered frills:
- Recruitment event attire for chapter
members that reduces individual financial
burden and eliminates costuming.
- Composite pictures, trophies or plaques,
Wooden chapter letters in chapter colors,
chapter house banner, display boards
- Philanthropy video
- Recruitment Slide Show
- Recruitment video posted on the chapter
social media page.
- Activity/Discussion of how an individual
can connect with the Chapter’s
philanthropic cause

Indiana State has an exhaustive "No Frills" run down: https://www.indstate.edu/sites/defau...ment-rules.pdf

Crafts are frills? So no more crafts during the philanthropy round? Not that I’m sad (far from it), I was just surprised that they were on the list. So philanthropy day is basically show a video and talk day?

Dunno, it says that videos are considered frills.

Crafts on philanthropy day fell out of favor when they realized most were thrown in the trash because there weren't enough to donate, the chapter never got around to donating them, they weren't really usable as designed,etc., etc..

Having rushed during the days of frills, I can see how non-frills recruitment focuses on meaningful conversation in a way that frills might not have although I felt I really got to know the girls in each chapter, especially by the time I reached Pref - had a real sense of personality and when I pledged, I knew I had found my home even though I really liked girls in the other house I went to for preference. Girls likely were influenced by the skits, decor, food, etc. And the frills varied, from what I saw, from school to school.

I went to Arizona and our frills paled in comparison to those at Ole Miss where my cousins went - I remember seeing pictures where they had elaborate homemade name tags (like something from Martha Stewart), matching dresses, etc. We had Panhellenic issued plain white name tags (where you wrote your name and hometown). We wore our own clothes for first and second rounds; for skits we wore black tee-shirt type tops that had Gamma Phi Beta in script on them with white shorts. Our skits were cute, but nothing elaborate (no fancy decor; we had snacks in our dining room and bowls of M&M's in rooms as we toured the rushees through the house including bedrooms - do chapters do that now?). I'll admit our pref party food was Martha Stewart-like - small flower pots lined and filled with ice cream with oreo cookie crumbs on top and a pink carnation in a tiny plastic vile inserted in it along with frosted cookies in our Greek letters and a small piece of cake with our names in script on top - that was as fancy as we got and yes, I think that was pretty frills-like. On Bid Day we got a pink carnation (our flower), a simple tee-shirt, pledge ribbons and a cook-out at the house. Our first Pledge Mom (called big sister at other schools) gave us a welcoming note-card. Nothing that broke the bank like I see at many schools.

Since there were no philanthropies there was nothing to focus on that emphasized public service. I do think the non-frills style puts all chapters on equal footing although it's also clear from posts on here how the fixation on tiers still exists so I wonder how much no-frills truly impacts rush although it certainly saves money and time!

Is no-frills recruitment the same as values-based recruitment?

Well, technically but the chapter still could "focus" on something else....if you get my drift.

Two questions:

Why are composites, trophies and plaques on both lists?

NYCMS? No philanthropy at all, or no philanthropy DAY?

I never saw the point of the crafts. We did big service events where we often made things that fell in line with things chapters would do for a "crafts day" (and probably attracted some PNMs in the process) but I couldn't imagine doing it during recruitment.

I wondered that, too. How on earth are groups with hundreds of members going to take down all their big honkin composites (which I assume are affixed to the walls by a bit more than a Command hook)?

Two ways:

1) They just cover them up!

or

2) This is really going to blow your mind: They move everything out...yes, hire movers who take it to a storage facility and then bring it all (furniture and all) back after recruitment. I know at Arizona State many of the chapters do this.

When I cut and pasted, I messed up. Composites, trophies, and plagues are not considered frills. I apologize. (And it won't let me edit it . . . ? )

My bad (and poor memory!), we have a philanthropy, but there was no Philanthropy Day - we had Skit Parties which were replaced by Philanthropy Day for several reasons, likely including the 'frills' element since some sororities had skits that rivaled Broadway shows and others didn't.

And to address a comment above: Removing composites because they are "frills". We covered up the pics of the girls who were rush counselors. The only way they could remotely be considered frills was that some houses had way more members on their composites but PNM's can figure that out on their own.

The DPhiE chapter at Georgia takes the furniture out from downstairs during recruitment, but it's purely practical. It's so they can accommodate all of the PNMs and sisters in the house during the parties.

yes, it's a practical thing in some places...but others...well...

I like what Texas State does now - recruitment is held in hotel ballrooms. PNMs don't have to worry about the heat, or rain, each sorority is on a level playing field that concentrates the pnms' attention on things other than the house, and the houses don't have to be turned upside down for recruitment.

And the day Ole Miss goes true no frills, I will be long dead and buried!!

Greek Life at Ole Miss has taken some turns lately that would make your mouth drop. The lack of solid representation of NPC organizations in the Greek Life office (called Fraternal Leadership and Learning) is shocking to me. There is a single, part time grad student in the department that is a member of an NPC organization. None of the other employees in the department, professional University staff, are NPC. And that is just the start...

I'm sure....all the more reason that true no frills won't happen. Someone may not have $10K worth of cream roses at Pref but the money will be spent somewhere...

I was really sad to hear that the houses no longer did skits, etc. when my daughter went through last year. I LOVED being a part of our skits back in the day and thoroughly enjoyed them as a rushee as well! BUT. That being said, there really wasn't much focus on the girls going through and getting to know them as much as it was "showing off" our girls and what WE were about. It seems like there was just a few minutes of talking before setting down to see the skits, which I believe we had for three rounds! So from that perspective, I get why they have gone to the No Frills style of recruitment. It focuses more on the value of each PNM as well as levels the playing field between the houses.

I know for a fact that one house rented a baby grand piano this year because all the other houses had them. I don't think things are going to be totally no frill yet!

I think that skits were probably originally meant to be a light hearted 5-10 minutes where the rushees could sit down, eat, take a little break from all the questions. Good idea. Unfortunately they ballooned into Broadway-esque productions and too many generations of sorority members think that’s what skits are supposed to be.

You all need to go and read the recruitment rules....I mean I am all for a "no frills"--seriously as a past network specialist for my sorority and a past chapter adviser from Ole Miss--everyone has needed to "tone" down things for a while.

http://panhellenic.olemiss.edu/wp-co...Procedures.pdf

However-just read the rules...the part of "flare jeans from a certain store" is the best rule I've ever seen. Apparently flare jeans are considered a costume :)

i. No costuming will be worn during Panhellenic Primary
Recruitment. Costuming is prohibited.
1. Sororities may not require or “strongly suggest” that members
purchase a specific article of clothing for recruitment (i.e., flare
jeans).
2. Chapters may wear “blue jeans” or matching t-shirts, but may
not require flare blue jeans from a certain store.



Another favorite is:
Videos may not show:
1. Men (i.e. Matt Luke, athletic teams, etc.)--this is very amusing to me.


Then it talks in detail about what they cannot do on Bid Day. By golly--they really just want them to make friends and not have any pretty balloons for cute pics in the background :) No balloons, no food trucks, etc
E. Bid Day
a. Chapter members and alumnae should not visit other chapters, including said chapter’s
house or designated bid day space.
b. All activities are alcohol and drug free. Even chapter members who are 21 years old
are not allowed to consume alcohol.
c. Chapter members are allowed to wear matching t-shirts on Bid Day.
d. The only outside decorations allowed during Bid Day shall be two banners, up to
three sets of wooden letters and three sorority specific props (e.g. Chi O can have an
owl as one of theirs).
e. There shall be no:
i. Balloons
ii. Streamers
iii. Confetti
iv. Food machines (i.e. popcorn or cotton candy machine)
v. Outside vendors (i.e.. face painter, balloon maker, DJ, etc.)
Recruitment Rules and Procedures 2019 | 19
f. All food and refreshments served on Bid Day must be served inside the sorority chapter facility with the exception of water being served outdoors.
g. There shall be no live entertainment (e.g. DJ or band), inside or outside, on Sorority Row or Rebel Drive. There may be music inside the chapter house off of a phone or laptop, but no outside person can be hired.
h. There shall be no non-familial men or alcohol during the Bid Day. Only new
members, active members, their families, and alumnae may be on the sorority chapter’s property during Bid Day activities.
i. Exceptions are limited to university officials and contracted photographers.



Lastly, I will say there is a rule (and I think this has been in place for a while) where you can't go house-to-house to see where your rush crush ended up. I get that and I really hope they enforce that. I can remember seeing groups of sorority women just wandering around looking for their "girl" to make sure she was happy or whatever. And all of the sororities use to do this.

Anyway, as an alumna with two young legacies we don't even try to go to bid day since it's really not our place to be there. I'm not an advisor anymore but I will come back one day. Anyway, cheers and best of luck to all of the Ole Miss PNMs this week! I hope you find your home like I did 23 years ago!

But considering the age group, I don’t think you really need to say “Wrangler skinny jeans” if that is what’s in, because no one would consider wearing Britannia flare jeans anyway, even if you just say “jeans.”

My guess is that this is to prohibit sororities from requiring their members to purchase high-end brands like Moussy (which run well over $300) and allow them to pick the brand and wear $19 Old Navy jeans if they want.

As somebody who went through no-frills rush before no frills was a thing (small school, didn't have these big budgets), I have to ask. Before "no frills" existed, did you really get a chance to connect with women, if you were so busy with skits and crafts, etc.? I'm genuinely curious.

In my rush, I was simply brought around to have as many conversations as I could. There was a 5 presentation about our philanthropy and maybe a 5 minute video with photos and music to show the sisterhood, but other than that it was all conversation. Except for pref, obviously.

As for clothes, we were dictated down to the shoes. I remember there once being a HUGE argument about brown vs. black with a navy shirt.

Not ALL of the sororities used to do this and it was certainly not to make sure she was happy. I know of specific instances where those groups of girls would actually go to another house's bid day celebration to talk a particular girl OUT of accepting her bid and have no Greek affiliation for a year, with the promise that they would extend a bid to her the following year. :eek: Panhellenic violation much?? :mad::mad::mad::mad:

whhaaattt? That's disgusting!

Of course we connected with the women amongst the flowers and pageantry. I don't think the meaning of "why" we were there was ever lost. I met many women (who did not pledge my sorority) who ended up being close friends or best friends during recruitment. For me it's about the people. People like people. I can find a connection though with just about anyone. But honestly, I think the decorations just added more work for everyone involved with recruitment back in the day. Were the decorations over the top and amazing??? Of course! Were the skits fabulous, funny, and interesting???? Of course! But in the long run it was more work for collegians, alumnae, and parents. But I can honestly say, I felt the sisterhood and love of my chapter amongst the overabundance of red roses and other decorations.

This is coming from a Northerner. I know sorority recruitment and such is another dimension down south.

I have heard nowadays that at some schools parents are only allowed to watch the run home and can't go directly to the houses. I could be wrong though.

The other thing is why would you be sad if someone didn't go your legacy house/a friends went to ABC but you got DEF? If my kid got a bid anywhere and she kept a cool head during recruitment I'd be mega proud of her!

I find the whole-family-at-bid-day thing weird, too. I wouldn't want to babysit an entourage while a. still getting to know my new org and b. still processing feelings about my bid, even if I'm happy with my result.

Bid day was for us to celebrate and bond with our new chapter. Presents, OTOH, was a special luncheon for our parents (or whomever we wanted to invite as our "family") to celebrate our new member status and get to know other AOIIs and their fams. We'd know our pledge class by then and have our big sisters assigned, so we'd actually be able to give context when introducing our families to people. "This is my big sis Lisa, we like to watch the news together and clown the talking heads" is better than "This is Susan, she rushed me three days ago... I think." ;)

I didn't experience family at bid day for myself, but I did at Alabama with my daughters when they pledged DDD. Squeal Day at Alabama was really a party and my daughter did not babysit me at all. I hung around taking photos and visiting with parental friends from town (and friends from all over) and my sister-in-law, whose daughter pledged ZTA.

I will absolutely say that when I went through, I can't remember one conversation I had but I remember the skits, the songs, food, decorations and the pretty girls that I was dazzled by. I would like to believe that the no-frills rush definitely creates more ACTUAL connections than the "let's put our prettiest, funniest girls on stage and sell our sisterhood" that I feel it was back then. I'm not a shallow person--it as just more about pageantry and food and music than it was about talking and getting to know people.

Not going to lie—with the way that chapters recycled skits, I always had a tiny part of my heart that hoped the little legacy would one day play one of the roles I did in college and I could go and see her on preview night. Heck, I had dreams of taking a little curly haired Shirley Temple look-alike to preview night and telling her stories about when her own curley haired momma went to see the “pretty Theta girls.” Alas, that dream will never come true.

On another note, it was nice to see how stress free recruitment was for the little legacy this year now that she’s on “the other side.” Within a few hours or recruitment ending each day, she was free. There was not any practices that extended into the wee hours of the morning. Their door stacks were “on point” and they didn’t have to worry about anything else. That was quite a change from the days of full frills. Low stress daughter probably does trump momma’s over-active dream life so I guess I must throw some love to “no-frills.”

Now, if they take away the annual Easter Egg hunt, then we will have some serious problems...

I can see that but I found the days of frills to be another way my sisters and I bonded...laughing as we practiced running out on the yard and singing our welcome song, working on skits, working on rotations, etc. - work week was so much fun. I think what's lost now, especially among larger chapters (over 260 or 300) is the opportunity to work alongside a sister that you may not know that well due to the chapter size. Arizona wasn't as full frills as the SEC schools I knew of, so I can see how a place like Ole Miss (homemade name tags, matching outfits, etc. that my cousins had) did put a lot of work on alums, but at my school, I don't think it did. I truly believe we bonded at another level because of being engaged in such activities...likewise I believe having to wait a semester for initiation (we initiated in March after pledging in late August) made me appreciate the opportunity to be member of my sorority in another way that I think can get lost today. For sure I knew my sorority history well, my sisters (even though my chapter was large) and I had to 'earn' it. I think earning things is sometimes lost today in many areas of life.

NCYMS,

Workweek is still very alive and active. It was little legacy’s favorite thing. They spent tons of time practicing songs, chants, door stacks and convos. They even swapped with another Group on the row and they got to mock rush those girls. “Inspiration week” was filled with arrive projects, inspirational speakers and LOTS of bonding activities—as well as getting to know tons of girls as they went through their bump groups and practiced convos. It really was stress-free and fun. It seems like the best things have been kept in and expanded.