Too-Detailed Sorority Recruitment Rules -- Decorations and so forth?

[PhoenixAzul]

The people who make rules like this are the same kind of people that fold their trash.

[Senusret I]

Originally Posted by PhoenixAzul

The people who make rules like this are the same kind of people that fold their trash.

LMAO!!! Omg i hate those people!

[AXOrushadvisor]

Oh, boy! I couldn't agree more on all the comments. It is very difficult to maneuver around very detailed recruitment rules.

[aephi alum]

Their rush infraction hearings must be fun. "ZOMG! XYZ's skit was 16 minutes long, and ABC's tablecloths were OFF-WHITE!!!"

Back in my day, we had no-frills rush, which boiled down to:
- There was a limit on how much any chapter could spend.
- PNMs wore Panhel-issued name tags for open houses. Chapters made their own name tags for each PNM after open houses, and PNMs could keep them (but nothing else).
- We could serve whatever we wanted, except alcohol.
- We could have whatever decorations we wanted. Panhel rented a helium tank that all 5 chapters shared for inflating their balloons.

Every year, every chapter got a standard lecture from the Greek Life director about how lit candles were not permitted in the student center (where pref ceremonies were held) because of the potential fire hazard. Every year, every chapter cheerfully ignored him and used candles anyway.

[wavycutchip]

From my chapter advisor experience, sometimes its a lot nicer to have rules in black and white, instead of just saying "its a no-frills" recruitment. For example, last year in the recruitment rules for a chapter I advise said, there was a rule that said no costumes. Our chapter understood that to mean costumes like Halloween costumes or play/skit costumes, but another chapter filed a rush infraction saying that their matching T-shirts were costumes. While sanctions were not resulted, there was quite a bit of frustration and animosity between the chapters on campus when one group filed this rush infraction - not to mention the meetings involved when an infraction is filed.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by wavycutchip

From my chapter advisor experience, sometimes its a lot nicer to have rules in black and white, instead of just saying "its a no-frills" recruitment.

Absolutely.

And this may not only be a frills issue - it sounds as though they are using classrooms for rush rather than it being in sorority houses. There may have been problems in the past with people bringing too much stuff to rush parties and taking forever to clear out at the end of the night.

[FSUZeta]

the rules are used to try and level the playing field, but they can be used as ammunition pitting chapter against chapter and it can get ugly. for instance, everyone is serving water in cups for the first round of recruitment. one chapter(sorority A) adds one lemon slice to each cup of water and another chapter(sorority B) files a rush infraction. there is no rule against lemon slices, but representatives from the accusing sorority and the accused have to meet with the greek life advisor. charges are dismissed,but a new rule is added that nothing can be added to water for next year.

next year sorority A offers pnms chilled water bottles labeled with their sorority name. Sorority B files a rush infraction. reps. from each sorority meet with the greek life advisor, who dismisses the charges, because there is no rule against what sorority A did, and gl advisor adds a rule for next year that sorority labels cannot be put on water bottles. it just goes on and on.

then there was the time chapter A was in their assigned room putting the finishing touches on their room and an alumna knocked on the door. the collegiate member opened the door and let her in, and the alum said hello and proceeded to walk around the room, looking at the decorations and the displays. when she had completed her viewing, the members present asked her where she had joined sorority A. at that point alumna tells them that she is actually an alumna of sorority B and mistakenly came into the wrong room. yeah, right. sorority A did not file an infraction because there was no rule against it-who would have thought there would need to be one? that is how lists like the one above from tarleton state come about.

[angels&angles]

When I was rush chair, I spent one 2-hour panhel meeting discussing whether or not sororities were allowed to decorate their bottles of water (panhel bought the water, so that no one could say that ABC had Best Choice water, while XYZ had Perrier). Eventually we decided, no, you couldn't because allowing it would more or less mandate that everyone would have to, so as not to be left behind.

For us, the unbelievably strict rules were because there were one or two sororities who were ALWAYS loopholing (such as decorating a plain bottle of water to make it seem fancier than everyone else's), and next year it would have to be put in the rules.

ETA, FSUZeta basically just summed up my entire point.

[Titchou]

So true...the sins of the past cause the overboard rules. We have a "no live animals" clause that was in ours for some time. Now that's weird, you say? Well, one group was doing Elvis's "Hound Dog" in their skit and brought a live hound dog for it! Yep. And it was my group! I missed the first party due to work but got rid of it after that. But the damage had been done. Infraction filed but tossed out because it didn't break a rule they could find. So they added it the next year and it stayed for many years....ugh!

[carnation]

I'm trolling recruitment websites and falling on the floor laughing at some of them...here are 2 excerpts from my favorite:

(when singing to the PNMs): NO TUMBLING,JUMPING, HOPPING, SKIPPING, OR JUMPING. (Their caps and I'm wondering what on earth happened to require this rule. Hahahaha!)

A Rho Gamma will float around the room to encourage PNM participation. (I'm picturing a Rho Gamma floating around near the ceiling like a Hogwarts ghost)

This is fun! I know what I'll be doing in my spare time for the next few days, lol.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

I'm pretty sure that my alma mater had a rule that the A/C couldn't be on in the house, because it was unfair to the houses that didn't have A/C.

[Low C Sharp]

I'm pretty sure that my alma mater had a rule that the A/C couldn't be on in the house, because it was unfair to the houses that didn't have A/C.

I'm wondering how far you could take this principle. No visiting the computer room on the house tour because it's unfair to houses without computer rooms?
________
The Legend Condo Pattaya

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

I'm wondering how far you could take this principle. No visiting the computer room on the house tour because it's unfair to houses without computer rooms?

Yes, I'm sure you could do that. Also the gym or other similar amenities. There are too many women whose heads get turned by the houses in general, let alone seeing OMG ABC HAS A TANNING BED AND XYZ DOESN'T SO I NEED TO JOIN ABC.

[lovespink88]

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by HQWest

We just had a rule passed that you could not put balloons on the ceiling or cover the ceiling in the chapter room in any way (with fabric, streamers, etc.) during philanthropy day. We were actually very proud that someone felt strongly enough that they had to make a rule about it, because we were the only ones who did it.

Just let it go. It's not worth stewing about it, and in the end, you'll save time not having to cover the ceiling.