What is a typical day for a sorority formal and how is it planned?
 

I know that formal is a dinner and dance and it's kinda like prom. I was wondering how everyone gets prepared for it, how formal is planned, and what does the sorority do in formal?

Color me cynical, but you've asked quite a few specific questions regarding socials and/or recruitment with little explanation as to why...

Ditto.

Are you even Greek? Non-Greeks are most certainly welcome to post on GC and ask questions, but judging from your screenname, I can't help but think that if you're already in a sorority, you'd find the answers you're seeking within your own organization instead of asking a whole bunch of strangers online.

Feel free to use the SEARCH function. You'll find threads that may be of interest to you.

You know, these are the kinds of questions someone who knows nothing about the greek system and is writing a book might ask!

My thoughts as well. Just to tickle them I'll answer.

You wake up. You eat breakfast. You shower. An hour and a half, two hours before you do make up and hair. Then you go take pictures and giggle and squeal a lot with everyone at the house/hall before everyone leaves. Then you go. Then you eat and probably ignore your date to talk to your sisters. Then you dance and if you're 21 you pay way too much for drinks (but hey, at least that way only the super lightweights can afford to even get tipsy which keeps them from being super-annoying). Then you go home and change and go out afterwards since formal ends before 12.

YAYEXCITING!!!!!!:rolleyes:

Oh and this is how it is planned, at least for us.
Social: So is everyone cool with us having formal at xxxxx and doing xxxxx and xxxx?
Everyone: Uh. Ok.
Social: Good because I already arranged all that.

Ouch. Yes, VERY bad call.

there's some perps in this house, there's some perps in this house
if you see 'em, point 'em out, if you see 'em point 'em out

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u...o/oh20snap.gif

okay, um a bit off subject cos now we're talking about something else, but for those of you without houses you do drive to the venue right? At my school I don't think anyone takes a bus anywhere except Disney, we just get in our cars and head out!... Just wondering!

We take a bus! :) It's fine because people drink at formal and sometimes beforehand and we don't want anyone driving there/back home if they have been drinking.

DISNEY rocks. :)

[the person asked me to remove the quote so this probably won't make sense but...]

I can't imagine all of this drama just to go anywhere! It sounds so weird to me. I've never heard of these things before! We literally get ready and get in the car, if we want to stop we stop, I can't recall anyone sneaking in drinks either, in my city it'd be impossible to keep track and no one would even bother to listen to all that if someone tried. No one would even go if we had to do that. They'd just go to a club!

(By we I'm referring to the Greek Community as a whole on my campus. I've never heard any sorority/fraternity member mention having to board a bus for her/his formal or any other event except a grab-a-date to Orlando. Also, I'm not referencing the risk-management aspects, just the different methods of transportation that is required for different chapters.)

When I was a collegian, we were not allowed to drive our own cars for Risk Management purposes. The members and their guests were covered from the time they stepped on the bus to the formal until they stepped off the bus after the event.

I'm not familiar with current Risk Management policies, but my chapter continues to use the bus system. The extra charge they pay to be bused to the event is wayyyy less than what they'd have to pay for parking, especially if it's at a Waikiki hotel.

It's a good system, and I remember when I was an advisor thinking, "I'm so glad we have these buses." It really does give advisors and chaperones peace of mind and I wish more chapters would do the same.

I definitely understand about not being able to appropriate funds in the budget for buses, however...

I can't even fathom the thought of having any of the collegians drive themselves and their guests to and from the event. It's probably because hey -- that's my name on those damn contracts and if anything unfortunate happened, that was MY ass on the line. Chalk it up to "something I never really understood and thought was unfair when I was a collegian...but it all made sense once I became the responsible chaperone and advisor on duty."

Buses don't have to have the plush seats and air conditioning. My chapter's used the campus shuttle buses in the past and when finances were tough, they chartered yellow school buses that didn't break the bank.

I HAD to go check this chick out on Myspace. She's part of the Epsilon Alpha Chapter (Sigma Sigma Sigma) group. But, what's interesting is the group's description:

"Hey guys Thanks for changing Groups!

This group is for the future sisters, current active sister and sisters of the past from the Epsilon Alpha Chapter at California State University, Hayward...Now East Bay"

future sisters? Maybe they're talking about new members?

[the person asked me to remove the quote so this probably won't make sense but...]

Wow! Ours is always $60 or more and when you add on dress, makeup, gas, date costs, and alcohol ((if you're legal) WHOOSH! And I thought that that was slightly overpriced but not too much. I guess it all depends on the location/timing/etc.

My chapter has a group and it includes alumnae, collegians, and new members. New members are new members, not future sisters.

Yeah that wouldn't fly with most of our girls. That's the thing...there's the dress (as I discovered this year not many of us are the same sizes), and even drug store make up and shoes from Target add up...plus a shirt if you want one, plus the price of your date, and yeah plus alcohol if you're 21. (And I guess you could just not get any, but a lot of people end up getting one or two formals at legal age since there's constant scheduling conflicts so they take advantage of being able to.) Of course, we aren't renting out extremely expensive venues either...I've been to three and one was at a house specifically outfitted for parties/weddings, one was at a bar with an outdoor stage area, and one was at student retreat (ran out of money). Nothing TOO fancy.

Sounds like they are talking about new members...but they really shouldn't call them future sisters. That opens them up to all kinds of speculation.

We always have our formal at a hotel and we're in a major metropolitan high-cost area so I guess that would explain the higher costs. Oh, btw-I was 21 before I was initiated, so I've always been able to drink (if I chose, cos I rarely do) at formal.

Yeah we don't bother with all that...but we still aren't next to a truly high cost high class area lol so yeah...

I checked out her myspace page too. (Out of curiosity, of course! ;) ) If she were a PNM, she wouldn't be asking all these random questions about Greek Life. And wouldn't she have achieved her goal, as listed on her profile: Joining a sorority while in college. ?

She must REALLY REALLY want to be a Tri-Sig. Guess that's why she has all the purple stuff on her page, along with the Care Bear explosion. Didn't a Tri-Sig alum create Care Bears? (Nice subtle homage.)

Its so blatantly inappropriate that it almost makes you wonder if someone is impersonating the girl pictured on the MySpace page, in some deliberate attempt to prevent her from being able to join?

(My late night insomniac mind can cook up a good conspiracy theory, I guess... :p )

When I was an advisor I hated the buses! While OTW has good points and I understand the reasoning behind them I always felt that with my chapter it seemed to increase the drinking.

When I was a collegian we drove ourselves to the venue and we knew where the event would be weeks in advance. There'd usually be a group of girls that would get a room or two at the hotel or at least nearby if it wasn't at a hotel. Girls would pre party before arriving. Sober girls/dates would drive to the formal. Everyone drank in the rooms or in the formal if they snagged a wrist band. We were seriously lax on the id checks. During the party girls would go back to the rooms and drink some more. After the formal sober people would drive home and drunk people would stay in the rooms.

When I was advising they'd pre party before getting to the buses. They'd try to act as sober as possible around the advisors as they got checked in. They'd get alcohol on the bus and drink on the way to a location that was not disclosed to them until they're on the way. They'd continue drinking at the event; snagging sisters drinks or finding another way to get alcohol in. Usually the girls were so trashed from the pre partying that we had to send one or two girls home in a cab with her date and another sister. Then at the end of the night exhausted and drunk everyone piled back in the buses and were dispersed at a central location on campus. Then they would still have to get home! As an advisor I could not run around to over 100 people to figure out if they were safe enough to get home. I rathered they had stayed at the hotel!

Gaaaah! If you want to limit the damage that may have been done, I would recommend that you take that down IMMEDIATELY.

Very nice detective work. :)

Awwww CSUGreekGoddess... you busted!

Wow...I don't know how you found that through all of that junk.;)

That page is a seizure waiting to happen.:rolleyes:

I think the thing that frightened me the most about that page was finding out that the WWE has a magazine.

Nice work KSUViolet06. CSUGreekGoddess, "you are the weakest link... goodbye!"

So I'm surprised that some chapters have such elaborate rules about getting to/from formals. We just walked or took the T. We also never had alcohol at formals... we never had enough 21+ sisters who drank to justify the expense.

Responses
 

Look, I'm not looking to pick a fight with any of you, but here's the reason: I'm dealing with a lot of personal issues right now in my life and I'm not the kind of person to get dirt on anything to get in. I don't do that. I've been pretty much a loner all my life through school being picked on and that's why I want to join a sorority. I'm sorry if putting that blinker up on my MySpace page was disrespectful even though I didn't know that. So now you know the truth.

That would be really mean and evil...kinda like those women on theknot.com who cancel bride's bookings and reservations (I've read about that happening...brutal!)

Can anything be done to "save" this situation? I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt, b/c I think it was a mistake out of not knowing any better...let's face it, there are a lot of people who don't know how the recruitment process works & don't know that discretion is best, whether it is NPC or NPHC.

Welllll get ready for it. We always drove ourselves too, and made sure there was a DD driving the drunk girls. Last year Nationals started making the girls take a bus... which is retarded because we're commuter so they'll just have to drive to wherever from the school. But those who make the rules are more educated in risk management, so I guess it's a better idea than having the girls drive.


I'm curious how you have yours in a hotel without the big-ups saying anything. We were never allowed to.

Phi Mu chapters aren't allowed to hold formals in hotels?

My chapter's held formals in nice hotels since I've been a member (except for 2 occasions where it was held at a rather upscale private residence). I don't know where else we'd be able to hold it. :confused: