First night of formal rush
 

Hi I'm the chairperson for the first night of our rush. Can anyone help me out with some ideas, we are still relitively new on campus, this is our 4th formal rush and we fell short last year, we got plenty of quality girls, but we also turned some off, some people were saying we were boring old women, thats just not the case! We just wanted to present the most positive aspects of our chapter, so my question is how do you come off as both positive and fun? The first night consists of 6 15 minutes parties, so its tricky, any ideas?

At our parties we try and show that we are fun (parties and other social events) and serious (about school, and everything else) at the same time. I think that it would be a cute idea if you made a little skit or even a dance that goes with your theme. Then break off into little groups so everyone (individually) could have a chance to get to know the PNM's. We do something like that but we are also have only 2 NPC sororities. It works for us, maybe you could try something like that.

Good Luck!

ugh the thing is we have a theme night so there is no theme on the first night, i wanted to do that, cause i was told alpha phi did a really cute cowgirls thing last year...they were also the most successful, however they got a rush infraction which carries quite a hefty fine :(

don't overdress, everyone will think you are stuck up. don't underdress, everyone will think you are slobs. Try khakis (nice ones, not ratty ones) and brightly colored tops.

have different "stations" or tables set up where you highlight the different parts of sisterhood - social, philanthropic, scholarship etc.

if you hand out brochures, make sure they are nicely done. Don't just hand them the standard stuff from nationals, make sure you have something that talks about your chapter and its history and specifics.

what did you do the past years that people said was "boring"? If it's conversation skills, you can work on those.

I honestly couldn't tell you, all i know is my sister got a message on her board, that said i went to your party last night all you girls are grandmoms and one of our rho chis told us all her girls were like there is no way your a phi mu, those girls are sooo boring..we can't alk about boys and drinking, so we talk about philanthropy sisterhoods, etc

I designed a tee to wear with denim skirts and white sneakers/flipflops

the tee is so cute its a baby tee grey with fushia lettering it say phi mu with a star on the front and on the back its say "what is it about PINK that makes you feel so good?"

Aww....Julia, that T-shirt sounds adorable!

I think that whoever wrote that on a message board was just being rude. I would take it with a grain of salt.....after all, the judgement was made by someone who had to communicate anonymously through a message board!

But learning new and fresh ways to portray a balanced sisterhood is a great thing for any chapter!

quite frankly you can only talk about philanthropy for so long. that's probably not the reason most girls will join. let them know it's part of it, but there are other things too.

you can't talk about boys/booze, but you can still discuss things like:

school sports
music
clothes
movies
pets
why the Eagles suck (sorry, had to throw that in there LOL :p)

The rushees want to know that you're not just going to be sisters, but that you're going to be friends they can have fun with. Every conversation doesn't have to center on the sorority - if you read the rush stories on here the rushees say when they were having the best time and liked the group the most is when they just got into a totally random convo and forgot they were at rush. It's two people talking, that's it.

i think there is so much pressure cause its the most iportant night and its only 15 minutes along, your nervous, they are and by the end your tired and so are they!!!

HEY EAGLES DON'T SUCK...ok sometimes they piss me off, what your team huh huh???

I PM'd you

15 minutes isn't very long. It HAS to be an initial impression thing.
I agree with your "look", the T sounds cute as does the whole outfit. Just wondering what the outfit was last year. Is this a big departure?

Just from reading a gazillion posts on this topic, I recall a lot of emphasis/advice was placed on these areas-

Size-Make sure the room doesn't look too large for the number of
actives and PNMs. A full room just looks better.

Sisters-energy and attitudes to each other as well as the PNMs is
important. FILL the room with positive energy.

Conversation-do your duty, but lighten it as much as possible. Kind of like chit chat vs Dragnet's "Just the facts..."

There was one thread in particular that said it all. If I come up with the link I'll post it. Maybe somebody else remembers it.

I also agree with MoxieGrrl-I think that whoever wrote that on a message board was just being rude. I would take it with a grain of salt.....after all, the judgement was made by someone who had to communicate anonymously through a message board! Probably the same kind of person who belittles other PNMs and tries to act like they are experts.

Day 1 is about making an impression on these girls, but also remember you are there to get to know them as well. 15 minutes is not that much time at all, and to go through a rotation, you could get at least 3 people in there to talk to the PNM. Ask them questions about themselves, and don't do the dreaded "Do you have any questions" thing. I had a member of a chapter ask me that about 5 times because she couldn't think of anything else to say and it made it very awkward for me. Have your house/suite decorated with Phi Mu stuff that can encourage conversations, make some trifold stations with your formal, your sisterhood, and maybe your philanthropy but don't shove it down their throats if they don't want to talk about it. Make the girls feel welcome by allowing them to talk about themselves and getting to know them.

This may not seem clear. It's early here, I might have to edit this later, but you get the idea I hope. PM me if you have questions.
:)

http://forums.greekchat.com/gcforums...h&pagenumber=2

Here is "A" thread (I know there are others) that has ideas-This is a good post by aephi alum. Of course not all applies.

"My chapter was in a similar situation... much smaller than the other sororities on campus. I don't think national HQ ever actually threatened to pull our charter, but they are "concerned" by our low numbers (especially the year that we came out of formal rush with only one new member!), and they have sent people (every year, I think) to help us with rush.

Here are some suggestions based on things we've done:

- During formal rush, PNM's will notice your small size and may cut your sorority for it. To cut down on the impact of the size difference, hold your parties in a smaller room, and fill it with balloons and decorations.

- During formal rush, get area alums to help out. If there's a nearby chapter, see if they can loan you a few sisters. If they are allowed to rush PNM's, great - just make sure the PNM's meet some actives from your chapter! If they're not allowed to talk to PNM's, have them distribute refreshments, etc. This frees up your actives, makes the chapter look bigger, and emphasizes the "national-ness" and lifetime commitment of being in a sorority.

- COB constantly. Get your sisters to bring their non-affiliated friends, roommates, etc. - even people they think wouldn't dream of going greek.

- If someone approaches you about joining and there isn't a rush week coming up, strike while the iron is hot. Have a bunch of sisters take her to dinner or something, and extend her a bid if you like her.

- Don't be afraid to take a new member class of one. They add up!

- Consider all women, including juniors and seniors.

- Be selective. As others have said, don't just hand out bids to anyone. Your national is probably going to be more impressed with 30-40 quality women than with 50-60 random people.

Whew, I wrote a novel Hope it helps!"

we have a relatively big chapter, for a northern school, we are the second biggest, so thats not a concern, we can get alot of girls, but a-list girls is the question...last year we wore black tanks, khacki capris and black sandals, i thought it was kinda boring...we had a huge room too, but there will be like 35 of us and since it the first night like 15-20 girls per party will be coming in...

I was thinking that we should hang letter shirts and different tees from events such as greek week, homecoming etc and string them on clothesline around the room, i have no idea how big the room is(we have our rush in the student union, because in PA its illegal to have sorority houses.) it is always locked, so I'm hoping its not to small either, nothing's worse then being so cramped that you can't even hear the girls over everyone else talking...and its also the only night where we're supposed to ask, what your age, where are you from, what your major etc.

the question is how can i make it fun???

Don't be afraid to take a new member class of one. They add up!

that we can't do CAN'T, on chapter only got 4 girls from rush last year, that really hurts your rep, bad!

we're not out to get the hottest, tannest blondest chics and quality over quanity is true, but its just so hard cause we are so innexperienced!