Queasy Recruitment '07

[Javalover]

My daughter, “Carrie,” was eager to try sorority recruitment, but it wasn’t a life-or-death thing with her. She hated “girl drama” in high school, but was impressed by the Greek Affairs presentation at orientation. She neither knew nor cared about each sorority’s reputations and didn’t know anyone in the Greek system at this school. She wanted to be involved and make new friends, and saw it as a way to do both. It was also a good excuse to buy new clothes! To me, she seemed a natural for Greek life.

Day one:
The first day of recruitment was also my first day at a new job. At 6:30 am, I was surprised to see Carrie’s number on the caller ID when the phone rang. “Mom, I’ve been throwing up since about 3 am!!” She assured me she hadn’t had any “beverages,” the night before, but had felt increasingly queasy since eating a sandwich in the late afternoon. My initial reaction was to jump in the car to come to her aid, but because of my new job, I really couldn’t unless it was a dire emergency. Plus, I told myself I would NOT be a “helicopter mom.” I suggested she take a cool shower and see how she felt. The phone rang 15 minutes later. Carrie had gotten sick again and was going back to bed. I told her she HAD to call the R.C. to let her know what was going on. She said she would. I left for work, aching for my daughter, and worried that her chances of joining a sorority had just gone “down the toilet.”

My morning at the new job was horrible. I called Carrie at lunch and found out she had made it to the initial morning meeting, but had excused herself to the bathroom twice. Her R.C. told her to go back to her room, but strongly encouraged her to do whatever she could to catch up with the group later. They were visiting all the houses that day (more than a dozen.) So far, she hadn’t gone anywhere except back to the bathroom she had come to know so well.

I decided to do a “mom” thing, even though a voice inside was telling me not to. I called the Panhel office at the university. I was worried that the R.C. may not have followed through and my daughter would be completely dropped. I know I sounded like a babbling idiot, but I explained that my daughter really was ill, not just skipping the day, and essentially begged them to get that info to the sororities. (Are the blades in my helicopter turning??)

By late afternoon, Carrie felt better but still not great, and was able to make herself presentable and tried to catch up with her group. There were only 2 houses left to visit. It was beastly hot, Carried didn’t know the area, and despite directions from the R.C., she got turned around and never found the girls. The day was over and she had not been able to meet anyone, and worse yet, no one had met her.

At that night’s meeting, the other girls filled out their rankings, and Carried had nothing to rank. They could receive up to 10 invitations back for the next round. Her R.C. said she might get some… just wait and see. Although recruitment at this university isn’t extremely competitive, I was scared to death she would be completely dropped. Carrie had recs to about half of the sororities (in this area they are pretty optional) and was a legacy to two. Maybe that would help.... She had a good attitude about it all - if it didn't work out, it didn't work out - and there was always informal. Regardless, now my stomach was the one in knots as we waited.