My not-so-perfect rush story

LOVEinZTA · #1 07-26-2007, 10:05 AM

Oh wow, I didn't think people would actually be interested in that, but I bet I can make a few long posts out of it. Let's see what I can do.

LegallyBrunette · #2 07-26-2007, 10:57 AM

Aww, thanks for sharing again--I'm excited to hear more!

OtterXO · #3 07-26-2007, 12:11 PM

Me too!

tld221 · #4 07-26-2007, 01:22 PM

anyone wanna define "date dash" for me? is that when you all go out shopping for an outfit for date nite?

adpiucf · #5 07-26-2007, 01:45 PM

It's a date party... in the olden days (and maybe still done on some campuses), it was announced last minute so you had to literally "dash" out to find a date to attend with you.

At other schools it's a scheduled date party and the idea is to set up your non-attached sisters (in some cases on a blind date). Varying themes: Find a Mister For Your Sister, DateQuest, Draft a Date, Fish for a Date, etc.

LOVEinZTA · #6 07-26-2007, 01:54 PM

Eek! almost done at work, more in a bit.

KillarneyRose · #7 07-26-2007, 02:02 PM

Thanks for posting your story; it was a fun read!

UGAalum94 · #8 07-26-2007, 02:08 PM

The members' response to you is a good reminder for all of us no matter what the situation: cut people a lot of slack when you know that they've met a whole group at once.

Even go ahead and re-introduce yourself with a context clue: "Hi. I'm Alphagamuga, and I had such a good time talking to you yesterday about girls I know at Baylor. It's so good to see you again."

It's a whole lot easier to remember meeting the 11 new folks if you already know the 150 or so in the chapter. It's not exactly even to expect them to know you.

And it's also good to remember that it should be your job to make others feel welcome, not their job to infiltrate your group.

FSUZeta · #9 07-26-2007, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlphaGamUGAAlum

And it's also good to remember that it should be your job to make others feel welcome, not their job to infiltrate your group.

amen, panhellenic sister! we should all remember this, whether a collegian or alumna.

tld221 · #10 07-26-2007, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOVEinZTA

The next night I put on a cute little black halter, some jeans, and boots (I mean it is Texas after all) and went over to one of the other girls' apartments. We had a fun time getting to know each other. We piled way too many people into the back of a cab and headed to the restaurant/ comedy club downtown. When we got there we tried to be social with everyone but some of the girls were completely unresponsive. So we got a table for ourselves and Tasha and another sister I'll call Elisa came by and sat with us. Candice came by and said she was glad we all came and that we should try to meet some more of the girls so I tried to introduce myself to someone and they responded with "yeah, I met you yesterday, remember?" I felt bad for forgetting so quickly and sat back down.

Things went on like that for most of the night and we got to know each other better instead of getting to know the chapter members. After an hour or so Elisa asked if we all wanted to go back to her apartment for a little while. We headed back there and met her two roommates who were also sisters, Bonnie and Stephanie. Both were very sweet and we had a good time getting to know each other until about 2:30 AM when we decided it was probably a good idea for everyone to get some sleep since recruitment started the next day!

I wasn't allowed to be very hands on in recruitment since non-affiliated members don't have chapter voting priviledges yet, but I did get a good view of how things worked and all of the "behind-the-scenes" stuff. After recruitment was over we were to come to weekly meetings until the chapter voted on us. If we were voted in then we became full active members of the chapter again and if not we would become alums. Candice had us stand up and introduce ourselves at every meeting, made posters of us that she put up in the room, and was very proactive in getting us involved.

Eek! almost done at work, more in a bit.

WOW that's crazy! could they really not vote someone into the chapter? I can't see sisters/sorors NOT wanting to vote a fellow member in!

Or, does it get into an issue of quota numbers?

UGAalum94 · #11 07-26-2007, 03:21 PM

No. Affiliates aren't considered for the numbers stuff at all, as far as I know, so it's not even that they "count" against you numerically.

I find this weird too; I'd like to think if you are good enough for the national organization, you're good enough to affiliate (if you are member in good standing and are of good character), but I can remember discussing in another thread that groups have really different policies from group to group and from chapter to chapter.

One chapter of one GLO that we talked about won't take any affiliates at all.

MaggieXi · #12 07-26-2007, 03:39 PM

We had an AZD who transferred to Elon from another chapter and she blantantly told us that part of the reason she had transferred was because she hated her sorority and didn't want to have anything to do with us. We tried to get her to come to some events and at least give our chapter a try and she absolutely refused.

Later, we had a sister go to a conference and met a sister from the girl's initiation chapter and they had no idea that she hated the chapter because she had been very involved and they couldn't think of a reason for any falling out.

It was a little strange. Just thought I would share.

adpiucf · #13 07-26-2007, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tld221

WOW that's crazy! could they really not vote someone into the chapter? I can't see sisters/sorors NOT wanting to vote a fellow member in!

Yes, and it happens frequently. A woman who fit into a chapter of XYZ at one school may have been an ABC if she'd rushed at another school.

And if it was generally accepted that you could join at one school and auto-transfer your membership just by enrolling in another, you would have tons of women joining at one school so they could be a member at a more competitive chapter elsewhere-- thus changing the dynamic of said competitive chapter and making the original chapter a revolving door with zero consistency.

tld221 · #14 07-26-2007, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adpiucf

Yes, and it happens frequently. A woman who fit into a chapter of XYZ at one school may have been an ABC if she'd rushed at another school.

And if it was generally accepted that you could join at one school and auto-transfer your membership just by enrolling in another, you would have tons of women joining at one school so they could be a member at a more competitive chapter elsewhere-- thus changing the dynamic of said competitive chapter and making the original chapter a revolving door with zero consistency.

of all the transfers that happen from school A to B each year, there are a smaller subset of women who are sorority members, and an even smaller set of those who would want to affiliate. i cant imagine that year to year, chapter A would get SO many transfers from schools B, C, and D that it would change the "chapter dynamic" each year. after all, recruitment happens every year, thus changing the dynamic as people graduate out and are initiated in.