University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) 2012 Recruitment

[gee_ess]

Originally Posted by MaryPoppins

You are absolutely correct gee_ess. When they originally talked about delayed recruitment twenty years ago, I hoped that Ole Miss would select December/January, but the chapters told the powers that be that they could not afford the Fall without the new member (pledge) money. Seems to me like they could have said you have 3 years to get your expenses in line for a Winter recruitment, and then pulled the trigger. Now recruitment is always set for a week without a weekend football game, which means it moves higgledy piggledy from September to October based on what the final football schedule looks like, and it impacts mid-term grades!

When we did it at Arkansas ( i was an advisor then) it was really hard on the actives - who basically quit attending class during recruitment due to the amount of behind the scenes time it took to get things pulled together, vote, etc. PnMs go back to dorms and sleep. Actives vote all night and then set up for the next round, then skip class to sleep and be ready for parties!

I like your idea of Dec/Jan rush and giving houses a time period to prepare.. Sometimes things make so much sense and yet no one who is in the driver's seat can see it! Frustrating!

[MaryPoppins]

Originally Posted by gee_ess

I like your idea of Dec/Jan rush and giving houses a time period to prepare.. Sometimes things make so much sense and yet no one who is in the driver's seat can see it! Frustrating!

My Kiersey personality type is Guardian Provider/Supervisor, I can't avoid thinking logistically and those who cannot or refuse to do so used to drive me insane. As a an elder, I now know of ways of handling those folks and their issues that preserve my sanity

[AnchorAlumna]

Originally Posted by gee_ess

I like your idea of Dec/Jan rush and giving houses a time period to prepare.. Sometimes things make so much sense and yet no one who is in the driver's seat can see it! Frustrating!

What happens is that the entire first semester then becomes all recruitment, all the time. Lots of stress on everybody exactly when you need to be attending class and studying.
Yes, it SEEMS to make sense....until you see SEC-style recruitment.

[MaryPoppins]

Originally Posted by AnchorAlumna

What happens is that the entire first semester then becomes all recruitment, all the time. Lots of stress on everybody exactly when you need to be attending class and studying.
Yes, it SEEMS to make sense....until you see SEC-style recruitment.

You don't think that is already the case? School started last week. Formal recruitment starts in 3 weeks. The whole initial part of the semester is shot! Whatever foundation my collegians are supposed to be getting in their upper level classes is in mental competion with putting on an SEC level recruitment performance when they should be getting ready for mid-terms. About 3,600 Freshman, and at least 1,200 of who are participating in Panhellenic Recruitment, that's more than 50% of the women in the Freshman class. Those young women are going to be distracted at the a critical time in their college careers and don't have the seasoning of the older women. I say we go back to early August Recruitment (before school) or bite the bullet and do it in January/December. This method is the most destructive of all, but it is what we have, and therefore what we have to deal with for the foreseeable future. We make it work, but I think it's far more to the advantage of the University than any advantage for the students who really ought to take precedence.

[gee_ess]

Originally Posted by AnchorAlumna

What happens is that the entire first semester then becomes all recruitment, all the time. Lots of stress on everybody exactly when you need to be attending class and studying.
Yes, it SEEMS to make sense....until you see SEC-style recruitment.

I am intimately familiar with SEC recruitment. I much prefer August recruitment after serving as an advisor for both years we tried mid semester style like our friends at Ole Mss. However, IF a school was pushing for something to help retain students who transfer after disappointing recruitment results, then I much prefer dec/jan over mid September. Thankfully, Arkansas seems to be content with their current system.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by AnchorAlumna

What happens is that the entire first semester then becomes all recruitment, all the time. Lots of stress on everybody exactly when you need to be attending class and studying.
Yes, it SEEMS to make sense....until you see SEC-style recruitment.

Then you're doing deferred rush completely wrong, and many rules need to be changed and reinforced to make it what it is meant to be.

BUT since this is a school less likely to change from old-school SEC style rush than the Steelers are to change their colors to pink and coral...screw it. Forget this "delayed" silliness and go back to August.

If this really is a school where the majority of many many many girls only want two out of nine groups, that's a broken system that is going to take a lot more than rush in September to fix.

[ladybug12]

I'm going to put a different spin on this from my personal observations on this campus over the past 2 years.

Having deferred recruitment lets the PNMs see all of the beautiful, polished women in all of the sororities at Ole Miss for at least a month prior to formal recruitment. Honestly, there is no way to tell any of these girls apart other than the different Greek letters they have on their t-shirts or backpacks. All of the houses are georgeous and huge.

I think it helps many PNMs see that there are multiple desired options for sorority membership on this campus!

[MaryPoppins]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Then you're doing deferred rush completely wrong, and many rules need to be changed and reinforced to make it what it is meant to be.

BUT since this is a school less likely to change from old-school SEC style rush than the Steelers are to change their colors to pink and coral...screw it. Forget this "delayed" silliness and go back to August.

If this really is a school where the majority of many many many girls only want two out of seven groups, that's a broken system that is going to take a lot more than rush in September to fix.

It's allegedly 2-3 out of 9 groups, and next years colony will make 10. PNM classes are expected to be 150.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by MaryPoppins

It's allegedly 2-3 out of 9 groups, and next years colony will make 10. PNM classes are expected to be 150.

Oh, that's right. Sorry, I'll fix my post. But I gather you think that concept (that the majority only wants 2) is hyperbole?

[Gingerdeltaz]

Originally Posted by MaryPoppins

It's allegedly 2-3 out of 9 groups, and next years colony will make 10. PNM classes are expected to be 150.

Jumping in as the mom of a PNM at Ole Miss...

With water parties being tomorrow, we talked today about any preconceptions she may have already about each chapter. Coming from an area far from Mississippi, she was able to go to Ole Miss with all the chapters being on even footing in her mind. HOWEVER, already she had started to develop an opinion on a couple of the chapters based on what some Mississippi folks have told her.

No matter how much I try to downplay what she has been told during her week there and no matter how much she tries to ignore it, the fact is that it's already in her mind. No matter how much I say, "Keep an open mind about ALL the chapters and form your own opinions," what she has heard will be in the back of her mind. For that reason, I would have loved for recruitment to have been at the beginning of school.

I know that some girls from the area or with deep ties to Ole Miss may already have formed ideas about what chapters they want, but at least for those that do not have those ties, it would make it easier for each chapter to have the opportunity to stand on their own merits and each PNM to form opinions based on what the chapters presented to them.

I still feel that she is going into recruitment excited to learn about all 9 sororities, rather than just 2 or 3, and open to them all, but I feel badly for the girls who have already narrowed their options, even before the beginning of recruitment.

[MaryPoppins]

Originally Posted by Gingerdeltaz

I still feel that she is going into recruitment excited to learn about all 9 sororities, rather than just 2 or 3, and open to them all, but I feel badly for the girls who have already narrowed their options, even before the beginning of recruitment.

Some of the girls who have already narrowed their options will be all right, just about 200 - 350 of them. Those PNMs already know a bunch of people in those houses and have been to camp and cotillion with those girls. They will make their debuts at the same debutante societies, and are likely legacies multiple times over. Those favored few chapters will not be likely to ever participate in COB or Spring Informal recruitment as they push their fourth and fifth year members out the door to make room for the next class. Those same favored chapters are very reluctant to take sophomores, so dropping out and re-rushing next year is unlikely to make a difference for a choosy PNM.

The rest of the PNMs need to keep an open mind if they want the Greek experience. Everyday, when the PNM gets her invitations back, the chapters that invited her are the ONLY ones on that campus for that PNM. A chapter has indicated an interest in getting to know that PNM better, and she should be very grateful. Sadly not everyone can be an Ole Miss Greek, but keeping an open mind makes it a possibility. Every PNM class is nearly big enough at Ole Miss to change the entire personality of a chapter. So, if you don't like what you see now, stick around and "Be The Change You Want To See."

Best Wishes and Good Luck To All the Ole Miss PNMs!