Thread to Draft NutBrnHair Into the Retro Recruitment Thread Movement!

NutBrnHair · #1 06-19-2007, 04:48 PM

The year was 1979. A sweet young Southern girl named Nut, from a small Tennessee city, arrived at the middle Georgia campus of Topia University (Utopia, for short). She was an only child, but her best friend since the age of four was her roommate. Two other girls from Nut’s high school class also were members of the freshman class. Topia was a 4,000 student school affiliated with the Baptist church, but the Greek system seemed to be an integral part of the campus scene.

There were four NPC groups on campus:

Ruby
Sapphire
Pearl
Emerald

Nut and her best friend Carol began to move into their first floor un-air-conditioned dorm room with the assistance of their parents. A friendly upperclassman named Susan wearing her sorority jersey (Ruby) helped carry the suitcases to the room.

The freshman class gathered in the Chapel for a general meeting before being divided into Orientation Groups. The Panhellenic President spoke about signing up for sorority Rush. Nut, Carol and their other 2 high school friends Kay & Holly were all looking forward to Rush. Holly’s mother had been a member of the Ruby sorority when she was in school, but none of the other 3 was a legacy.

All of the freshmen were divided into 30 person groups led by an OA (Orientation Assistant). Nut’s OA was a Junior and was a member of the Sapphire sorority. She seemed very mature and worldly to Nut.

All four registered for Rush at the Student Center. The Rush Counselors, Panhellenic Officers and RAs (Resident Advisors) were the only women who had to disaffiliate with their sororities during Rush. Silence was not enacted until Pref Round. There was, of course, a rule prohibiting sorority women from spending any money or giving gifts to the rushees.

Nut was already familiar with the names of three of the groups (Ruby, Sapphire & Pearl). Most of the girls from Nut’s high school joined sororities and she remembered seeing the young alumnae return to campus with pledge pins and sorority badges. Nut’s mother had friends who secured recommendations for at least one of the groups.

Rush was held in a Panhellenic building – an old Victorian home that had been converted to four suites for the NPC groups. During the first round of Rush, the two NPHC groups on campus, Delta Sigma Theta and Alpha Kappa Alpha made a presentation to all of the rushees explaining their structure and their intake process.

The first round of parties seemed to fly by – seems like we all wore sundresses and espadrilles and were greeted in each suite by singing and clapping! I do recall that the Emerald group all dressed in gauchos and had one member dressed up as their mascot! The suites were crowded and the small window air conditioners couldn’t keep up. All of the suites were nicely decorated. Nut noticed that each group’s décor matched the colors of their organization. All of the songs were catchy and we returned to the dorm very excited, because Rush was finally underway.

sherbertlemons · #2 06-19-2007, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NutBrnHair

arrived at the middle Georgia campus of Topia University (Utopia, for short).

That made me groan. Loudly.

Although I have to say Mr. sherbertlemons would definitely approve of that joke!

Quote:

The first round of parties seemed to fly by – seems like we all wore sundresses and espadrilles and were greeted in each suite by singing and clapping!

Proof positive that my mother should have saved all her clothing for me! I love espadrilles!

Would you consider listing the groups that existed at Utopia?

THanks for posting your story!

NutBrnHair · #3 06-19-2007, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sherbertlemons

Would you consider listing the groups that existed at Utopia?

THanks for posting your story!

Sure, but since there are just four -- why don't I name them at the end, ok?

NutBrnHair · #4 06-19-2007, 07:25 PM

The 1st Round (Open House) and the 2nd Round (Ice Water Teas) the rushees attended parties at all 4 groups. The only thing served as refreshments at second round was, you guessed it – ice water. No fancy glasses or lemon wedges – just ice & water in a plastic cup! The conversations at this round were more in depth, since the parties lasted longer. Each group performed a short skit at the end of their party.

At the Emerald suite, Nut found herself surrounded by 4 or 5 members and it seemed like she was responsible for carrying the conversation. The girls there seemed nice and polite and genuinely interested in Nut.

The Sapphire sorority seemed a bit smaller in size, but Nut saw her OA and that made her very comfortable at this party. Some of Nut’s high school classmates had already pledged this sorority at the hometown university.

The Ruby group was Nut’s favorite group. She was introduced to many different sisters. They seemed to really like each other and were having a lot of fun. Their short skit at the end of the party was a take-off on Saturday Night Live. Nut enjoyed Weekend Update with Dan Akroyd and Jane Curtain – and the member who played the role of Roseanne Rosanna Danna!

The Pearl sorority was considered one of the best groups at Topia based on the things Nut and her friends had heard on campus. The girls were attractive and confident. Lots of blondes! A friend of Nut and Carol’s had pledged this group at Auburn a few weeks earlier.

Rush at UTopia was held during the first week of school. The campus cafeteria was the place to see and be seen. All of the sororities and fraternities had areas of the dining room where they congregated. As Nut and Carol were getting in line for lunch one day, a couple of the Rubies asked them to sit at their table! How exciting. As Nut and Carol exited the serving area, a member of the Pearl group waved and asked them to join their table. Ut oh. “Thank you,” Nut said, “but we’ve already been asked to sit over here.”

On Tuesday night, members of Pearl walked with Nut and her friends to fraternity row for parties. You see, Topia didn’t have school on Wednesdays (“Wonderful Wednesday”), so Tuesday night was a big party night. Once the girls began talking to the Pearls, the sorority members realized Nut and her friends were from the same city in Tennessee and had gone to the same high school as four current sophomore members of Ruby. Once they arrived at the Sigma Nu lodge, the Pearls drifted away and members of Ruby greeted the girls. Kay introduced Nut and Carol to Leslie, her RA. Leslie was great fun – we knew she was in a sorority, but not sure which one. Kegs of beer and PGA punch were served at each fraternity lodge. Members of Pearl and Ruby cautioned us about the punch – especially the “Yellow Fever” punch at the Kappa Sig lodge. It tasted like lemonade and many freshman girls didn’t realize it contained alcohol.