Q about rush themes....why?
 

i go to a school where greek life is not very big, our pledge classes during formal recruitment are usually between 15 and 20 girls. we really need to do well this year because half of our sorority is graduating....girls have commented that when they went through rush, we were the only sorority that didn't have a theme in our rush room. some girls feel like that makes us hard to remember for pnm's. but the themes that have been suggested... like candy, or sports... have nothing to do with us. why would you use a theme like that? and i just can't think of a theme that really would have anything to do with us. can anyone tell me some themes they have used, and WHY?

Themes are just used to make your rush more memorable and fun for the PNMs. It's better to be remembered "the house that had the the beach theme" as opposed to "Gamma Phi? which one was that again?." It can get girls more interested in you. There are lots of threads on GC about various rush themes that have worked on all types of budgets, if you do a search, I'm sure you can find something useful. Themes that we've done in the past have been Camp, Slumber Party, Hollywood, Luau. Pm me if you have any questions about things you can do with the themes. Welcome to GC.

Perhaps do something themed around your symbols/mascot...Gamma Phi Beta uses the crescent a lot, right? Perhaps a moon and stars theme?

We did a theme once, "Shoot for the Stars, We'll give you the Moon" and it was a big hit. I think this one is kind of common for Gamma Phi, but it could be really neat if done well.

:D

Also if you have a local mascot you could set up your room around that. We always had a carousel horse room (our local mascot) and explained how we chose that mascot (We are all different and unique, but moving toward the same goals and with the same purpose.) That always seemed to be popular.

:)

What the others said...it makes the sororities more memorable. Even though I rushed 12 years ago (yikes!) I still remember that Kappa Kappa Gamma's theme was Kappa Cabana, AOPi did a spoof of "Herman's Head," Sigma Kappa had a USO theme, and Phi Mu had a baseball theme.

Definitely ditto to what other people have said about making it memorable. One of my good friends from high school is a Gamma Phi and I know her chapter has used a "Pretty In Pink" theme in the past.

Okay - you really dated yourself (an me!) with the "Herman's Head" - I loved that show. :D

We always do our final (pref to you NPC'rs) with a japanese/black and red theme, going back to our original founding. But our novelty has been for many years "TauDeltaville" (a'la Jimmy Buffet)...pinata, mocktails, live band with limbo, hawaiian shirts, leigh making...it's fun and easy to turn a lecture hall into KeyWest.

Wow, that sounds really nice.

Re: Q about rush themes....why?
 

A lot of Panhellenics dictate the general idea for the day's events. Just using my university as an example.

Day 1: UCF Spirit Day
Day 2: Philanthropy Day
Day 3: Video Day
Day 4: Preferentials
Bid Day

On Day 1, our chapter would decorate the chapter room in school colors and we would wear t-shirts that expressed school pride, or polo shirts that represented different clubs and organizations that we belonged to outside of the sorority. This was a great way to show our involvement on campus, and an ice-breaker to talk about our love for the school, the fun events coming up at school this year and how Greek Life and ADPi were a part of that-- which led to talking about ourselves, majors and things that put a PNM at ease to share things about themselves.

For Day 2, we would decorate the house in the colors of our philanthropy, wear coordinating outfits and show a brief video about our philanthropy, as well as giving a brief talk on how we support our philanthropy and other service projects locally. PNM's paired up with sisters would work on a craft project to benefit our philanthropy.

Day 3 was a time to show a "Video Yearbook" of what being a member of our sorority is all about. This was a time to be really creative. My chapter did a theme "A League of Our Own" based on the movie "A League of Their Own" with Geena Davis. Members wore baseball jerseys and decorated the house with a baseball theme. Members were greeted and exited to a special song (we re-wrote the words to "We are the members of the girls' all-American league... we come from cities near and far.") Other sororities did themes like VH1 Pop-Up Video, A Night at the Movies, Gilligan's Island, Back to the Future, Dr. Seuss, etc. It's just fun and you can tie it in with your chapter's personality and ideals in whatever way you like-- it is all about creativity.

Prefs of course, is it's own theme-- and unique to each sorority.

Hope this breakdown helps. Themes are a great way to help the PNM remember the chapters (because all those Greek letters blur together after a day of recruitment parties!) and they also help a chapter look pulled together and coordinated. Well worth the effort and helps keep you top of mind to the PNMs!

Just as most of the others have said, a theme makes you more memorable. During COB, we tend to serve hot apple pie a la mode (with a twist!), and call it "Apple Delta Pie" (I know, too precious).

One GREAT idea I saw once that would really help the chapters with a low budget was a sorority who chose a Mexican theme for EVERY party. They just put a different spin on it for each party, and saved a TON of money on decorations - to say nothing about frazzled nerves!! I'm trying to think of their party names, but two that I can were something like On the Border & Viva La XYZs.

I'd really like to see an international theme at a novelty or other round. If done carefully, it could be really interesting and fun. Different types of clothing, different types of food (example...tapas, kabobs, crepes, etc), international music, decorations. If done carefully, it could be really fun and could highlight the "sisterhood knows no bounds" aspect of sorority life.

I've seen pictures of NPC events/theme days we have here.

The "Grease" theme is REALLY popular and pretty easy. (Khaki capris, white button downs and scarves are simple to find for everyone.)

I think one sorority did a "Wizard of Oz" theme and had all the girls get Dorothy dresses. (It was my cousin's and her mom had to sew all summer for her.)

I've seen movie themes, Hollywood themes, baseball themes... I'd honestly look at different campus photo albums on websites and see if there are any pre-event pictures and see what everyone is dressed as.

As a suggestion... does GphiB have a penguin as their mascot? Maybe do like a winter theme. (It's the first thing I think of when I think of penguins.) That way if you have to serve only ice water/ice chips, you can make it seem like it was part of the theme.

Since Chi Delta has a palm tree for their symbol, we do a lot of luaus.

Great idea about the penguins! Before we had "UCF Spirit Day," Round 1 was called "Ice Water Day" and we ADPi's did an "In the Jungle" theme with our lion mascot prominently featured!

ETA: If your recruitment is in the fall, when it is still hot out, a polar theme could seem cool and refreshing! You can drape the room in white, put your mascot out, maybe serve ice water and invite someone to go "ice fishing" into a bowl of swedish (gummy) fish! :)

I know we do a Mexican theme called Phi-Esta, Pinky's Place with music and a cafe setting, Casino Night,

Going though recruitment, I remember a Gilligan's Island theme and they changed the lyrics to the theme song. A luau, a Night at the Movies, a 1920's theme with card games and stuff, a Murder Mystery, Traveling across the world, a TRL theme, Sex and the City theme and a Coffee Shop theme. I can't remember the rest.

I'm sure I'll post more later.

The Gamma Phi's at UA usually do some the "Gammy Awards" for skit day and they all get dressed up in formal dresses with their hair done, like they're going to an awards show...not sure how the rest of it goes but I always thought the idea was cute

Two of our days during recruitment, skit day (MY FAVORITE DAY!!) and philanthropy day, usually have a theme. (Of course the powers that be have now changed the rules so chapters can't go all out and decorate the whole house anymore. I get the whole no-frills thing, but some of it is fun! :( )

Anyways... here's some of the things I can remember:

-Alpha Phi and DG both had "Sex and the City" themes for skit day where they served fake Cosmos
-Gamma Phi did a Las Vegas thing (if I remember right!) because their philanthropy was Crescent Casino
-KD did a Broadway theme on skit day (this was so cool!)
-Kappa does Kappa Kabana (we like spelling things with Ks :) ) for our philanthropy day and a "Miss KKG" pageant on skit day... where everyone wears formals
-Tri Delt did a news theme, kind of like a spoof of Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live (it was SOOO funny... exactly my sense of humor!)
-On skit day, ADPi did a jungle theme because of their mascot (they decorated their house BEAUTIFULLY and incorporated this theme into everything... their skit, their dancers, etc.
-Zeta did a skit about two roommates who came to Mizzou: one went Greek and joined Zeta, the other didn't... and soon found herself wishing she could get in on all the fun her Zeta friend was having. (This was really different from the rest of the skits, but I think in a good way, there was not ONE girl in that room who couldn't relate!)

I second what KLPDaisy said... themes are just a way to make your chapter more memorable during recruitment. (And in my opinion, an awesome way to make the experience more fun and less intimidating.) A lot of our chapters (most of them in fact) pick themes that have NOTHING to do with their mascot, or philanthropy... but are still able to incorporate them... and it works! Good luck!

Yeah, I know this might sound superficial, but the various themes were one way I kept things straight during recruitment. I'd remember that and then the girls and such. And then ask my Gamma Chi which house that was. Somehow I just couldn't keep the letters connected to the group the first few days. Just too much going on I guess.

I remember we did a 'Big Top' theme for day one! It was so neat. We made little tent/kiosks and had a different 'theme' for each tent. One tent was all about campus involvement (our twirler was there in her uniform...cheerleader uniforms hung for decorations, and lots of pics of sisters at football games, and different organizational meetings). Another was for intramurals with lots of pics and our trophies (which we RULED by the way!). Then there was a philanthropy one, a 'social' one, and so on. The first day was more casual, and trying to force to many specifics about our group was too confusing. Like others have suggested they'll remember the themes more from the beginning then anything else. As time goes on they'll learn the women and orgs!

I also remember one group did a 'Pajama Party' theme. It was so cute! They all had pajamas with their symbols on them.

thanks!
 

thank you for all your suggestions, i think they will really help.... rush is really different at my school because we don't have houses, so rush is held in classrooms. we also don't have a skit night, and our bid day is also a lot different.

at my school, there are 3 nights of rush.

the first, when PNM'S see all 10 sororities, is a "meet the sisters" night, where you basically talk about your general history and what you are all about as a chapter.

the second night, when PNM's see their top 5 choices, is philanthropy night.

the third, where PNM's see only 1 or 2, is Pref Nite.

Re: thanks!
 

How are the classrooms? Big, small? Sac State doesn't have houses for recruitment either, so they end up using the Student Union rooms. It's were most meetings take place as well. You can get pretty creative in small conference rooms. Classrooms can be rough if the chairs are immobile though. It'd be interesting to hear how your's turns out.

Also check out Oriental Trader for decorations - their stuff is pretty cute and really cheap. They always have hawaiian, mardi gras etc.

You don't necessarily have to do anything big either. One group where I advised had all the women put their drop on a black ribbon and they all wore red shirts and black capris. It stood out, but wasn't really a theme.

I think that these things help the PNM's remember the chapters and that there isn't anything wrong with that. I know that when I went to school we had 5 Alpha something chapters and it was really confusing if you weren't familiar with all the chapter names. Using what happened that day at the event is a good way to make sure the PNM puts the correct chapter down on her acceptance list. Over the years I have heard many times that a PNM intended to put down XYZ chapter but put down XYY chapter in error. They have so much going on and are so excited about the process, it's hard for them to remember everything during the "rush".

You mentioned that yours was the only chapter that did not yet use a theme as a recruitment tool, may I ask what the other chapters on your campus do for themes? How extensive are their decorations, do they order matching t-shirts or wear other theme-oriented clothing? Do you notice that these themes directly tie into their mascots, mottos etc... If I read your original post correctly you were not yet comfortable with the ideas your fellow members were suggesting, you did not see an immediate connection with Gamma Phi Beta. This might be true, but as you have read party themes are used in recruitment to aid guests in remembering the chapter, as well as for excellent conversation starters within the parties themselves.
Yours is certainly not the only school that holds recruitment in classrooms, you should speak to your advisor and see if they can get in touch with other GPhiB chapters that participate in recruitment within a school or other smaller university buildings.
Also, good luck with the all of the recruitment planning, it is an extremely taxing job no matter what the chapter size, rest assured you are gaining experiences that will serve you in years to come. All of this planning and managing of details is not as "superficial" as some would say. It gives young women major educations in project management. So try and enjoy some of it and know you are doing an amazing thing.

Maybe go with something that reflects the personality of your house.

We did a total rush makeover while I was an active, and totally changed the face and image of our chapter (much for the better!).

One of our goals was to show that we were more trendy that perhaps our reputation was. One of our themes was "party animals" and everyone wore some sort of animal print, and there was animal print everywhere, and one side of our suite was made to look like a club. It was fun and different! And everyone remembered it and was talking about it between parties. We wanted to show that we had fun, and we did!

I think we may have done KD Angels... lots of clouds and light colors and blue, making it look like heaven. And our skit was using the Charlie's Angels song that Destiny Child did.

My chapter wasn't one that could pull off or even wanted to pull off something cheesy and fake. We could've never done some of the standards.

Be UNIQUE! Send out an email on your chapter's list serve, just to brainstorm.

Use some sort of song that's current and trendy.

These are just some random ideas. Show your personality, don't try to mold to an old standard that's boring and tired.

I love the 'party animal' thing, Danielle! That does sound like a blast...not to mention not everyone had to be dressed exactly alike!

I also like your suggestion to get ideas from the other girls in the chapter! You never know where a good idea could come from! It also helps you gauge what your chapter is capable of pulling off!