A retro tale: 10 years ago today.........
 

Was my bid day. February 9, 1999. I CANNOT believe that time has gone by so quickly! In honor of this, I decided to post my recruitment story. I have had it typed up for a while, but decided to wait until recruitment was over. Obviously y'all know where I ended up and what school I went to. I decided I didn't want to keep that totally secret, as there really isn't anything negative about any chapter in my story. I have used a code, which I will NOT divulge on this thread. If you would like it, please PM me. I journalled almost every day from the age of about 7 to about 22, so my rush experience is in there in pretty great detail, which is why I am able to impart that to you guys! Please forgive me, I am sure this is going to be VERY long winded LOL. A note for PNMs: This story is 10 years old. Things have changed a decent bit at Maryland since my time. We have lost one group and I am fairly certain a lot of dynamics have changed. Please keep that in mind. So without further ado.....................

senior year and the semester leading up to recruitment
 

Let me preface this by giving y'all a little background on me up until the point of recruitment and what my first semester at school had been like up until this point.

I went to a public high school in a VERY wealthy county, in one of the wealthiest towns in that county. My family was pretty well off. My dad is an orthodontist, and many people always assumed we were RICH because of that, but not necessarily so. There were 6 children in my family. My mom was a stay at home mom and ALL the kids up until I entered middle school had gone to private schools. So we were doing OK, just not as ridiculously well off as everyone else in our town. I was the only one of the 6 of us (and I was the oldest child and only daughter) to graduate from a public high school. I was a punk/alt rock theatre girl for most of high school. My idea of “fashion” in high school was a Breathless Mahoney (Dick Tracey LOL) t shirt, plaid kilt with safety pins in it, black fishnets, Doc Martens, and plenty of heavy eye makeup. That was the “uniform” of my group in high school. We never really fit in, but I always WANTED to. I remember looking at my parents' yearbooks (they both went to Maryland, too) and seeing the sorority pictures. I always thought that I might like to be in a sorority one day. Anyway, I digress. My fashion taste changed a lot during the summer before senior year. I always LIKED pretty, girly clothes, but that was against the uniform, so I never wore them. Senior year I decided, I would do what I wanted. So I went from Doc Martens to pretty, girly Ralph Lauren polo dresses (they looked like long polo shirts-that I got at the Ralph Lauren outlet in Reading, PA YEAH) and to my surprise, my core drama group were still cool with me. Some thought I was a “traitor”-I really learned who my friends were that year. Still loved my punk music, and Tori Amos, and my 90's alt rock and all that jazz, but I felt like I was becoming more of myself.

I enrolled at my parents alma mater spring of Senior year. This was NOT my first choice school. My dad had been “underwhelmed” with that school, Albright College, when we went to visit, plus UMD had a MUCH better academic reputation. Plus I got into College Park Scholars too, which I was pretty excited about. Downside, College Park was 20 minutes away from home, and my parents were NOT going to let me live on campus.

So I got there fall of '98. I had met some people during orientation, but I quickly realized that in Scholars, if you didn't live in the Scholars dorm, you were out of luck. By the time first day of class rolled around, everyone already had their friends. Plus campus was HUGE.....about 25K undergrad students. I used to joke that if you saw someone one day walking across campus, you may never see that person again. Plus when people were out and about, they were on a MISSION to get from point A to point B, so no one was looking up, there was no way to say hi, or strike up a conversation. None of my friends from high school were going here. I was miserable. I felt lost. I would go to my friend's school in Baltimore and hang out with her every weekend. I was hell bent on transferring there for second semester until my dad made a suggestion..........................”Why don't you try to join a sorority”. Neither of my parents had been Greek, but my dad had been bid by a fraternity at Maryland which he had declined. He didn't want to deal with the hazing LOL! I guess in the early 70's hazing was pretty rough. After all those years from the last time I looked at dad's yearbook, I never really thought about greek life. What would my friends say? Surely I would be laughed out of the park. I decided it wouldn't hurt to try. Freshmen couldn't join until second semester and I was TOTALLY clueless about the process, but I decided over winter break, maybe this was something I would try.......


So it was day of classes second semester-January '99. I had a brand new job as a waitress at a restaurant near home (my parents believed in teaching the value of money. If there was something I wanted, including clothes, I had to buy it, unless it was Christmas or my birthday. I even had to pay for the maintenance and gas in my car), and an obligation to baby sit every Monday night for the family I had been baby sitting for since 8th grade. I was walking in the Union and I saw a table set up advertising recruitment. I walked up to the table and asked the two girls there what was going on, and they explained they were signing women up for recruitment. Ahhhh, my chance! I eagerly signed up. Then they told me the orientation meeting would be Friday night. Crap, I had to work that night! I told them and they informed me that it was OK, my Rho Chi would call me Friday night with all the details. That was it. They didn't tell me the dates for the rest of the week, nothing. My Rho Chi, Megan, DID call Friday night, and my mom took the message. She had NO idea about sororities OR recruitment, so she didn't think to ask about what I should wear to the rounds, or what the schedule was. She did tell my mom that I should meet at the Armory the next day, 10 AM, and to dress casual, and WARM. OK. I came home from work and was VERY excited. I couldn't wait for the next day.

Yeah...a local recrutiment story! I guess you're from Bethesda.

No, Olney, but good guess!

I LOVE retro threads! Can't wait to hear more!

Tours-Day 1
 

I understood that “casual” probably meant something a little more. I wore a nice cream colored turtleneck sweater (it was COLD here in January) and nice jeans, and I made sure my hair and makeup were done. I was going to approach this like a job interview. I get to the Armory and all I see is a SEA of navy blue peacoats and dark wash bootcut jeans. Oh hell........what in the WORLD was I doing here? I was wearing a bright red parka......THEY TOLD ME TO DRESS WARM dammit! And a lighter color jean. They were bootcut..............Express to be exact. I was solely wearing Express jeans then. I think MOST of my wardrobe came from Express. They were the only ones to have short length pants that weren't too long or too short and looked good on me! I see a familiar face......Jackie, a girl I had gone to middle school with. She runs up to me and says hello.............she's as nervous as I am. She asks, “Are you wondering what the hell you are doing here too?” I nod. Clearly she knows more than me. She's wearing the required uniform. Finally, someone yells to everyone that we should find our Rho Chi and get into our groups, and sadly, Jackie isn't in mine. Our Rho Chi group will be visiting all the chapters with another group headed up by Sara. My Rho Chi finds me and hands me my rush book. I briefly glance at the schedule. Holy Cow! We are seeing 8 chapters today and 7 tomorrow? How in the heck am I going to keep this straight? She tells me to write everything down in my book on the chapter's page. She also hands me a stack of calling cards and tells me to deliver one to each chapter we visit.

The following chapters were present at Maryland at the time:

Alpha Chi Omega
Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Epsilon Phi
Alpha Omicron Pi
Alpha Phi
Delta Delta Delta
Delta Gamma
Delta Phi Epsilon
Gamma Phi Beta
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Delta
Phi Sigma Sigma
Sigma Delta Tau
Sigma Kappa
Zeta Tau Alpha

So here's my code-this is the order of our visits during Tours. In keeping with the punk/alt rock girl theme, I will use bands that I LOOOOVED when I was in HS (and many of them I STILL love)

The Ramones
Nirvana
The Clash
Blind Melon
Filter
Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Dropkick Murphys
The Sex Pistols
The Cure
The Pixies-I had actually been in class with a Pixie, Beth, the semester before. It was a one credit class, trying to orient freshmen to the school. She had AP credits so she joined in the fall. I always remembered her bid day shirt.....it was a Maybelline theme........”Maybe she's born with it, Maybe she's a Pixie” Beth was awesome. I hoped I would see her when we visited.
Alice In Chains
Live
Weezer
Pearl Jam
The Smashing Pumpkins

Now keep in mind, I was a commuter. I knew NOTHING about greek politics. I hadn't heard not a single rumor or a single stereotype-NADA! I was totally clueless about EVERYTHING sorority.

The Ramones: Holy geez, I was NOT prepared for the screaming and clapping and singing when we entered the house. I remember having a nice conversation with the member who spoke to me during this round. She asked where I went to high school, and when I mentioned the name, she excitedly told me that one of their sisters who had pledged the semester before as a freshman was from my high school. Uh oh......I knew this girl, she had been a class officer and was uber popular. Our groups did not mesh-at all. I had a feeling I wouldn't be asked back here

Nirvana: I talked to Shana here. She was a sophomore and in the same major as me! She was also in the year ahead in my same Scholars program. We had an AWESOME conversation, beyond the boring, “What's your major” chit chat common in the first round. I was SO excited. I also saw Liz, who had been a TA for us the semester before in my Scholars class, and Melissa who I had made friends with during Intro to Shakespeare the semester before. I had no idea either was in a sorority. LOVED this group, definitely wanted to return.

The Clash: I had a great time here. The conversation went well. We talked a lot about socials and living in the house. I LOVED the idea of living in a sorority house. I explained that I grew up in a house of all brothers, and I would LOVE to finally live with only girls! (It was true, teenage and middle school boys stink sometimes, literally, haha) And plus, my dad would feel A LOT better knowing I was living in an all female house versus a co ed dorm, and would MAYBE let me move out next year. I definitely want to come back!

Blind Melon: All the chapters had themes for the first party. There are only 2 that I remember what their theme was. It was “Walk of Fame.” I remember because they had black poster paper covering the ENTIRE chapter room. It was VERY dark. I was also staring at the “stars” the whole time because the member that I was paired with would NOT make eye contact with me (eye contact is a HUGE thing for me) and was playing with her hair the whole time. She seemed totally disinterested in talking to me. I told her about my waitressing job and her response was,” Oh, well pledging takes a lot of time, maybe you should rethink if you want to join a sorority or not if you want to keep your job” I wrote a big fat NO in my rush book.

Filter: I remember sitting in the kitchen with my sister, Jolene. She was very sweet, but very quiet, and we didn't have a lot in common. Much of the conversation felt forced. I wrote, “Sweet girls, but not for me” in my rush book

Mighty Mighty Bosstones: Megan, the sister I was paired with and I hit it right off. We started talking about what drama nerds we were and how much we loved Tori Amos. This one is a definite YES!

Dropkick Murphys: I met Pia here. She was super sweet and funny. We talked about our future career goals. She was a Government and Politics major too and wanted to be a lawyer, like me. I felt really good here and hoped to come back. Plus the house felt so warm and cozy. It really felt like a home

The Sex Pistols: This was the last visit of the day. I was totally exhausted and my face hurt from smiling so much. I met Danielle here. Our conversation was nice, but I was so tired that I was having trouble staying engaged.

So my favorites after day one were: Nirvana, The Clash, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and Dropkick Murphys. I judged them on how the conversations went, and who I felt most comfortable with.

Yay! I was hoping you'd do a retro thread!

Yay!

Retro thread, retro thread!

*tosses confetti*

Tours-Day 2
 

The second day I arrived at our designated meeting spot at 11am. I was a little less intimidated now, knowing what to expect. I wore another pair of Express jeans and a cute light blue knit top. I still felt a little silly though since I didn't even OWN a navy blue peacoat. It was definitely easy for me to find my coat at the end of the parties though. I remember a lot of PNMs getting their coats mixed up. Today as I waited for the parties to start, I noticed that A LOT of girls from my Scholars program were going though, probably almost HALF of them! I had also gotten to know a fellow PNM in my group, Lynn, a sophomore, the day before. At our Rho Chi meeting, Lynn was asking Megan if we could skip any parties. Megan told her definitely not. Later Lynn told me that she had been to events in the fall at The Smashing Pumpkins and they were total “bitches”. She complained the ENTIRE day that she did NOT want to go to the party at The Smashing Pumpkins. Well now I was intrigued. I couldn't WAIT to meet these Smashing Pumpkins girls and see if they really WERE bitches! So we set off on our day of meeting the final 7 chapters.

The Cure: Well this party just started OFF on an awkward foot. The President and Recruitment Chairs came out and introduced themselves, just like at every other chapter. The difference was, they were wearing business suits, which I just thought was weird, because everyone else so far had been wearing matching letters. I started hearing the grumblings and outright LAUGHING from the other PNMs in my group. I later learned this was the smallest chapter on campus. I didn't really care too much. The thought of a small, tightly connected group really appealed to me. It was further strange because as I entered the house, all the OTHER sisters were wearing letters and jeans, just like everyone else. Why did the President and Recruitment Chair have on different clothes? Once we got inside, we were paired up 2 PNMs to a sister. I remember everyone I met here was very nice, and the conversation hadn't been terrible. I just couldn't shake how DIFFERENT this party was from everyone else.

The Pixies: Oh, The Pixies. Their cheering and excitement was INFECTIOUS. I was led inside and met by Leah, who led me into the kitchen and took my coat. As she did so she kind of laughed and I gave her a puzzled look. Then she said, “I am sure you are thinking just what I did when I rushed, 'What the hell am I doing here?'” She then proceeded to tell me that she showed up to recruitment just a year earlier wearing a bright red parka too. Oh my gosh! I felt a HUGE weight lift off my shoulders!
Finally, someone I could relate to! She proceeded to tell me that she thought “the sorority girl uniform” was pretty ridiculous, and who you were on the inside was what mattered. Then she handed me off to talk to none other than Beth from my class from first semester! Beth seemed THRILLED to see me and exclaimed, “You should have TOLD me you were rushing, I could have helped you plan!” At that moment, I wish I had too, because clearly I hadn't planned. I left this chapter positively beaming!

Alice In Chains: My first thought..........this is the most AMAZING incredible house I have ever seen! I was led inside and taken on a tour. The member leading me, Jess, started asking me where I was from. She told me that there were several members there that had gone to high school with me. When she said the names, I was kind of awestruck. The two names she mentioned, Lauren and Patience had been two years ahead of me in high school. Both were cheerleaders, and generally recognized as perfect, especially Patience. She and her boyfriend had been basically royalty at my high school. She also mentioned that the chapter was HUGE. That really turned me off, honestly. I wondered how you could actually be friends with so many people. As she led me out of the room, we ran into Patience and Jess introduced me and mentioned I was two years behind her in high school. She said hi in a very warm way, but I could tell she didn't know me from a hole in the wall. I didn't expect her to. Her crowd and mine were polar opposites. I wrote, “too big” in my rush book.

Live: I was met by Andrea here. This was the second of the two that I remember their theme for Tours. It wasn't because she was so standoffish, like the sister from Blind Melon had been, but she was SO painfully shy. The conversation was boring, and it was like pulling teeth to get her to talk. Their theme was “Winter Wonderland”, and half the time I found myself staring off at the snowflakes hanging from the ceiling. I didn't hold it against them, though. I myself at one time had been VERY shy.

Weezer: I met Casey here. She was a total crack up, and I loved that! At the time, my guilty pleasure was teen movies, and this era was teen movie central. I had just seen “She's All That” and I LOVED it. We talked the whole time about that movie, and how cute it was. Then we were led into the living room to watch a sisterhood video. This was the only chapter to do this, and it really stood out to me. I LOVED this chapter.

Pearl Jam: The day was really starting to wear on me as we entered the house. It was lucky because this house was a whirlwind of energy. This was the ONLY chapter that did bump groups during Tours. Some I talked to maybe one or two other sisters, but here I talked to 5. In 25 minutes! My head was spinning from trying to remember all the names. It was kind of overwhelming, but I absolutely LOVED every single sister I met. They were all incredibly funny. I definitely wanted to return here.

The Smashing Pumpkins: Dun dun dun..................the bitches. Lynn was practically crawling out of her skin as we walked toward the house. The more she talked about them, the more intrigued I got. I figured there HAD to be at least ONE “bitchy” sorority as the doors opened. The first thing I noticed was that the president was African American. That impressed me. My group of friends in high school was VERY racially diverse, and I hadn't seen one African American girl yet. UMD sororities are VERY diverse now, but when I first joined, they weren't really at all. I walked in, wondering if Lynn was right. I met both Kara and Alyse here. Both were seniors, and both were incredibly friendly and down to earth. I was starting to question Lynn a lot, and questioned her even MORE as I left the house. On my way out, I saw Kari, who had been my OA (Orientation Advisor) over the summer. She waved at me. I had LOVED Kari. She had really allayed a lot of my fears about being a commuter student over the summer, and got me SO excited to start classes in the fall. It appeared that Lynn had been quite wrong, but still I wondered what had happened to give her such a bad taste.

That night, my family went out to dinner at Barnaby's, a British style pub that was close to home and a family favorite place, even though it technically was a bar. It was the first time in a LONG time we had been out to dinner. My dad wanted to know all about it. And I told him after today, my second day favorites were: The Pixies, Weezer, and The Smashing Pumpkins.

I work in Lanham, so I drive past so many small Maryland towns and work with people from Bethesda and other Montgomery county residents! I wouldn't have guessed Olney, but then again, I'm a recent implant!

Oh...and by the way, Go Alice and Chains! (Of course, every time my husband and I hear an A&C song, we change the lyrics to ones about being found dead in our home after a week with our dogs feeding on our dead bodies! Yeah....it's gross, but Lane Staley died an aweful death~)

Ewww LOL! Yeah, Layne Staley DID die terribly. We lost so many talented musicians from that era because of heroin...........so sad.

Anyway, re being from Olney, I could understand why someone wouldnt know it. When we moved there in '85 there was one stoplight. It has expanded SO MUCH since then. They keep building ridiculously huge house after huge house. What really happened was people from Rockville and Bethesda that wanted to live in a more intimate community started moving there in probably the late 80's early 90's-that's when Olney really started to explode, but compared to Bethesda and Rockville, we are still pretty tiny.

It's all MoCo...my town is definitely the exception to what most people think of Montgomery county. I am from the redneck part of the county.

Did you just slip? Hmmm.... ;)

Can't wait to read more!

Wait a second...I'm also from MoCo! Of course, I'm not from Potomac/Bethesda, but I did go to high school there...they all thought I was from the redneck part of MoCo too!