Stupid Rushee's not so stellar recruitment! - Page 2

Stupid Rushee · #1 07-13-2009, 12:56 PM

On we go since I hate when these things drag on for days!

Second Skit Day- Oh yes...another day of singing and dancing!

As we had done the day before, my Rho Chi group headed downstairs to get our invites. When I opened my envelope, I was shocked to see that Apple AND Watermelon had cut me. There must be a mistake. Strawberry and Cherry had invited me back, but I didn’t even like them. AND Watermelon cut me...they were the rejects who took everyone! This whole rush thing was pretty stupid. The singing and dancing was so fake. I decided right then and there that I would just be a Cherry. If Cherry cut me, then I’d march to their dorm and kick my sister’s butt! My roommate had been cut by Apple and Strawberry and was pretty upset since she really wanted to be a Strawberry. Natalie still had invites to each party but declined Watermelon since we could only attend three parties.

Strawberry- Their skit today was Alice and Wonderland. It was cute, but there was too much singing, again. I really liked the girl I talked to and thought I’d made a good impression on her.

Cherry- The Cherries did “Cherry Christmas” since the feeling of being a Cherry was like Christmas everyday. How cheesy can you get?! They sang all of the standard Christmas carols with words changed to Cherry lyrics. At least I didn’t hate Christmas carols. Mandy was back to chat with me today. We just didn’t click, but I tried since she’d soon be my sister.

BabyPiNK_FL · #2 07-13-2009, 01:04 PM

OMG! I would not have made it through recruitment at this school. I love music/plays/skits/dancing and all, but this sounds corny as hell!

KSUViolet06 · #3 07-13-2009, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BabyPiNK_FL

OMG! I would not have made it through recruitment at this school. I love music/plays/skits/dancing and all, but this sounds corny as hell!

I seriously LOVE the fact that my school does NOT do a skit day. There's only so much cheesy I can handle. 3rd Party and Pref songs are quite enough for me.

twinkle555 · #4 07-13-2009, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

I seriously LOVE the fact that my school does NOT do a skit day. There's only so much cheesy I can handle. 3rd Party and Pref songs are quite enough for me.

Same here!

srmom · #5 07-13-2009, 01:43 PM

Quote:

I love music/plays/skits/dancing and all, but this sounds corny as hell!

haha too true! I was in the "singing group" during rush and also during the campus talent show and spring fling, and I can still remember those songs that were so corny, like how you change all the lyrics to your sorority's name, and make it all about sisterhood.

We changed that wedding song, There is Love, to reflect our house and sisterhood. I cannot go to a wedding and hear that song without inwardly cringing

Stupid Rushee · #6 07-13-2009, 02:14 PM

Preference Day

My invitation envelope was awfully light. Cherry was the only chapter to invite me back. I guess no one really thought I was Greek material after all. My roommate was cut from Cherry and only had Watermelon left. She was hysterical. I told her that our Rho Chi was a Watermelon. She decided to stick it out after talking with her for awhile. Natalie had been invited to Cherry, Strawberry and Apple. She picked Apple and Strawberry since she could only go back to two.

Preference parties were held off campus at the homes of alumnae. Alums would drive us in cars to the events. (Talk about a risk management nightmare.)

Cherry- I was picked up from the dorm with three other girls by a Cherry Alum driving a Camry. She was pretty young, and we all had fun chatting with her on the way to the party. The party was held at an old rich, alum's house with a huge garden and attached Bible Museum. We waited outside an iron gate until the president of Cherry walked out and escorted each of us inside separately. All of the Cherry sisters were lined up along a green lawn in matching dresses (they were tacky!! :P) The President introduced each of us and one sister would step out of line to take the rushee being presented back to her place in line. It was really cool looking, but the south in August was not the time to be outside in your nicest church dress. I was sweating and miserable. Mandy picked me up. So...I’d have a heart to heart with the girl that I never clicked with....great!
Mandy pressured me to tell her that I wanted Cherry. Since I didn’t have any other choice, I quickly assured her that I was planning to “suicide” Cherry. She was so excited...then again, she was Katie’s big, and I think Katie had been nervous all week.

qbt1990 · #7 07-13-2009, 02:27 PM

great story! can't wait to hear the end!

twinkle555 · #8 07-13-2009, 04:24 PM

Hmm do I smell a twist?

gee_ess · #9 07-13-2009, 04:53 PM

What year was this? Since there are skits and matching pref dresses, I am going to go out on a limb and determine this to be a true retro recruitment story! (My house wore matching baby blue polyester pref dresses - oh so, retro)

Psi U MC Vito · #10 07-13-2009, 06:08 PM

I have been wondering this for a long time. What exactly is Pref?

KSUViolet06 · #11 07-13-2009, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

I have been wondering this for a long time. What exactly is Pref?

It's the most serious night of recruitment. It is the last time the chapters will see the women before it is time for them to submit their final rankings.

Hence why it is the longest round of the entire process, because chapters are spending more time trying to "seal the deal" with PNMs and communicate why PNMs should join their chapter.

angels&angles · #12 07-13-2009, 06:11 PM

Pref = Preference Night. Generally, in Formal Recruitment, it's the last night of rush. PNMs are down to their top 2-3 chapters. It's more formal (usually cocktail attire is encouraged) and quiet and serious. It's the last push for sisters to prove why their org is the best, and it's the time for the PNMs to really see if they'd fit in there. Sometimes a good/bad pref night can drastically change the ranking of chapters for a PNM.

Stupid Rushee · #13 07-13-2009, 08:20 PM

Bid Day and beyond

Bid day was a little anticlimactic for me and my roommate. I got a bid to Cherry and joined my sister on her hall. Unlike Katie, nothing had happened all week that would leave me in tears. Suzie joined Watermelon and kept a chip on her shoulder from then on. We didn’t talk much after rush, and she seemed to ignore me when I saw her. I hope she didn’t think I was “too good” for her since she was a Watermelon. I actually did like a lot of the Watermelons. Natalie joined Apple...I was sure she only got in because of her sister. (Sour grapes?!!)

Some of the girls I saw coming down the hall were not people I could see myself being friends with, but I knew that Katie and I were pretty similar. If she liked Cherry, I guess I would too. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t feel different and that the girls around me were just strangers in the same shirts.

The alum that drove me to prefs turned out to be my sister’s adopted Grand Big Sis. She was really cool and came around all the time since she was in grad school. Since it was the first semester that pledge periods had been shortened to 6 weeks, Big Sis/Lil Sis came really quickly. I didn’t know anyone except for my sister. The day before I had to list my preferences for Big Sis, a girl in my Psych class introduced herself to me. She was in my sister’s pledge class. The next night, I put her name down for my Big Sis since I really didn’t know anyone else. Turns out that that alum was her Great, great, great, great grand big sis, and she'd driven me to prefs in my Big's car. She had hand picked me to be in their family and told my Big to meet me. Mandy and I turned out to be great friends, too, over time. The masculine girl from Watermelon’s party came through COB in the spring and pledged Cherry. I thought at the time that Cherries just wanted her because Apple did. I really couldn’t see what they saw in her...and I still don’t because she ended up sleeping with my Big Sis’ fiance! (She tried to friend me on Facebook recently...yeah right!) The important thing I learned is that you're never going to like everyone.

It took me some time to feel that Cherry feeling. Moving into the dorm my second semester helped. We sat up late on most nights in our foyer talking. That's when I really started feeling close to my sisters. Our Chapter Adviser realized that I was artistic and enlisted me to make decorative letters for the dorm windows. This got me started doing projects for the chapter. I don’t think I’d have known I was good at finishing projects if she hadn’t seen it in me. I ended up painting Big Sis/Lil Sis presents and party cups for half the chapter. I took an office- House Manager then ran for a bigger office the next fall. I realized that the more I did with the chapter, the more I started to feel that feeling of sisterhood. I never thought about dropping out since Cherry was a jumping point for joining other groups on campus. After a semester or so, I realized that Cherry was my life!

I ended up taking 3 Lil Sisters, and lived in the dorm the rest of my time in college. I never did like the singing and dancing....thank God that only really happened at rush! My last year, I decided to become a Rho Chi. Luckily, my rushees were smarter than me and actually used my expertise. I thought the experience would be easier than singing and dancing for a whole week, but I was emotionally drained by the experience. Recruitment is such a tough time for women. So many of my rushees had disappointing experiences due to grades, some were like me and just didn’t get the whole deal and some didn’t get the chance to join a sorority. I was baffled because each and every one of the women in my group were awesome people. I couldn’t see how the chapters, including my own, could cut them. I came to realize that recruitment is an imperfect process. For every girl who joins her dream chapter, there is a girl who has to make the chapter she joins into her dream chapter.

I am grateful that I got to join Cherry. I was lucky that my experience, my bad attitude and my stupid behavior didn’t ruin my chance to join a sorority. I lucked out that my sister and her sisters really did want me around. I have no illusions that I was the perfect rushee that got cut for no reason! Instead of seeing me as Greek material for having a sister in another chapter, talking about my sister at every party made them all think I wanted to be a Cherry. I’m lucky that I wasn’t discouraged by not “feeling at home” and not clicking with my new sisters after a short week of rush. After all, I’d only spent approximately 4 1/2 hours with the Cherries before I was one of their “sisters.” Cherry grew on me over time. I’m glad I had the luxury of time!

Psi U MC Vito · #14 07-13-2009, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stupid Rushee

The alum that drove me to prefs turned out to be my sister’s adopted Grand Big Sis. She was really cool and came around all the time since she was in grad school. Since it was the first semester that pledge periods had been shortened to 6 weeks, Big Sis/Lil Sis came really quickly. I didn’t know anyone except for my sister. The day before I had to list my preferences for Big Sis, a girl in my Psych class introduced herself to me. She was in my sister’s pledge class. The next night, I put her name down for my Big Sis since I really didn’t know anyone else. Turns out that that alum was her Great, great, great, great grand big sis, and she'd driven me to prefs in my Big's car.

That's pretty cool not to mention a bit devious. No revel on who you are though?

MysticCat · #15 07-13-2009, 08:44 PM

I just have to note that everytime I see in this thread in "New Posts," I think it says "Salman Rushdee's not so stellar recruitment." What a story that would be.

(And yeah, I know it's "Rushdie.")