olderPNM's retro recruitment....

[olderPNM]

Fall rush of my sophomore year came quicker than I anticipated. Sara and I had a falling out over living situations and a boy - who I dated and then she decided to date right after me without so much as a conversation about it. I was just not sure she was a very good friend, and I seemed to be right. At the end of the prior school year I was upset about it, but looking back it was the best thing for me. I discovered that she was extremely insecure, which explained her desire to be “accepted” by the Ariels, who she perceived as being the perfect sorority girls. I was a little nervous about seeing Sara and the other Plutos during rush. I never knew whether they or the Ariels had extended me bids (I suspected that the Ariels did not!) but didn’t know if the Plutos would be upset at me for dropping out. A rush counselor, who I already knew to be a Pluto, actually came up to me and said “I’m so glad you’re rushing now. I was worried you went to another house!” It made me feel good to know the Plutos liked me, but I still knew I didn’t want to be one of them.

I was surprised how much more formal fall rush was than spring rush. The whole process was exhausting! At my school we had three nights where we first went to 9 houses, then 6 and then 3 for preference. Bid day was the day after preference.

The first day was overwhelming. I wasn’t accustomed to the singing, clapping and screaming that is part of fall rush at AU. I don’t remember the order I visited the houses but I’ll go through them all.

Huey: I still did not like Huey. The tent talk about Huey was very positive, but I couldn’t forget the rude girl from spring rush and the smoking I had seen the prior year. I made the decision to cut Huey that night (much to the surprise of my rush counselor). I think it was a principle thing or something, I just didn’t want to be associated with rude smokers. (Apparently I also grew a pair of cojones over the summer!)

Dewey: Poor Dewey. Dewey’s number had dwindled so badly that they had to invite an entire chapter from a neighboring university to assist with rush. These girls were actually rushing girls, not prepping food or drinks. I remember walking in a being picked up by this classy, fun girl and talking to her non-stop. I glanced at her nametag and it said “Laura Smith – University of Near Anonymous (UNA)”. I asked her why she had a nearby university’s name on her name tag and she said she didn’t actually go to AU, but was just helping with rush. I looked around the room and saw that a majority of the girls also seemed to have UNA on their nametags. I asked which girls were actually in the Dewey chapter at AU and it was about 12. 12 girls. It was so sad. All the girls seemed really nice, but a bit defeated. That never translates into a good rush. (Dewey ended up closing its doors after disappointing numbers that year.)

Mickey: If you remember I didn’t really know anything about Mickey. I knew one girl from my dorm freshman year, who (coincidentally!) picked me up at the door. She was really friendly and I really loved all the girls I met. I bonded with one girl over being starving since the parties started really early that day and not many people had time to eat. I appreciated that food was not a taboo subject with these girls! haha The Mickey’s seemed really fun and friendly. I liked them a lot.

Pluto: Eek. Pluto. Luckily the girls didn’t seem to share my “eek.” mentality. They all seemed genuinely happy to see me and all said they hoped I would rush in the fall when I dropped out of spring rush the year before. It was a little awkward to see Sara since we hadn’t talked over the summer. She was very nice, but I sensed she was being really fake. I had a nice time, but still didn’t think I would end up at Pluto.

Louie: Louie didn’t have a great social reputation on campus, but they seemed like nice girls who really like to be together. I really wanted to like Louie but I felt like they were trying too hard. I came off as a bit desperate, which turned me off.

Minnie: The first person I saw at Minnie was my friend’s girlfriend who pledged the year before. She was so happy to see me, which made me really happy. I had always liked Minnie and was finally going to see if I actually fit in without Sara’s influence. I just wasn’t sure if declining to accept a preference invite the year before would hurt me with Minnie. I mentioned it to my friend and she didn’t seem to think so. I hoped it wouldn’t!

Goofy: I entered Goofy feeling so-so about them and left feeling the same way. I had finally learned that they were not one and the same with the chapter with the same letter in their name, but still didn’t see any defining characteristics. I don’t know if I was just tired or overwhelmed by all the new people. I didn’t hate Goofy, but didn’t love them either.

Donald: Like with Goofy, I was just so-so about Donald. They were nice girls but didn’t seem to enjoy being around one another. It was a weird vibe, like they didn’t know each other very well or something. I wasn’t sure about Donald but felt like I’d give them another shot.

Ariel: Another eek. My Ariel experience was not as awful as I thought it would be. I was paired with a girl who had been abroad the prior year and was a real sweetheart. I knew I would probably get cut that night! I didn’t want to be an Ariel so I was fine with it!

That night we had to rank our top six and cut three. I ranked the houses as follows:

• Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Mickey, Louie, Minnie
• Ariel
• Huey
• Dewey

The next day I met with my rush counselor and saw my schedule. It was:

Goofy
Pluto
Mickey
Louie
Minnie
Dewey (?)

I was so confused, why was Dewey on my schedule!? Apparently I had been cut from Donald (no skin off my nose with that one) so I was put onto Dewey's party list since they had such poor returns. I was definitely happy with my schedule otherwise, especially to see Mickey and Minnie on my list! They were my favorites so far. Several girls had been cross-cut in my group, I guess due to their sophomore standing, so I wasn't complaining!