Blondie's Retro Rush Story at Southern Private University

[ComradesTrue]

So at 7am we gathered with our Rho Chi groups, and once again had to sit in alphabetical order.

We were handed a sheet of paper that listed all the houses that invited us back, and we could choose from that list the ones that we want to attend. I had spent much of the night trying to decide who to cut… so imagine my disappointment to only see 6 chapters on my sheet of paper. Ugh! (there is that youthful arrogance coming through again!). I would have a full party day, but would not be returning to Vanessa Huxtable whom I had really liked. Perhaps not getting a rec to Flo was coming back to haunt me as I had been cut by them too! (or maybe they just didn’t like me! Who is to say?)

The other two houses that had cut me were Laverne and Weezy. While a little bit of a blow to the ego, I knew that I would not choose those houses either, so it did not sting as bad. But… my arrogance/ego was evident as I was disappointed to have to go back to Chrissy Snow. (you had to attend the max number of parties possible)

My roommate Melissa had only been invited back to 5 houses. Like me, she was cut by Laverne, Weezy and Vanessa, but she did get an invite back to Flo. Melissa’s friend Amy was also only invited back to 5 chapters.

And alas, “Courtney” was again cut by Weezy, the only chapter she considered good enough for her. So she does what every “sane” person would… she transfers to the small non-competitive commuter school in her hometown before school even started. Upon enrolling at this school, she goes through their rush, and gets a bid. Guess who shows up back on our campus junior year wearing Weezy letters??? And then she has the gall to want to affiliate. Unfortunately for “Courtney,” the Weezy chapter at our school did not vote to affiliate her. (yes, that is now 3 times that the Weezies have rejected her, for those of you keeping score at home!) That girl continued to wear her Weezy letters every single day, and would tell anyone who would listen that she “was a Weezy.” I often wonder if it was worth it. She got the letters she so desperately wanted, but did not get any of the sisterhood that comes with it. Sad.

[violetpretty]

Originally Posted by Blondie93

And alas, “Courtney” was again cut by Weezy, the only chapter she considered good enough for her. So she does what every “sane” person would… she transfers to the small non-competitive commuter school in her hometown before school even started. Upon enrolling at this school, she goes through their rush, and gets a bid. Guess who shows up back on our campus junior year wearing Weezy letters??? And then she has the gall to want to affiliate. Unfortunately for “Courtney,” the Weezy chapter at our school did not vote to affiliate her. (yes, that is now 3 times that the Weezies have rejected her, for those of you keeping score at home!) That girl continued to wear her Weezy letters every single day, and would tell anyone who would listen that she “was a Weezy.” I often wonder if it was worth it. She got the letters she so desperately wanted, but did not get any of the sisterhood that comes with it. Sad.

Love it!

[nittanyalum]

I know you didn't go back to her, but LOL at "Florence Jean Castleberry"!!!

And the story about the "Weezy" girl is classic (and a great "cautionary tale" for all new rushees!).

I knew something written by Blondie would be a fun read, and this thread doesn't disappoint!!!

[honeychile]

Poor Courtney! You can only imagine how's she's dealing with Real Life!

[NutBrnHair]

Tell me more, tell me more...

[UGAalum94]

No doubt Courtney's behavior was crazy, especially in the transferring schools area, but I also have to wonder what the chances are that a person who loved the group that much would turn out to be a bad chapter member.

On the one hand, I don't think Crying Girl of the weird rush story thread would be a good member. On the other other, if Courtney was otherwise well-adjusted, maybe she would have been a dedicated member of the chapter?

While I can related to a chapter not wanting to pledge a girl at the expense of a PNM that they wanted more, it's hard for me to understand when chapters reject, for any but the most substantial reasons, affiliate members who are already members of the group.

Maybe I underestimate the number of people truly crazy enough to try to force their way into certain chapters this way. Maybe the chapter gate keeping is needed.

[nittanyalum]

Well, plus, it's not like she went to the noncompetitive school, got the letters, then transferred to a different competitive school and tried to affiliate -- she went back to the SAME school and the SAME chapter that cut her during formal rush TWICE. No doubt every junior and senior in that house knew who she was and what she'd done (and everyone else from her rush groups too). I wouldn't have voted her in and rewarded her sneaking in through the back door either. Her situation is completely different from a "normal" transfer looking to affiliate.

[ComradesTrue]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

On the other other, if Courtney was otherwise well-adjusted, maybe she would have been a dedicated member of the chapter?

Maybe the chapter gate keeping is needed.

Let's just say that with the Weezies, during my era, being a "dedicated" member was not enough. They had other criteria that one must possess to be an accepted/visible part of their group.

And I would go with only marginally-adjusted on Courtney. There were some definite self-esteem issues. She was nice and all, but at times tried too hard, which was annoying.

That is not to say that Courtney would not have been a great member at any number of chapters on our campus. But image/perception was everything to her so she closed her options to every chapter except the one she perceived as tops on our campus.

[baci]

We want more!

[NinjaPoodle]

Yeah, what Baci said

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by nittanyalum

Well, plus, it's not like she went to the noncompetitive school, got the letters, then transferred to a different competitive school and tried to affiliate -- she went back to the SAME school and the SAME chapter that cut her during formal rush TWICE. No doubt every junior and senior in that house knew who she was and what she'd done (and everyone else from her rush groups too). I wouldn't have voted her in and rewarded her sneaking in through the back door either. Her situation is completely different from a "normal" transfer looking to affiliate.

Originally Posted by Blondie93

Let's just say that with the Weezies, during my era, being a "dedicated" member was not enough. They had other criteria that one must possess to be an accepted/visible part of their group.

And I would go with only marginally-adjusted on Courtney. There were some definite self-esteem issues. She was nice and all, but at times tried too hard, which was annoying.

That is not to say that Courtney would not have been a great member at any number of chapters on our campus. But image/perception was everything to her so she closed her options to every chapter except the one she perceived as tops on our campus.

In this situation, it looks like not voting for affiliation was the right thing. Courtney's certainly not very sympathetic to me, and it strikes me as odd that she went to those lengths, particularly if it was just to be a Weezy at that campus. (In contrast with say a XYZ legacy who feels like being an XYZ is the most important thing and was willing to go to a different school to do it. It's still bizarre decision making, but it seems like the group loyalty is sincere since it's not just about the one chapter.)

The role of being a chapter member versus a national/international group member is just a complicated thing and withholding affiliation typically strikes me as bad in regard to the larger group.

ETA: This is one of those areas where being from a 100+ person chapter colors my judgment no doubt. I suspect that the smaller the chapter, the bigger disruption a badly matched affiliate can cause.

[ComradesTrue]

Getting dressed for 2nd round party: I wore a floral skirt with a chambray top and again, brown shoes. We all wore brown shoes back then for some reason. There still was an abundance of wrap skirts among the rushees. Those girls were crazy.

Weather: Sunny and 100 degrees (okay. I admit. I don't remember the weather exactly, but considering where I went to school, let's just say that's a very safe bet!)

Winnie Cooper- I was glad that this was to be my first house of the day, since I had been such mush last night when it was the last house. Again, there was lots of spirit, singing and clapping. I did not know the girl who picked me up, but she (and those who bumped with her) were very friendly, and clearly loved Winnie very much. As I looked around the room, I noticed something different about this chapter. Whereas many houses had members who looked or dressed or acted similar, this group definitely had some diversity** and could not be stereotyped. I saw fashionistas, athletes, studious-types, gregarious types, etc. (**I wish that I could say that “diversity” referred more to ethnicity, but the NPC Greeks on my campus were probably 99% Caucasian.)

Daisy Duke- I was really excited to be going back here today. I had had so much fun with my friend Michelle yesterday. This time I was paired with a girl that I did not know. She was nice, but much quieter than Michelle and I had to steer the conversation. They did a cute skit and sang a cute little ditty that no matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t learn the words. Therefore, I had that tune stuck in my head all day, but just couldn’t pair any words to go with it! I still loved Daisy Duke very much and really hoped that I would be coming back tomorrow.

Chrissy Snow. Oh, Chrissy, Chrissy, Chrissy. I was dreading this one, and my fears played out. I can’t remember if the “faux” Chrissies were still there or not, as I do remember that I was paired with a “local” member of Chrissy. A local member who was very socially awkward and painful to attempt a conversation with. Sigh. The members made all of the rushees soooooo uncomfortable because they kept making a huge deal about how we came back. I was even asked “why” I came back. Um, Einstein… I didn’t exactly “choose” to. But how do you say that? Seriously, my heart went out to the Chrissies, and I wished that there were 100 Rushees that wanted to be in the chapter. But it just wasn’t the place for me.

Tootie- Yea! I was so excited to be going back to Tootie, and today did not disappoint! Like Daisy Duke, I had been singing their danged songs in my head since yesterday. Therefore I had to be veeerrrry careful not to move my lips while they were singing, as that might just freak them out! I don’t remember much about the party… I just remember my lip hurting from biting it so much during their intro and exit songs!

Mallory- This was another house I was pleased to be returning to. I really was impressed with the Mallories because I found them to be a very classy group of women. (side note… everyone with a very Southern, unique, or double name was a member of Mallory… ) They, too, had a cute skit this day, and I really liked the actives that I was paired with. Today one of them mentioned their philanthropy, which is something that I had been involved with, so that is what we mostly talked about.

Carol Seaver- my last house of the day, and all day the rushees had been talking about the skit at the Carol Seaver house, so I was very intrigued to finally go see it. They did a Late Night with David Letterman skit, and it was spot-on, including the set. Now, context… this is the early 90s… Letterman is still on NBC after Johnny Carson, and top-10 lists were still a somewhat fresh and novel idea. The concept of the skit was that Letterman was interviewing one of the Founders of Carol Seaver… only they portrayed her disco-era style (complete with polyester suit in the chapter’s colors, big sunglasses, feather boa and outrageous wig). The active playing the founder was clearly very, very funny, and they portrayed the founder this way too. At one point she did the Top Ten reasons to be a Carol Seaver. There was even a part where she danced Elaine Benes style, only this was years before the Elaine dance came into fruition. I can see how it could be misconstrued that this was disrespectful to Carol Seaver’s history, but I can promise you that even with the fun, the Carol Seavers were nothing but respectful with the situation. It was a very clever way to share some of their history, and a very memorable one as well.

I headed back to the dorm keenly aware that my head hurt, my cheeks hurt, and my feet hurt. I wanted nothing more than to take a long bubble bath, but like hale was I ever going to soak in one of those nasty dorm bathtubs.

[Benzgirl]

I am so loving this. Thanks Blondie!

[baci]

you are doing a super job!

[ComradesTrue]

I walked with dread to our Rho Chi groups. We had to be there at 7am sharp, however, the thing that I distinctly remember this time was that we had to wait an hour for our invitations. This is because one of the chapters had been late getting their lists in. Grrrrrr. (whispers among the Rho Chis was that is was the Mallories.... hmmm... maybe I didn't like them so much after all!)

Finally the head Rho Chi shows up with our invitations. I had not been expecting all the cuts the day before, so I just hoped that some of my favorites were left. Of the 6 houses yesterday, we could return to up to 4 today.

I opened my sheet to see 5 names:
Carol Seaver
Winnie Cooper
Tootie Ramsey
Mallory Keaton
Chrissy Snow

My first thought was yay! Five invitations! I can cut one this time! Then I realized that the house missing was Daisy Duke. Oh, this was disappointing, but after yesterday it was much easier to roll with the punches. I marked that I would return to all but Chrissy and happily turned in my sheet.

By this point I had met quite a few sophomores going through Rush, and the cuts had been harsh. While I won’t lie that it certainly bruised my ego to keep getting cut from chapters that I liked, I soon became aware that I was one of only a few sophomores to even have a full schedule each day. For this I was grateful, and I just kept reminding myself to hold my head high.

With 4 great houses left, it was now so much easier to focus on the chapters that I would be attending and not the ones that I would not.