Rush at Pitt Prior to NPC Crackdown!

[tld221]

Originally Posted by honeychile

The last house was the Amethysts. They had a great reputation on campus, sang and cheered at the door, then we sat down to the now dreaded paper bag puppets for Children's Hospital. I knew two of the sisters from campus activities, and thought I was being wise when I suggested, "Why don't we try to get to know each other better, rather than play with the bags?" Meg looked at me in shock, and I realized I blew it!

hehehe i probably wouldve said the same thing - four groups doing the same philantrophy project? why??? that is really annoying and boring.

[polarpi]

Yay! I can't wait to see where you end up...

[honeychile]

So, what can be more exciting than a "date" with another woman, who's checking you out? Some of the chat dates from this "round" were:

Rubies took me to the Tuck Shop between classes almost daily. Guys from fraternities that they hung out with were always stopping by.
Garnets had group chat dates, where you sat in a sister's room as they got ready, then watched two movies. Sounds boring, but it was fun!
Diamonds also did the Tuck Shop thing, but one asked me to go shopping with her - unusual, but fun.
Jade were also big on the Tuck Shop, and on bringing people to their house for group chat dates.
Opals met me for lunch or for pizza.
Emeralds had a craft night, and also met for cokes.
The Amethysts I knew well "rushed me" from work as a tour guide.

I went on Chat Dates with two members of Topaz, but still didn't feel that they "clicked".

I was dropped by both Sapphires and the Pearls, which I had expected, and Amethysts, which I hoped wouldn't.

Without comparing notes, Ann, Meg, and Ann's roomie had the same schedule. Lisa had the same, with the exception of Opals, which was a hard drop for her.

For the next round of parties, I was invited back to:

Diamonds
Rubies
Emeralds
Opals
Jade
Garnets
Topaz

With the prodding of my Rho Chi, I dropped Topaz and Opals. I dropped Opals with regrets, and more because Ann & Meg were dropping them, too. In retrospect, I wish I had kept Opals for one more round.

[violetpretty]

You got it, I am definitely shocked. Since there were separate upperclass and freshman recruitments, does that mean that there was a quota plus seniors for both? I understand the number of NMs a chapter may pledge, but is quota the standard # of PNMs/ # of chapters? Then you'd have quota plus how ever many more women you can take because of seniors. And since those extra spots open by the seniors would be taken by women in the same pool, it seems that it would only allow for the bigger chapters to get bigger and the smaller chapters to fall behind. And of course, I am appalled that your Rho Gammas did not disaffiliate! I can see why NPC pushed for the switch, but not so sure why it was "kicking and screaming".

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by JessSigKap

You got it, I am definitely shocked. Since there were separate upperclass and freshman recruitments, does that mean that there was a quota plus seniors for both? I understand the number of NMs a chapter may pledge, but is quota the standard # of PNMs/ # of chapters? Then you'd have quota plus how ever many more women you can take because of seniors. And since those extra spots open by the seniors would be taken by women in the same pool, it seems that it would only allow for the bigger chapters to get bigger and the smaller chapters to fall behind. And of course, I am appalled that your Rho Gammas did not disaffiliate! I can see why NPC pushed for the switch, but not so sure why it was "kicking and screaming".

Exactly - it was the huge chapters which fought it, tooth and nail. Only when those nationals involved were threatened with expulsion from NPC (at Pitt) did they fall in line.

[UGAalum94]

The system is different, and it seems ripe for dirty rushing, but it also seems that you'd get to know people more authentically. Those activities are sort of the natural things college kids do as they are meeting and making new friends (although the idea of dropping and being dropped aren't quite so obvious). There are things about it that I like actually.

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

The system is different, and it seems ripe for dirty rushing, but it also seems that you'd get to know people more authentically. Those activities are sort of the natural things college kids do as they are meeting and making new friends (although the idea of dropping and being dropped aren't quite so obvious). There are things about it that I like actually.

Honestly, this is probably more in the spirit of what the founders did/wanted than today's rush. But I understand why that wouldn't work.

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

Honestly, this is probably more in the spirit of what the founders did/wanted than today's rush. But I understand why that wouldn't work.

Exhaustion! By the end of rush, you just hated the sound of a ringing telephone!

I should also add that, each time you were seen on campus by a sister whose house you were rushing, you were under the microscope. If you went to a fraternity party, you had to act VERY circumspect, yet fun. It was a very hard tightrope. My mother had worked her social group, and I had recs to (bless her heart, she acted as if I was rushing at an SEC school!):
Alpha Delta Pi
Delta Delta Delta
Delta Zeta
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Chi Omega

The Parties were a half an hour this time:

Ann, her roomie, Meg, and I went on the same run with one exception; Lisa was now rushing on her own. For this round, I wore a khaki pants, a yellow shell, and a navy blazer, with the all-important neck scarf (the designer who had all the links along the edge?) and my special pin.

Our first house was Diamonds. This was a skit round, and after having some punch and cookies, we were all seated to watch their skit, based on a Disney movie which would give it away. Meg found someone from her high school and was thrilled. We all left in a good mood.

We then went to Garnets. The whole room was covered with foil, and chairs were set up as if we were on a plane. We were served snacks from sisters dressed as flight attendants, on those old-fashioned airline trays, and sisters dressed up as various characters sat among us. It was a cute skit, and I loved how comfortable I felt there.

Jade's party was a Mickey Mouse theme. Ann and Meg loved it, but I didn't feel at home there. I was beginning to think that, to be in a sorority, I had to "dumb down" to like these skits. They served corndogs and punch, and again, a chorus of sisters hummed continually.

Emerald did an Alice in Wonderland skit, which started with us having to get down on our hands and knees to "go down the rabbit hole". I was not a happy camper! I can't remember what they served, or the skit, just that I was going through this for my Rho Chi, and I was resenting it. I found out later that Ann & Meg felt the same way.

At last, the Rubies' party. It had a circus theme, and we had popcorn, peanuts, and cracker jacks. Without giving it away, one of the sisters got tangled in a web of cotton candy (I found out much later that it was quite easy to do! They had to have a different sister for each party in this part!), and how her sisters helped her out. The three of us were separated, and we each got to know sisters much better that way.

So, after this round, I ranked the parties:
Rubies
Garnets
Diamonds
Jade
Emeralds

Ann ranked them:
Jade
Garnets
Rubies
Diamonds
Emeralds

Megan ranked them:
Diamonds
Garnets
Rubies
Jade
Emeralds

Lisa ranked them:
Garnets
Rubies
Jade
Amethysts
Emeralds

This time, the Chat Dates became a bit more serious. Finances were discussed, Diamonds, Garnets, Rubies, and Jade all had Rush Mixers with at least two different fraternities - everything was cranked up a notch. Then came the day we were to receive our invitations to the 3rd round parties.