Rush emergency!
 

Hey there!
I know that there are a couple threads on this but I need some serious help! I am one of the new rush chairs for my sorority and I don't want to put my lovely ladies down but we are in need of some serious rush help.

let me explain the situation, about 6 years ago our pledge classes I noticed (by looking at our family trees) became smaller and smaller. A couple years we had NONE!

we had 3 pledges out of it and 2 of the 3 became sisters...

I am facebook stalking the 2014 group for my school...
any other ideas?

thanks,
alex xoxox

I think we need to know a bit more. How many sororities, what is average size on campus (how far off of "normal" are you), etc. Is there a formal recruitment? How is recruitment generally handled on your campus? Are you NPC?

Are you a national organization who can get help from National or are you a local who can only rely of the members around you? Many zillions of years ago when I was a collegian member, another chapter was in your position and they either had to grow or close. They chose to fight to stay. National send an adviser to assist them with rush techniques and members from other chapters in close proximity came to assist with the rush. When they worked together and made a concerted effort to do the best job possible, they were able to pledge a nice size class. Within a year or two, they were back to reaching campus quota.

It will not happen overnight, but with a lot of hard work, you can reach your goal.

DaffyKD

As for the sweat pants problem, have a meeting to specifically discuss what is appropriate to wear when. It would be reasonable to require a certain kind of dress for recruitment events, like "dressy casual". Outline exactly what is appropriate and show examples. Remind them recruitment events are interviews and while they might be fun or relaxed, they should still be treated as special events.

Just make a list. This is just an example...

What is ok:
-Skirts (that are appropriate...decide what length is ok for your campus)
-Dresses (Same as above)
-Nice pants, like black pants, khakis, tweed, etc. (And nice jeans without holes or rips if that would be appropriate on your campus for an event)

What isn't:
-Sweatpants
-pj pants
-items with rips/holes/stains
-items that are extremely revealing

Good hygiene and grooming is also important. Clean, brushed hair is important. Hand out mints before events. If they happen to wear make up, remind them to make sure it isn't TOO out there (nothing so extreme it's offputting). Remind them to make sure they have clean nails. Have a couple of sisters wear outfits you've seen before and know are appropriate as examples. It's important to avoid calling anyone out or putting anyone down, of course.

You could have a "What not to Wear" event and watch an episode of the show with some popcorn or something to start off the meeting so that it's fun. Plus, Stacey and Clinton do a good job of explaining that how you look does matter (without being ridiculously nit picky or going overboard and making it life or death), because it says something to people you come into contact with day to day.

Have members wear letters around campus on certain days (say every Wednesday), and find out if any are involved in activities on campus outside of your sorority. Promote that and encourage them to wear letters to those events when possible. Have a meeting devoted to practicing conversation for recruitment events. You might also have a "pin dress" day once a week or once every two weeks when members wear their pins and dress nicely. These are all ways to better prepare for recruitment events...visibility before the events is important as is good conversation during.

Those are really good ideas thanks!!!!!

I just want to say flat iron does not = well groomed. Letting your hair wavy or curly and natural is a lot healthier than destroying it day after day with a flat iron, and a lot of people look better that way too.

You can require a certain kind of dress for rush events, even the most laid back sororities do. But for day to day on campus, if it gets around that you're trying to regulate what sisters wear, it can make you look really bad - the whole stereotype of "sororities control you" and in your position, where there's a lot of anti-Greek sentiment anyway, that's the LAST thing you need. Not only that, some people actually look a lot better in sweats (I mean the Juicy type sweats not the elastic ankle sweats) than they do in jeans.

Start SMALL. It sounds like this isn't an area that's been addressed ever, and if you try to turn everyone into mini fashion plates immediately you'll get a LOT of backlash.

Agree that a flat iron doesn't always make amazing hair. Using one occasionally will cause only minimal damage, but people who use them daily need to also use a lot of conditioner and some product to protect hair from the heat. This from someone who used to use one everyday back in high school and ended up with crackly, split ends. Now I usually just blow dry and go, but I always use product if I'm going to straighten it.

Stick with the happy medium. A "jersey day" and "pin dress day" once a week or once every two weeks (you could have jersey day one week, pin dress the next, etc.) will increase visibility without being too invasive. I do absolutely recommend some basic guidelines for recruitment events (the general do's and don'ts...tailored to your specific chapter and the activity you're doing for the event of course...for a movie night in the chapter room or something it would be much to have everyone in heels and dresses.) That's not asking too much. And of course do encourage everyone to wear letters to campus events, when possible. The more people that see your letters, the better.

I was just wondering ( although the other ideas were great) if there are any tactics that work really well for other sororities during rush...I have heard of making the girls chalk the letters on the side walk like "RUSH XYZ" or wearing mardigras beads with your letters on it that you have to pass off everytime you walk by a sister so when people ask you start talking to them about your sorority...

but are there any other tactics you guys can think of?

Chalking is a good idea. You could also make a couple of "DPD welcomes you to campus!" banners to put around campus (also for holidays), and help students move into dorms while wearing letters.

Okay, try this.

Gather your 12 members together. Figure out some sort of small but "catchy" philanthropic project that a) is meaningful to all of you, and b) is doable, in terms of being fairly simply executed.

Now, here's the key - make it something that you can share with another campus group. Like, tidying up the garden at a senior home/center, putting together craft kits for a local elementary school in need of supplies - that sort of thing. Remember the two above points that you need to keep in mind.

Invite other groups on campus - small and medium sized organizations - to participate with you. Be very gracious about finding dates and times that work for everybody, and maybe plan to have an informal "let's go get pizza/ice cream afterwards" type of thing. There are other small groups who are in similar need of organization and purpose - trust me. Be polite and target your audience right. Obviously work out the permission with the recipient of your do-gooding BEFORE issuing the invitations. Hopefully you can get several groups to take you up on the offer, and maybe you can volunteer or schedule your event several times over the course of a term.

Call your campus/local newspaper and give them a heads-up about what you're doing. Smile and be enthusiastic if a photographer/reporter shows up.

At the very least, this will get your name out via the invitations.

Good luck!

Be really careful with chalking. Some universities/towns are OK with it and some consider it vandalism. If it's not something you've seen done on your campus before I would ask before doing it.

It seems like you've been a bit too overdependent on reputation. It helps, but you gotta build and hold it. Otherwise, it wears off.

the route to take now is to identify exactly why others girls should join your sorority instead of any other one.

Another thing is approaching people -- you got to reach out to them and make a connection before they'll agree to invest as much time as joining a sorority. If you don't do that and just hold events, there's no reason for people to come, much less commit to anything.

I was trying to say this exact thing yesterday and couldn't find the words. Thanks. :) Make sure all sisters are involved in other things on campus and are just plain visible on campus, not only as sorority members but as people. Sometimes people aren't jazzed about Greeks, but then if they find out that Jen from their chem class that they always have fun with is one, they change their minds.

Campus tours can be great advertisement. IF your university would allow you to, you might be able to wear a button with your letters. Even if you can't, it's a great way to make an impression on incoming students and you'll be able to bring up student organizations in general and then talk about your organization.

A website is also a good idea, especially if you can get your school to add a link to it on their Greek Life or Student Life page. On your website you can list all of the activities members are involved in, what your chapter does for the community, etc. and you can present pictures to show you are about both sisterhood and serving. Fun and do-gooding!

As for the points....
1. I wouldn't phrase it like that. It can come across as sounding catty, even if that's not the intention. And you really can't say that's the case, for sure. Instead, you could talk about your sisterhood in general, and the things you do together, from social events to just hanging out.
2. Again, this can sound catty. Instead of making comparisons (or saying "we never have drama"...Murphy's Law, if you say that somehow it'll appear) talk about how your chapter is generally laid back with one another, and again give examples. Like how you help each other with homework, and cheer sisters on when they are participating in other activities on campus (like tennis in your case).
3. These are all good examples of things to say to potentials.

Try not to talk about other sororities at all. Just talk about how great yours is, and if other organizations come up, be gracious and say there are a bunch of great organizations on your campus...then gently turn the conversation back to your chapter. Don't be pushy, just be genuine.

THIS. This is the most important thing to me. If you say anything about other sororities on campus it just sounds catty. If you talk about why you love your sorority, it sounds like you're a great chapter that loves what you do.