"No Frills" Recruitment - Need advice

[PeppyGPhiB]

My university has had no-frills recruitment since the year we transformed from locals to NPC. The year I rushed (the first year of NPC) there were, however, skits on one day. After that year, decorations were more limited, philanthropy day was added in place of the skits, and everything else pretty much stayed the same. The second round party remained a slide show/video day.

As others have said, outfits were not supposed to be "costume-y" or identical. However, you can still coordinate or pick a general color scheme. For example, instead of buying the same GAP red pocket tshirt, members pick their own red tshirt from whichever store/brand they want. The idea behind no-frills rush is to give the PNMs a look at the REAL chapter, which is why they don't want everyone dressing the same. You don't normally dress identically, do you?

Although we were able to have rush themes for the week or each day, decorations at my school were heavily regulated. I think this had more to do with money, since some chapters had more to spend than others. For each day they usually gave us a budget and perameters we needed to follow (ie only two walls decorated, only 200 balloons, etc.). The only day that we could go hog-wild on was preference. There were no rules on decorating for that day, and chapters really went all out. Our rush was held in classrooms (we didn't have houses), but you couldn't tell...we'd cover the walls in black fabric, tablecloth/slip cover all the tables and chairs, and cover the ceiling in balloons with curled, sparkly ribbon hanging down. Flowers were all over. Amazingly, they even let us use candles on the tables. So, you might still be able to decorate!!!

Regarding drink/food, the only stuff we had was water, plus food provided by panhellenic at a snack break between a couple parties in the first round. Since some chapters were worried PNMs would judge chapters on the type of water they offered, panhellenic designated a brand.

We still sang enter and exit songs at the door, so i hope you can. The PNMs love them (though they're startled at first if they're not expecting it), and they sometimes are very helpful when it comes to keeping each sorority straight.

One more regulation we had was regarding alumnae or actives from other collegiate chapters on the rush floor. This may not apply at your campus (and I suspect many), but some chapters on our campus would sometimes enlist the help of collegiates from neighboring chapters if they were afraid there might be more PNMs than actives. It helped them avoid double-rushing, and sometimes gave the PNM a big-picture view of the sorority. Alumnae were sometimes used to communicate with Rho Chis, get more water if needed, or other tasks that might be needed during a party. If a chapter wanted either these collegiates or alumnae on the floor, they were limited to a number set by panhellenic.

Honestly, when I went through rush, I hated watching the skits at each sorority. I thought they were cheesy, and told me nothing about what it was like to actually be a member of that sorority on a daily basis. I would've rather spent the time meeting more members so that I could make decisions on whether I fit in there. No-frills formal rush is really not intended to "entertain" women so much as it is to help them make an informed decision on membership. Instead of focusing on cute dances/lip syncs, they focus on conversation with members. Most of the women on my campus liked the no-frills way - although the rules can be a bit tedious - and couldn't imagine doing it with frills.

Before recruitment is planned, maybe think about meeting with the greek advisor to discuss the really important things you'd like to keep. Try to keep in mind, though, that the no-frills way of recruitment is actually the way NPC wants things done now...the greek advisor is just following the trend.

[UGAalum94]

I think part of what throws me off is that rush at my school was so dressed up, relative to clothes being described, (and I think it still is.)

I'm sure letting people wear clothes they already have saves money, but I think it was the norm at my school to buy some new stuff. We got dressed up for football games too, so I think you sort of shopped for things you could wear for both, which may sound insane, I realize.

I think I have matching clothing equals less expensive clothing incorrectly stuck in my head because of the shift in type of clothes too.

It sounds like from what PeppyGPhiB writes, there's still lots for a chapter to do for a "no frills" rush. Did the Rho Chis count balloons?

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

I'm sure letting people wear clothes they already have saves money, but I think it was the norm at my school to buy some new stuff. We got dressed up for football games too, so I think you sort of shopped for things you could wear for both, which may sound insane, I realize.

I think I have matching clothing equals less expensive clothing incorrectly stuck in my head because of the shift in type of clothes too.

It sounds like from what PeppyGPhiB writes, there's still lots for a chapter to do for a "no frills" rush. Did the Rho Chis count balloons?

Usually we already had most of the stuff we were told to wear for rush. Jeans/denim skirt, khakis (it was the 90s!), black skirt, black slacks, different colors of shirts, black dress, black heels, etc. The key was picking wardrobe staples instead of creative or unique items. As you said, we could be creative with accessories if wanted.

Re: counting balloons...you know how I said things could get tedious? Yep, panhellenic exec. went into the rooms prior to the first party and counted balloons, checked outfits and other decorations. It was actually really fast and easy to do.

[UGAalum94]

I'm glad it went well and that your overall impression is positive.

It does seem like everyone would have the clothes that you described, and that you would look cute as a group.

I was just afraid that rather than being low maintenance, "no frills" was just a different kind of high maintenance. I'm glad to hear that it doesn't work out that way.

[PeppyGPhiB]

One more thing...I don't know how rampant rush violations are at other schools, but at mine they were practically non-existant. Probably because of how orderly no-frills rush tends to operate. The first year there were several, mostly because people were unfamiliar with the rules, but after that I don't recall there being many issues.

[aphidarlin]

Hi there-

I'm the Recruitment Adviser for a chapter with a total of 5 NPC groups, and we just completed our first year of "no frills." Like you, the GA is new, and wanted to make BIG changes that the groups were not ready for. However, she has been incredibly supportive and empowering of each group and their individual concerns.

I came through Formal Recruitment in Spring 2001, when chapters served drinks, did skits, balloon arches, individual stationary invitations for each PNM corresponding to the theme of the next round's party, etc... Basically, the "go big or go home" mentality.

Fast Forward to this past Fall (2006). The GA wanted no skits, chants, decorations, matching shirts, etc... Her purpose in proposing these changes was to give a more realistic view of sisterhood and sorority life to the PNMs. My suggestion was to take a look at what we had been doing in recruitment, and ask ourselves...Do we do this in our respective chapters at any other time, than for recruitment?

i.e. I don't get together with my sisters on a Friday night and perform a skit. However, we do wear matching sets of letters for various events.

We ended up using this as sort of a blue print for the recruitment rules. One of the rules regarding decorations was that everything in the room had to serve a purpose. Nothing could be just a thematic space filler. It forced us to pretty much be limited to table decorations, but to be intentional and creative with what we displayed.

Hope this helps...Let me know how it goes for you!

[33girl]

Originally Posted by aphidarlin

My suggestion was to take a look at what we had been doing in recruitment, and ask ourselves...Do we do this in our respective chapters at any other time, than for recruitment?

i.e. I don't get together with my sisters on a Friday night and perform a skit. However, we do wear matching sets of letters for various events.

We ended up using this as sort of a blue print for the recruitment rules.

That's one of the best ways to explain no-frills that I've ever heard. Too many people go overboard with it and use it as an excuse to tattle on the other sororities if they break the rules.

(I'm sure that occasionally things do occur outside of recruitment that would be entertaining as skits, however, they're probably best confined to sisters only, LOL.)

[Denise_DPhiE]

Originally Posted by aphidarlin

My suggestion was to take a look at what we had been doing in recruitment, and ask ourselves...Do we do this in our respective chapters at any other time, than for recruitment?

Amen (panhellenic) sista. Well said.

[emily0325]

I personally don't like the sound of no frills recruitement.. it sort of takes the fun out of it although I do see the reasoning... I just see it as if a girl wants to be in another sorority because they have cool shirts or cool themes then I don't want her. Girls going through that are quality and have honorable intentions aren't going to care about that stuff. So why not just let us do it?

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by emily0325

I personally don't like the sound of no frills recruitement.. it sort of takes the fun out of it although I do see the reasoning... I just see it as if a girl wants to be in another sorority because they have cool shirts or cool themes then I don't want her. Girls going through that are quality and have honorable intentions aren't going to care about that stuff. So why not just let us do it?

Well, I guess it depends on what your chapter sees as "fun." Some chapters enjoy doing the skits, but many don't. My chapter would have hated it. In our case, taking out the skits made things more fun. When it came to identical outfits, that really wouldn't have worked on our campus, where each chapter had women of all shapes and sizes. It was hard enough convincing my chapter that we should coordinate colors/outfits. Sure, it would have been fun to be able to decorate the whole room, but any of us that had spent hours decorating the preference room knew how long it took and we were happy to spend those hours earlier in the week sleeping.

[AGDee]

I think the biggest advantage of "no frills" is financial. You've got to consider the return on your investment. The money we spent on food, favors, name tags, invitations, etc. was outrageous and my school was a mid-west, blue collar type of school. Without all those expenses, we actually had more money to cover formals, mixers, and sisterhoods. And, as several people pointed out earlier, the time involved in all that planning and implementation. It was exhausting. And, you can spend more time during each event actually TALKING to the PNMs so they get to know you and you get to know them.

I still find it a little odd that, no matter which sorority you got a bid from, each PNM had numerous favors with letters on them from all the different groups. It seemed ok at the time, but seems strange in retrospect, especially when the debates go on here about whether new members can wear letters.

Even at the "lowest frills" campuses that I'm familiar with, they still dress similarly, sing their songs and have formal preferences with ceremonies.

[adpiucf]

Originally Posted by emily0325

I just see it as if a girl wants to be in another sorority because they have cool shirts or cool themes then I don't want her. Girls going through that are quality and have honorable intentions aren't going to care about that stuff.

LOL. Then clearly you have never been a teenager.

[Glitter650]

Originally Posted by emily0325

I personally don't like the sound of no frills recruitement.. it sort of takes the fun out of it although I do see the reasoning... I just see it as if a girl wants to be in another sorority because they have cool shirts or cool themes then I don't want her. Girls going through that are quality and have honorable intentions aren't going to care about that stuff. So why not just let us do it?

That sounds great to say, and it's true that it's a stupid reason to join just because you liked a chapter's outfits or decorations. But it's not reality. People DO look at decorations and such when they step into a recruitment party, they look at how everything is presented. If having no frills puts every chapter on more of an even footing than girls will be more likely to choose based on the connection they felt with the women they met. (In theory)

[33girl]

Some schools have taken "no frills" to mean counting balloons, calling rush infractions on other groups because a PNM walked out w/ confetti on her shirt, etc. That is NOT what it's supposed to be about and completely violates the whole spirit of the idea - just as making ridiculous rules about sorority members having any contact with freshmen completely violates the intended point and spirit of deferred rush.

I honestly think it would almost make things easier if the sororities could all get together and say "we're going to do so and so, show this movie, this is our skit" and be fair and open about it. The reason you have silly crap like counting balloons is no matter what, everyone's afraid they're going to be one-upped somehow. It's easy to make rules about no frills, to actually make people understand WHAT THE REAL POINT IS is the hard part.

Let me say I've got no problem with things like skits and songs - they're fun and let the rushees relax and just be spectators. But when you only have a total of 5 hours to spend with women in rush (i.e. a girl rushing you from Meet the Greeks on through till pref will be in your company a total of 5 hours) and you eat up 45 minutes of it with a skit, then is when you should stop and think. Especially if the rushees are 95% freshmen women you've never set your eyes on till they walked in the door.

[MSKKG]

The Kappas at USC (S. Carolina) had to remove something out of their centerpieces because the centerpieces could only be 8" tall (I think). The actual flower part of the arrangement was, but they had these gold twirls coming out of the arrangement that made the centerpiece exceed the limit. Things like that seem kind of petty to me.