|
Day One—Sisterhood
I was really nervous for my first day of recruitment. While I’m a theatre major, I am a major introvert. Lots of socializing takes up a lot of my energy. Going into recruitment, my mindset was as long as I was true to my values and myself, I would end up where I needed to be. Our campus doesn’t have houses, so recruitment took places in various venues on campus.
Also it should be noted that I’m a dork and researched every sorority and their cause. Volunteering/philanthropy was and still is very important to me.
My first round was Sven. People warned me about the clapping, singing, and snapping. However, when the doors open for Sven, I almost burst into tears due to stimulation overboard. I had a letter of recommendation for Sven, but letters don’t really mean much at my university. I was picked up at the door by one of my very close friend who was a senior theatre major. Since we had met in August, she had wanted me to be an Sven. Sven is the smallest chapter on campus, and being completely honest, is considered bottom tier. However, I had wonderful conversations with all of the girls I spoke to. The girls were incredibly rooted in their sisterhood and made me feel welcomed from when I walked in to walking me out. Upon leaving, I decided I would be happy to return, especially because Sven is incredibly involved and dedicated with their philanthropy.
My second round was Raja. To be honest, it was nice. Nothing too special, I had nice conversation, I would want to come back.
My third round was Olaf . Most girls in my rho-chi group really wanted Olaf , as they are considered top tier. The girl who picked me up actually went to my rival high school. She acted really surprised that we were paired (we’re from out of state), but I knew that they paired us up based on major/hometown/activity. However, we had a really fun conversation on the adjustment from our hometown to our new home. A girl who was my first year retreat leader came up and said hi to me, which was nice. The next girl who I talked to was very funny, as we talked about the struggle of pumping gas. They had two girls who were best friend give a hilarious speech on their friendship in Olaf . When I left the round, I had mixed feelings. While I had really fun conversation with the girls, I felt in my gut that the sorority was really strong recruiters, but not where I would fit in every other day of the year.
My fourth round was Sebastian and provided me with the funniest/strangest experience. This sorority had been on social probation two years ago, known for having a party-girl rep. This concerned me a little, but I rationalized that every group will have people like that and I can’t define a group by the views of others. My first conversation was okay, a little awkward, but decent. I was hopeful that the stereotypes weren’t true. The first girl’s best friend bumped me. As we talked, I asked my standard list of questions, the most important being “What makes your sisterhood/sorority unique?” And the girl gave me the best/worst one-liner of my recruitment experience.
“Well, like we don’t follow the rules, you know?”
I politely smiled but in my head was screaming “wtf.” When I left the house, I knew that Sebastianwas not the house for me. The girls weren’t mean or anything like that, but that girl just left a bad taste in my mouth. Slash, wouldn’t that be a recruitment no-no?
My fifth round was a presentation from the new chapter on campus, Meeko. They were only participating in the first round of recruitment and then holding their own interview process for founding sisters. Their reps from Nationals had been on campus all of first semester to gain an understanding of our unique Greek scene. I really liked their presentation and the alumni I talked to. However, as I didn’t know a lot about the Greek scene, I decided I wouldn’t want to drop out of formal recruitment to interview for them. Being a founding sister was incredibly daunting to me. However, my roommate decided to do so and is very happy to be a founding sister!
The sixth round was Flounder, one of the sororities that I had been interested in since the beginning. This sorority has the most popular/heavily attended philanthropy event on campus. Before recruitment, my RA who I am close with friends with really wanted me to be a Flounder as his fraternity is very close with them and thought I would be a good match. However, I wanted to keep an open mind and form my own opinions. However, the minute I walked in, I felt at home. The girl I talked to first was a girl I was in a show with at the time, so we obviously had a lot to talk about. The girl I talked to next was incredibly sweet and very honest about why Flounder meant so much to her. It meant a lot to me that she was so open and made me feel like I was a sister already. The president gave a hilarious story about what sisterhood meant to her. I didn’t want to leave Flounder at all! When we left, I was beaming!
The last round was Pascal , another sorority that I really loved going into recruitment. They are known for having the highest GPA on campus, which I liked. I also really connected with their philanthropy. I was picked up a girl who was an English major, so it was fun to talk about our favorite books. One of the seniors who I am really close friends with came up to me and gave me a big hug, raving about me to the girl rushing me. However, the two girls who gave the sisterhood speech were the best part of that round, causing both the member and pnms to cry from laughing. All in all, I was incredibly happy with Pascal and hoped to be invited back.
Afterwards, I went back to my rho-chis rank. Our group had break last, which was nice to be done earlier than other groups. I had been taking notes after each house on my phone to help me formulate my ranking and keeping to myself to avoid being swayed by other girls. For our recruitment, we rank our top four and then our first and second alternates. I ranked.
Top Four: Flounder, Pascal , Sven, and Raja.
First Alternate: Olaf .
Second Alternate: Sebastian
I went back to my dorm to call my mom, before crashing incredibly hard. I don’t think I have ever slept so hard.
|