Washington and Lee Recruitment...what is it like?

[33girl]

Originally Posted by breathesgelatin

over the Cadaver bridge.

OK, I don't want to derail the thread, but I HAD to ask about the origin of this name.

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by alum

The lack of the house probably wouldn't bother the PNMs if they see it in the process of being built. It's possible that the Class of '12 ADPi might get to live in the house as srs if the school breaks ground on schedule.

I was just wondering about the logistics of recruitment parties if it's 5 houses all in a row and then one off somewhere else on campus.

Yeah, the logistics will be weird; I'm assuming if they do ADPi's over the bridge, they'll have to add some extra time between parties.

Originally Posted by 33girl

OK, I don't want to derail the thread, but I HAD to ask about the origin of this name.

The Cadaver Society is a secret society. They're probably the most prestigious of the secret societies at W&L. Reportedly it's mostly rich southern pre-meds. About once a month they get really drunk and tag the campus with their symbol. And run around sorority row making fools of themselves and talking in really high voices. And sometimes making their "pledges" dance for us.

Anyway their alums give a lot of money to the university, including donating the money for a big concrete bridge across the ravine to the football field.

There's a bunch of web images of the Cadaver society and other secret societies at the link below, including the Cadaver symbol/tag and the bridge:

http://journalism.wlu.edu/rrarchive/...28611/real.htm

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by breathesgelatin

The Cadaver Society is a secret society. They're probably the most prestigious of the secret societies at W&L. Reportedly it's mostly rich southern pre-meds. About once a month they get really drunk and tag the campus with their symbol. And run around sorority row making fools of themselves and talking in really high voices. And sometimes making their "pledges" dance for us.

Anyway their alums give a lot of money to the university, including donating the money for a big concrete bridge across the ravine to the football field.

There's a bunch of web images of the Cadaver society and other secret societies at the link below, including the Cadaver symbol/tag and the bridge:

http://journalism.wlu.edu/rrarchive/...28611/real.htm

Thanks for posting the link.

During college, I had a summer internship and one afternoon a few of us were talking about our college experience - including fraternities, sororities and secret societies etc. There was a Washington & Lee student and a Virginia Military (VMI) student in our group. (They were actually from the same town in Kentucky.) While the W&L guy never confirmed if he was a member of one, he did say that it was his understanding that some of the W&L secret societies included students from VMI. The VMI guy claimed to not know anything about any secret societies. Have you heard anything along those lines? Not that it might matter, but this would have been back when both W&L and VMI were all male.

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by TSteven

While the W&L guy never confirmed if he was a member of one, he did say that it was his understanding that some of the W&L secret societies included students from VMI. The VMI guy claimed to not know anything about any secret societies. Have you heard anything along those lines? Not that it might matter, but this would have been back when both W&L and VMI were all male.

I can't say I do know anything about VMI cadets being members of W&L secret societies. I know that VMI cadets would be in big trouble if they got found out to be in a secret society (that's the reason why Sigma Nu and ATO, who were both founded at VMI, will probably never have chapters there again). So it's possible but I'm sure it's really underground if that's the case. I mean I'm no expert on W&L secret societies by any means.

My general impression is that coeducation eventually harmed relations between VMI guys and W&L men. If you read the whole slide presentation about the minks thing, you see that VMI and W&L have been competing for women for like ages. And I think there's a lot of tension now over who gets to date W&L women. The competition is even more intense now as a lot of the women's colleges become co-ed or change culturally, plus W&L women are right there.

The first few years of co-education the W&L fraternities were dead set on "boycotting" dating W&L women, but that didn't last for very long. Especially since all the SMART women in the region quit going to the women's colleges and starting going to UVA and W&L. (And I say this having a mom as an alum of a women's college about 45 minutes north of W&L - even she admits that her school has changed completely academically and culturally since she was there.) A lot of the women who are the more "traditional" student types for Hollins, Sweetbriar, etc., just go to Hampden-Sydney or UVA... partially I think because W&L women are so hostile to them.

There are some VMI guys that hang out at W&L fraternities and don't get mocked for it/asked to leave by brothers... Usually guys the W&L people know from high school. One of my sorority sisters dated (and is actually about to marry now) a VMI cadet who went to Woodberry Forest with a bunch of W&L guys and he was welcome pretty much everywhere. But that was more due to cultural reasons than anything else.

[FSUZeta]

neither pi phi nor kappa at u of florida are located where the other sororities are on campus(pi phi is located amongst the fraternities) and uf panhellenic seems to be able to cope with getting pnms to either place with out much problem and it doesn't seem to effect either sororities rush results. maybe it will be the same at w & l.

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

neither pi phi or kappa at u of florida are located where the other sororities are on campus(pi phi is located amongst the fraternities) and uf panhellenic seems to be able to cope with getting pnms to either place with out much problem and it doesn't seem to effect either sororities rush results. maybe it will be the same at w & l.

Well, hopefully the issue will be resolved after 2 recruitments. Then ADPi will take its place right beside Kappa. The issue is just where they'll hold recruitment in the meantime because of the location of the sorority houses being relatively far from everything else. Like I said I think they'll just do it in the Commons and give the PNMs a bit more time to get between houses and it should work out fine.

The greater issue would be is if W&L ever wants to add a seventh sorority (and I've said on these boards that I think they will because Panhellenic is so committed to getting chapter size down to around 70). That would be a problem because when they planned the houses they didn't see the growth that Panhellenic would experience and only made room for six houses. I think that would really harm the seventh sorority. They could possibly be given a fraternity house, but the fraternity houses aren't really comparable to the sorority houses unfortunately. If they used a fraternity house they would almost definitely have to bus people back and forth between the seventh house as well.

[xoredhotxo]

There are going to be 15 minutes between parties instead of the usual 10. ADPi will be using a room in the Commons, according to the main rumor going around. While the extra time between parties will be nice for us, I feel sorry for those poor girls who will have to be standing outside in the freezing January night! Hopefully they'll remember to wear sweatpants and Ugg boots underneath their dresses and to bring their coats!

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by xoredhotxo

There are going to be 15 minutes between parties instead of the usual 10. ADPi will be using a room in the Commons, according to the main rumor going around. While the extra time between parties will be nice for us, I feel sorry for those poor girls who will have to be standing outside in the freezing January night! Hopefully they'll remember to wear sweatpants and Ugg boots underneath their dresses and to bring their coats!

Thanks for the on campus update! My predictions are so money. bwa hahaha.

[PhiSigLisa]

Originally Posted by breathesgelatin

The Cadaver Society is a secret society. They're probably the most prestigious of the secret societies at W&L. Reportedly it's mostly rich southern pre-meds. About once a month they get really drunk and tag the campus with their symbol. And run around sorority row making fools of themselves and talking in really high voices. And sometimes making their "pledges" dance for us.

Thanks for the explanation. I've seen that funky skull thing all over town but I always thought it was a fraternity thing.

[pinkpirate]

I'm a current senior at W&L and needless to say, the rumor mill is overflowing with talk about ADPi. The latest official news that I've heard from Panhel is that they're being allowed to take as many upperclassmen women as they can get before formal recruitment in January. During formal recruitment, their quota will be set around 70, so in theory, if they can get a large number of upperclassmen women this fall, their chapter size could be quite a bit larger than the others on campus, though I doubt this will end up being an issue. Quota for the other houses will be set as others have said around 20 or so. No firm decision has been made as to where ADPi will be for formal recruitment, but they've been given the choice between the dance studio in the gym and the Morris House on the hill - apparently there are plans to shuttle the PNMs between srat row and the hill using golf carts. Also, unlike in previous years, the schedule is 6-5-3-2 and what used to be philanthropy night (night 1) is now "open house" night while philanthropy has been rolled in with sisterhood night on night 3. ADPi had girls here on Friday for a Meet the Greeks cookout from UVa and VA Tech so that the PNMs could meet collegiate women and not just nationals reps.

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by pinkpirate

I'm a current senior at W&L and needless to say, the rumor mill is overflowing with talk about ADPi. The latest official news that I've heard from Panhel is that they're being allowed to take as many upperclassmen women as they can get before formal recruitment in January. During formal recruitment, their quota will be set around 70, so in theory, if they can get a large number of upperclassmen women this fall, their chapter size could be quite a bit larger than the others on campus, though I doubt this will end up being an issue. Quota for the other houses will be set as others have said around 20 or so. No firm decision has been made as to where ADPi will be for formal recruitment, but they've been given the choice between the dance studio in the gym and the Morris House on the hill - apparently there are plans to shuttle the PNMs between srat row and the hill using golf carts. Also, unlike in previous years, the schedule is 6-5-3-2 and what used to be philanthropy night (night 1) is now "open house" night while philanthropy has been rolled in with sisterhood night on night 3. ADPi had girls here on Friday for a Meet the Greeks cookout from UVa and VA Tech so that the PNMs could meet collegiate women and not just nationals reps.

Cool.

If ADPi has any sense they'll use Morris House and not the dance studio in the gym. I've never been to Morris House, but I can't imagine the dance studio in the gym being a good venue in any way, shape, or form (and I've been there many, many times).

First I've heard about them taking upperclassmen though. Is that starting... now? Are they going to have an interview weekend to take in the upperclassmen and then take the freshmen through formal? The whole thing is verrrrrrrry interesting. I figured they'd just make the upperclassmen go through formal like everyone else.

For those who may be interested, W&L traditionally has no kind of fall informal recruitment.

[pinkpirate]

There was a vote taken by Panhel towards the end of winter term regarding whether ADPi would be allowed to take upperclass women before formal recruitment. The interesting thing is that no quota has been set on the number they can take or whether the number of upperclass women they recruit will affect their quota during formal recruitment. Both Panhel and ADPi seem very disorganized - the informal recruitment rules weren't finalized until two weeks into fall term and the details of formal recruitment have yet to be decided.

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by pinkpirate

There was a vote taken by Panhel towards the end of winter term regarding whether ADPi would be allowed to take upperclass women before formal recruitment. The interesting thing is that no quota has been set on the number they can take or whether the number of upperclass women they recruit will affect their quota during formal recruitment. Both Panhel and ADPi seem very disorganized - the informal recruitment rules weren't finalized until two weeks into fall term and the details of formal recruitment have yet to be decided.

I hate to say this, but it's no shock that W&L Panhel is disorganized. That said, they are under new leadership since I graduated, and I was hoping for improvements...

So I would take from this post that they haven't bid any upperclassmen yet? It is still pretty early in the W&L year (classes usually don't start until after Labor Day).