Recruitment Concerns
 

I am really anticipating pledging a particular sorority. I've wanted to since i was a young girl. However I notice that many members of that sorority all portray a certain image. I have a few tattoos, and some are visible. Small yet visible. I have hesitated attending rush because i'm afraid the tattoos will hurt my chances of being recruited. I am just wondering can I automatically be denied eligibility because i have visible tattoos?
:confused:

"Fit" is important in any organization and is among those intangible reasons that people are accepted or rejected from nearly any kind of organization. It may be unusual for a heavily tattooed person to go through rush at your school, but I would say that what's most important here is for you to try while putting your best foot forward.

Playing it more conservative will help you throughout your life. If you mean visible tats like Lil Wayne, you might have a problem. But if you mean behind your ear, around your wrist, etc, you might have creative means at your disposal to conceal them (hairstyle?) or draw attention away from them.

The National President of GXP is a Delta who I would consider to be heavily tatted also and I don't recall her having any issues when she went through. Similarly, the national executive director had dreadlocks when he was pursuing Alpha. He, also, had concerns about coming across as conservative enough. Needless to say, he made it, too.

Good luck. If you know of any artists on your campus who would like an org like ours, let us know. :)

Welcome!

I don't know if NPHC houses (I'm assuming NPHC?) have the same type of recruitment process as NPC houses--do you have one rush process for the whole council, during which you get to tour/meet sisters from each house? Or do the houses hold rush events individually, and you choose which house(s) you'd like to rush in advance? If there's one recruitment that covers all the houses, you may not really be able to choose the one you join--it'll be whoever gives you a bid--so keep an open mind, and you might just find that another house is perfect for you! If they do individual recruitment, though, you can ignore everything I just said :)

That said, if your school's sororities do separate rushes and you have more power to choose to attend events for only this sorority...would you really want to join one that would get worked up over a couple tattoos? I mean, we're not talking about offensive symbols or anything, right?

Another option, if you really think your self-consciousness about the tattoos would affect your ability to be yourself around these girls and not be a nervous wreck, you could always try something like Dermablend--it's really thick concealer, used on movie sets, that can cover up tats/bad scars and the like. My mom used to have some and the stuff is like war paint. (I don't remember who carries it, but maybe Google it?) But don't do this because you don't think the girls will like your tats; do it only if you think you'll be too worried about your tats to really enjoy your rush experience.

Good luck!

and you should have stopped there.

First, NPHC is in no way like NPC and PhiAlpha05 should stay in your lane about that.

Second, if you are concerned about your tattoos in regards to rush, how are you going to do in real life? Sooner may be than better to consider having them removed. If they are really discreet, as Gamma Xi Phi said, then maybe it's not such a big deal, but if people see your tatts before they see you, then you made some bad choices and it's time to get on fixing that. And quit latching onto trends that can negatively impact your ability to get a job in the future.

in Reply to DubaiSis all of my tattoos have symbolic meaning and can be covered up (which is what I do at interviews) However my job doesn't mind. I am thinking of getting one of them removed, thank you and I appreciate your advice.

It sounds as though you can cover the majority of your tattoos by wearing conservative clothing and jewelry. I wouldn't worry about it being dishonest. If they don't want you showing those tattoos at official events, you can wear conservative clothing and jewelry. The bigger question is whether you feel comfortable covering up parts of yourself to conform to a group. If that doesn't bother you, then easy fix.

Thank you! you have been most helpful, i will do just that. Wish me luck! :)

Stepping Way Out Of My Lane: I don't know zip, zilch, zero, nada about NPHC membership selection. I do know that it's generally not a good idea to post a lot of identifying information on GC when going through any sort of "intake" or "recruitment." Always best to be very discrete.

OP, I suggest you do heavy editing of your posts. You've put information in re: your physical self. Enough that you'd be readily identifiable.

This!