Moms & Recruitment

[arrowlady]

I know that both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State the parents go up for Bid day. (have friends that had girls going thru at both schools last year)
I also have a friend who's DD went thru at Alabama last year and she did not go to bid day and her DD really missed her mom being there.

[Ladybugmom]

Originally Posted by arrowlady

I know that both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State the parents go up for Bid day. (have friends that had girls going thru at both schools last year)
I also have a friend who's DD went thru at Alabama last year and she did not go to bid day and her DD really missed her mom being there.

This is very true.. I has several friends whose girls go to OU and OSU and they all went up for Bid Day. It is much more common there than at Texas, although I think it is becoming more common at UT.
I did go to Bid Day last year because my daughter asked me to come. She was down to one house that she really loved and one that she didn't. I wanted to be there with her in case the news was not great...I am one that believes that you should at least go to the house and give the chapter a try, even if it's not the one you had your heart set on. I felt that I needed to be there to encourage her, just in case.
Luckily, she got the one that she wanted and it was a happy day. There were several mom's there and most of the ones that I spoke with were not legacies..they just wanted to support thier daughters. In fact, I rode down with 2 other mom's and neither were legacies.

One of her OOS friends was not so lucky and was very distressed about the bid she got. She was on the phone with her mom wailing...it was not good and I'm sure her mom felt helpless..we did however encourage her to give them a try.

Basically I would feel out some other moms from that particular school that have been through it before to see what they had done. In our case, I had talked to some that went the year before and they were glad they did.

[MOMto2]

I currently have a daughter in a greek organization at Auburn. Personally, I have never talked to any mother who stayed during the full week of rush, not to say it doesn't happen. Most mother's help with move in then leave the girls to fend for themselves. In my opinion, I don't really understand how the mothers could help during the week. The Pi Chis are great at guiding the girls through recruitment and mothers would not be allowed at rush events. If moms want to provide emotional support, this can be done over the phone if needed.

Families are however, invited to participate in bid day activities. Most sororities have a reception for family members after bids are given out. These festivites usually last only a couple of hours and the new members are then whisked away to participate in activities with their new pledge class.

Personally, my DD would have been horrified had I opted to stay the week of rush. Being on her own, she made new friends and bounced her questions off of room mates, her Pi Chi and friends in her rush group. Isn't that how it should be? The best thing mothers can do for their girls is be sure they are prepared for the emotional realities of recruitment and encourage them to have an open mind.