Scriptwriter looking for help

[LadyLonghorn]

Originally Posted by MikeEllis

Actually, a very sensible, obvious question. The simple fact is that I don't know any fraternity members at UT, so I don't have any personal contacts to pursue there. I have left some phone messages and posted to some websites, but no responses so far. Hopefully, that will change.

The only guys at UT who might respond to that kind of thing would not be in chapters that would give you an accurate depiction of what fraternity rush is like for an "in demand" freshman at a school with a strong Greek life.

Recruitment styles, methods and time frames vary wildly depending on the campus and its culture.

[AZTheta]

Originally Posted by ellebud

AZTheta: Please clear your pm for one spot.

done. sorry - I tend to not delete things and it's a small mailbox.

[exlurker]

Originally Posted by MikeEllis

I do. And I can pronounce them in Greek even.

Cool. What are the Greek words for alumnus, alumna, alumnae and alumni? Are they close to the Latin words that have come into English, or are they considerably different? (I'm aware that Latin and Greek are related Indo-European languages, and English is related to them, too. But they can and do differ widely at many points.)

Yes, "lifelong learning" can include whining to try to get other people to do research for me.

[Lafayette79]

Originally Posted by MikeEllis

What I'm most concerned right now with boils down to two things:
- The time schedule of rush. What kinds of events go, in what order, and how much time does the whole process take. (From what I've read so far, the guy seem to be expected to make a rather big decision in a few days. I don't remember being that rushed about it, but maybe we were.)

Although it seems strange to say so, Rusty's Rush events on the TV show, Greek were not atypical, (with the exception of Kappa Tau of course). At most campuses, at least those with which I am familiar, Rush is very open with only a minimum structure. If you look at the Fraternity Rushes in the Recruitment Stories section of GC, you will find only a few and those few have little drama compared to the NPC. Both the houses and the Rushees make hurried decisions which are usually correct. But it's OK since both the Fraternities and Pledges have a Do-over (see below).

Some big southern schools have their own culture upon which I can't comment.

I have learned on GC that it is generally easier to get a Fraternity bid than a Sorority one because of the intensity of Sorority Recruitment versus the more relaxed format of Fraternity Rush. The difference is, again as I have learned on GC, that once you get an NPC bid, you are pretty much in, since you have gone through so much to get it. With most NIC Fraternities though, the process is just beginning. The pledges must be bound to their pledge class and that class bound to the whole Fraternity. Not everyone makes it, and it's not unusual to pull some Pledge Pins after Rush.

My point is that for most of the NIC, it is not a done deal after the few days of Rush. Some leave on their own and some have to leave. Those who are left are the new brothers.

The OP is to be applauded for asking questions of those that he thinks may know something, instead of making it up, which is easier and much more common.

[aephi alum]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

LOL. She was referring to a common GC expression: staying in your lane or lane swerving. It means, in the context of things like rush/recruitment, commenting only on the things that you have experience with or that are truly common knowledge. So, for example, a guy trying to give detailed information about how NPC sororities conduct recruitment might be told to "stay in his lane." aephi was simply noting that if she said too much about how orgs other than NPC orgs do rush/recruitment/whatever they call it, she'd be swerving into other people's "lanes."

MC, thank you for posting this explanation.

When I drive, my main focus is on exactly one thing: the road. If it's a nice sunny day I'll have the radio on, I'll chat with my passengers, and I'll make and accept cell phone calls (my car has Bluetooth so it's hands-free). If I'm driving in a snowstorm at night, the radio stays off, and I've been known to tell passengers to shut up as I really need to concentrate on keeping us all safe.

My "lane drifting" reference, as MC explained, has nothing to do with actually driving a car. I am an NPC sorority alumna. As such, I can speak in general terms about NPC recruitment, but I am not qualified to speak about intake processes for non-NPC groups.

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by exlurker

Cool. What are the Greek words for alumnus, alumna, alumnae and alumni? Are they close to the Latin words that have come into English, or are they considerably different? (I'm aware that Latin and Greek are related Indo-European languages, and English is related to them, too. But they can and do differ widely at many points.)

Yes, "lifelong learning" can include whining to try to get other people to do research for me.

The words would be completely different. Is there even a direct translation between the Latin and Greek? Maybe mathetes/matheti for alumnus/alumni?

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by preciousjeni

The words would be completely different. Is there even a direct translation between the Latin and Greek? Maybe mathetes/matheti for alumnus/alumni?

I'm guessing that he thought alumnus, etc., are Greek, not Latin. The Latin pronunciation is different from the English pronunctiation. In Latin, alumni = alum-nee, while alumnae = alum-neye.

BTW, alumnus and alumna literally mean "foster son" and "foster daughter," which can in turn mean "pupil." They come from the same root as alma in alma mater, which means "nurturing mother."

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

I'm guessing that he thought alumnus, etc., are Greek, not Latin.

Mmhmm

[MikeEllis]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

I'm guessing that he thought alumnus, etc., are Greek, not Latin. The Latin pronunciation is different from the English pronunctiation. In Latin, alumni = alum-nee, while alumnae = alum-neye.

I didn't think that. In fact, I wasn't thinking at all when I typed that, apparently. I know that alumnus, etc., are Latin, but I wrote Greek instead. Probably because I'm used to arguing about how to pronounce their Greek alphabet. Pronounce it "sigma kee" or "alpha fee," for example, to the wrong person and you can make an enemy for life.

Sadly, though, I keep doing it. I suffer from a bad case of has-to-be-the-smartest-boy-in-the-class syndrome.

On the other hand, I'm busy reading the recruitment forum and outlining how I plan to structure this fictional rush at a fictional university this weekend. I'll put my plans up here next week to get some feedback on its verisimilitude.

One more time, thanks for the help.

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by MikeEllis

verisimilitude

Just don't use that word in the script.

[DubaiSis]

the thing about the texting of comments. That's something that might not be accurate per se, but might be a good way to abbreviate real life without being that crazy-off-base, like any sorority recruitment thing you've ever seen. Real life recruitment, if you're not in it, would be akin to watching paint dry. Or a VERY slow ballet.

I'm sure the fraternities (again - lane swerve) have some sort of member selection meeting, but if the story is about the rushee, he wouldn't know what happens there either. So the texting would be a fun, if fictional way of showing that, even if it wouldn't really be happening right in front of the rushees' eyes.

I don't think that would offend us as much as, say, the sorority recruitment scenes on Greek. But again, snooze, you'd never depict how it really is.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by MikeEllis

I didn't think that. In fact, I wasn't thinking at all when I typed that, apparently. I know that alumnus, etc., are Latin, but I wrote Greek instead.

Gotcha.

Probably because I'm used to arguing about how to pronounce their Greek alphabet. Pronounce it "sigma kee" or "alpha fee," for example, to the wrong person and you can make an enemy for life.

Oh boy -- do we have threads on that for you.

(With Alpha Fee, though, you'll be good. )

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by MikeEllis

Sadly, though, I keep doing it. I suffer from a bad case of has-to-be-the-smartest-boy-in-the-class syndrome.

Admitting you have a problem is the first step.

I haven't gotten that far yet.


Seriously check out the Weird Rush Stories thread...they're 99.9998% sorority stuff, but there might be some gems you could use. It's definitely a "truth is stranger than fiction" type thread.

[DTD Alum]

Well, it's going to change depending on what type of school you are writing it at. When I was in school at USC, this is how it went:

Sunday: Kick-Off in the quad, every house had a booth
Monday: Open houses, every fraternity was required to stay on the row. Rushees could visit as many or as few houses as they wanted. Fraternities would have catered food (Morton's, Hawaiian luau, In-n-Out) or attractions like casino night to persuade rushees to stop by.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: Rush events, almost always off campus. These would differ by fraternity and were always free for the rushees. Examples: hockey games, baseball games, basketball games, hookah lounge, shooting range, dinner at nice restaurant, bowling, indoor skydiving, comedy club, paintball, etc. Each house was allowed to pick one night where girls could come. Everything had to be dry officially, but that certainly didn't stop drinking from going on with the top rushees behind doors.

Rushees would pick which houses they wanted and usually focus on just their favorite. Some houses would be really good at cutting those they didn't want early, some would string them along forever. If you picked the wrong house and they didn't let you know early enough, it would indeed be too late to get invited to another house's Blue Chip. You'd have to wait until the next semester.

Generally everybody would be invited after Monday, and then cuts would begin. Those still in the running would get phone calls about where and when to show up...almost always at the house, and then actives would drive the rushees to the event (the best rushers and best cars transporting the most sought after rushees, of course). Some houses would even do cuts after Monday, and only invite selected rushees to the first event.

Friday: Blue Chip Dinner. This was a really formal dinner, usually at a very expensive restaurant or the house of an impressive alumnus. Suits were required. Some houses would do heavy cuts before and then bid everybody in attendance, some would invite a wider range of guys and then do heavy cuts after this night...it all depended on the chapter's voting culture. There were usually formal speeches from the rush chair, the president and prominent alumni. Think the fraternity equivalent of pref.

Saturday: Rushees would get phone calls. Usually "no" calls came out first (if they did at all, some houses just didn't call those they were not giving bids to). Yes calls would get a call to go to the house (usually pretending that they still needed to answer some more questions before they could get an answer). Generally pledge initiation would take place followed by a group dinner, and then a party later in the night.

Hope that helps.

[Elephant Walk]

There is a thread somewhere regarding the specifics of fraternity rush structure at a few schools but I can't remember the name of it.