question from the otherside of rush

[anniesigkap]

I was just wondering how picky each chapter is being for rush this year with small details. Last year our rush chair was really good about stuff, but this year we got a list of not only outfits but how to wear our hair, what jewelry to wear and what color to paint our nails. This seemed a little extreme to me and I didn't know if this is common in other chapters. Along with the color for our nails we were also warned that we will be having a nail check for every event and not to get mad if we had to do them over. We don't wear the same color at every type of party so this is also something else to do besides worrying about decorations.
Not only is this picky but one of the colors is red. This makes me mad because not everyone looks good in red (i.e. me, I have small hands and it makes them look stumpy) but this also attracts attention to imperfections, not everyone has nice long perfect nails.

During work week she will be approving our jewelry and our clothes, as well as our hair. We have to show her how it all is going to look, and if it is not perfect according to her we will be told to change.

Sorry I had to vent on this one because I know that we are suppose to look nice and classy but let me tell you that the fact that everyone has the same color nailpolish would not make me want to join or not join a sorority. Actually if they are to overdone, like this feels, I probably would not want to join.

My lil and I thought about going out and getting purple streaks in our hair before going to work week just to make her mad, I mean after all she can't tell us to dye our hair back, but then we thought we love our soror and we wouldn't want to scare anyone.

[ZTAngel]

I would say that our chapter is a little bit on the picky side. I remember being shock my freshman year after hearing the requirements of how we are to dress. We must all wear make up, have hair cut right before recruitment, make sure our nails are a "normal" color (nothing like blue or green). If we have highlights, we need to make sure our roots are not showing. We also have dress checks. I think this is most important and for very good reasons. For instance, on one of our days we need to wear a black bottom whether it's a skirt or pants. Now, we are supposed to dress classy but some girls....ay. So, we do dress checks to make sure that skirts are a good length and that they are not too tight.

[carnation]

One year my chapter had a control freak in charge of rush dress! I know someone has to oversee things but you can usually tell that the person in charge has gone overboard if lots of people are griping. The group can always approach the alum board or just flat out refuse to honor extreme requests--

[dzsaigirl]

There is already a thread about dress checks that hits this subject.

I know that we had requirements that were as tough as yours. I even had an advisor run up to me with concealer as pref was getting ready to start to touch me up...that stuff was normal to us. But when a rushee was concerned with "Oh you are all so put-together and perfect, I'm not like that..." I always said that I wear foundation and lip gloss and jeans and a t-shirt to class with flip flops...'cause rush is different from real life.

[FuzzieAlum]

I can understand your nails needing to be done .... and not done a "trendy" color but more classical ... but yoicks, a different color each day? That much nail polish remover cannot be good for your nails. It's also a waste of time that could be better spent on more substantial rush preparations.

I would advise against the purple streaks, though. Not that I have anything against purple hair per se, but as an act of rush rebellion. One, the rushees will wonder what is up; they'll think ya'll are rebels, and if you're not that's giving them just a "fake" image as all-matching nails. Two, if you're doing it to piss off the rush chair, it'll work. And an angry vibe going around the chapter during rush is visible to the rushees. It will hurt the chapter as a whole, not just the rush chair.

May I suggest instead having someone talk to the rush chair (perhaps your advisor or prez) and tell her that many of the members feel umcomfortable with the requirements. Compromise on having your nails done (but clear or neutral polish if you want).

How serious chapters are about matching and dress checks varies from school to school, but I'd advise you not to stray too far from what the other chapters do. You want to stand out for your personalities, not your fingernails.

[chloe173]

There was a very similar thread on here last year about dress checks. From reading it over, it sounds like your rush chair is being just as picky as some of the really big Southern chapters. Of course, you may not go to a large Southern school. As someone who will be rushing in a few weeks, I wouldn't drop a house if their nails weren't all painted the same or if some had their hair down and some up, but I think if some houses had those extra details, it could make those houses seem more prestigous. If other houses are doing it, you don't want to be outshined! And besides, it would probably make it easier on rushees (like me!) to remember, "oh yeah, that was the house with ponytails" instead of "um, weren't they the ones that wore red shirts?" Anyways, here's that thread:

http://greekchat.com/gcforums/showth...t=dress+checks

[justamom]

annie sigkap-"My lil and I thought about going out and getting purple streaks in our hair before going to work week just to make her mad, I mean after all she can't tell us to dye our hair back, but then we thought we love our soror and we wouldn't want to scare anyone."
LOL-Sounds like something that would have entered MY mind!

My daughter hasn't bougt one of her pairs of shoes yet because the chair said-TAN. She is wondering what SHADE of tan since there are several out here right now. Yes, they are picky. Hair nails length, fit, but they have a tad more leeway tha what you are dealing with!

Good luck! It will be over all too soon!

[aephi alum]

I can't believe your rush chair is making you change your nail polish every day... like FuzzieAlum said, that much nail polish remover can't be good. (I recommend non-acetone, so your nails don't dry out as much.) For one thing, when the heck are you going to have time to do your nails every day?!

We did have dress checks, but as far as makeup and hair went, we were just told to make sure it was neat. I don't think I wore makeup at all, except for pref. (I almost never wear makeup.) Ah, rush in the Northeast...

[33girl]

OMG, if I had to change my nails every day I would never make it to the parties. They take forever to dry. Why can't everyone just get French or a neutral manicure and be done with it? I think it would scare me if everyone was wearing the same nail polish...that's a little Stepford-y.

[AlphaSigLana]

OMG-- miserable!!! All we had to do was wear the shirts that went with each day and then all black on pref tea with clear polish. Our shorts were checked to make sure no cheecks peeked out! I looked at my pics from last yr-- I had put my hair in braids-I look like I'm 12!! But other than that we didn't have to be perfect--there was no time!!!!
I remember seeing how poor some of the rushees dressed. I think a dresscode is needed since some of my sisters aren't very fashionable(i love them anyway).
Aspire, Seek, Attain

[SGPhigirl]

At my chapter we dont have any kind of dress checks. All were told is what to wear (usally jeans, or black pants, and a specific shirt) and the rest is up to us. We can do whatever we want with our hair, nailpolish and shoes. Were basically told just to look neat.

[SoCalGirl]

Annie,

It sounds like either your campus is super ultra competitive or the VPM is trippin.

I suggest that ya'll approach the VPM and let her know why you think her requests are unreasonable and offer a compromise. I have to add that you need to make sure that you present this to her as business like as possible. Basially, "Your guidelines will harm the chapter this way. My compromise will help that way." If she flips take the case to the VPM advisor. If she says no, go to the Recruitment Supervisor. She has the final say on everything!

In my chapter we were always told to wear our hair up so we don't play with it. Jewelry was kept to minimum. Again, because of fiddlin' with it.

As far as haircuts. We were told that if we were getting it cut; it couldn't be more than two weeks prior. Prerush and rush is stressful enough. Less than two weeks is not enough time to deal with the possibility of something going wrong with the hair.

Nails. We were encouraged to go get manicures as a bonding/relaxtion exercise. As long as your nails weren't gross and didn't clash with the outfit, you're golden. I lived in clear sparkly polish for the first two weeks of school. It dries quick. You don't have to be ultracareful when putting it on. If it chips, it's hard to tell.

By the way, I think red polish looks best on short nails!

[MsVixen]

at my school, none of the girls in houses are allowed to wear perfume the entire rush week... as most rushees will wear it and it would give people headaches with that much perfume