A Cheesy Disco Retro Recruitment!

[BraveMaroon]

I'm pulling for Heat Wave... I love a good underdog!

[Splash]

What are the sizes of the other chapters? Was it 6 vs. about 30 or so or 6 vs. 100+?

[DoubleTDG]

I am loving this!

[greekdee]

I'm sorry -- should have included that info. After formal rush, most of the chapters had about 50-55 girls in them. One carried around the low 40's, one struggled around 30 and then there was Heat Wave with such a sharp drop.

[greekdee]

Theme Parties – Second Night
Second Night of Theme Parties

I can’t remember for sure what I wore this night, but I THINK I borrowed an outfit from one of my roommates. We were so deluded into thinking she had an ever-growing closet full of such pretty clothes (it would be years before we realized how horrible they truly were) because her mother worked at an upscale department store with generous employee discounts. I’m thinking I wore a pair of slate blue (I know, I know) slacks with a matching sweater set – vest and cardigan.

One applause I do have to give the 70’s is that we did have pretty sweaters. They were colorful and scenic, often featuring a country or mountain scene, flowers or snowflakes, or a menagerie of animals. The sweater vest I wore had graduating shades of blue in it and a band of orange and yellow flowers going straight across the bust. We used to joke about the position of those flowers -- nothing like creating a focal point.

I arrived at Panhellenic ready for my first theme party of the second night, which was Heat Wave. I wish I could say they had a surprise turn out and were hosting a full house; in reality, you could count the attendees on one hand. There were three, maybe four, of us. For some reason, we sat in the floor, though I can’t for the life of me remember why.

Heat Wave didn’t perform a skit. Or if they did, I have no recollection of it whatsoever. I guess they felt like they just didn’t have enough members to do one. Our time was spent talking. A couple of older women (who I suspect were the age I am now) were present and serving finger foods. Naively, I thought they were mothers; I’d later realize they were alums! Duh. I was so young!!!

These girls were so nice, but in all honesty, they really were not rushing very hard. Maybe they had lost heart or felt defeated before they began. Rebuilding had to seem like such a daunting task --and how could they compete with these mega-excited sororities bopping all around them? The rumors that they were close to folding sure didn’t help.

Even though there were only six members, believe it or not, I didn’t meet all of them! For whatever reason, a couple of the members hung back, choosing to work in the kitchen and be task-oriented instead of mixing with the rushees. The lovely girl who talked to me on the first night also did at the theme party. I remember she sat on the floor beside me, her long legs curved beneath her, took my hand and said “Oh ________, I just know you’d be so happy in Heat Wave.” Other than that, I really was not rushed that night and the rest of the party was spent talking about classes, majors and dorm life.

I left Heat Wave feeling sad. If the small turn out at this party was any indication to how their rush was going, I suspected the rumors about them folding would prove to be true.

Next, I went to Village People, where the skit was a Bavarian Beer Party theme. What I remember is that it was really funny, especially the girls who played soldiers clunking around in combat boots and talking in heavy German accents. Laughing, I got choked on a cookie and just about went into one of those spastic barking fits of coughing --thank goodness, one of the sisters plied me with water and I pulled myself together before all control went out the window.

I had a great time at this party! They were also the top favorite of Extra Sharp…and of Limburger.

Next up: invitations to pref! And what a day it would be.

[IrishLake]

LOL! It's funny how long rumorss have been around! (The one about the coffin...)

[greekdee]

Our rush advisors told us the heaviest cuts would come after theme parties. Waiting for pref invitations had to be the most nerve racking of days. I believe they were available at noon; trying to get through morning classes was almost impossible. When I’m nervous, I cross my legs and shake my suspended foot. And I mean, it shakes like a five on the Richter scale. One of my classes was in an auditorium, and as I sat shaking away, a guy I didn’t even know reached over and grabbed the offending foot. Uh, sorry.

We could accept two invitations to pref. If there were no invites, we would be given an envelope that contained a note of regret. I remember opening the envelope very slowly because I was so afraid it contained “the note”…but it didn’t! I had invites to Donna Summer, Village People and Heat Wave.

So, the Commodores had cut me! Actually, I was surprised I had gotten as far as I did with the Commodores because I knew I really wasn’t a good fit. I wasn’t too hurt; besides, I had invites to my top two!!

Accepting the invites to Donna Summer and Village People was easy; regretting the invite to Heat Wave was hard. It really was. They were sweet girls and I wished them well, but I was so concerned they were going to fold. Feeling a genuine twinge of sadness, I circled the regrets option on the invite and handed it back to the Panhellenic representative.

I didn’t see Gouda arrive to collect her invites; I did, however, see her leave. Her exit was dramatic, prefaced with a scream…a blood curdling scream as though she had been stabbed through the heart. In a way, I guess she felt like she had been.

No surprise here: Donna Summer had not invited her to pref.

All eyes turned in her direction and silence fell over the room as Gouda threw her envelope on the floor and ran through the nearest exit. Our rush advisor ran after her, as did Swiss who gathered up the purse and windbreaker Gouda had left behind. Activity in the room resumed, but I think the air seemed charged with even more nervous energy than before. No doubt, girls who had not yet opened their envelopes were probably having heart palpitation after seeing Gouda’s reaction to not getting an invite to a sorority she wanted. Even though it wasn’t announced, everybody knew that could be the only thing to cause such an outburst.

Swiss returned about five minutes later, shaking her head as she approached me and a couple of other girls from our rush group. Gouda, she said, was in the ladies room completely inconsolable. She did have an invite to at least one pref party but chose to drop out of rush, as did a few other girls in our group.

I felt bad for Gouda. I know she should have handled herself better during Rush, but I also know how MUCH she wanted to be a Donna Summer. Even today, after all these years, I sometimes find myself thinking about her. Does it still hurt to talk about it? Does she have a daughter, and if so, how did she feel about her going through Rush?

Pref parties were tonight. Swiss was going to Donna Summer and Abba.

[carnation]

Well, now some of you youngest GCers know what it was like before RFM. The heaviest cuts were done before prefs and that was heartbreaking because women would go to all those parties thinking that they had a chance with certain groups and they never really did. Now at least you can reevaluate your choices much earlier.

[greekdee]

Pref

The Dress

It cost $42.00, which at the time seemed out…RAGEOUS. I mean, it wasn’t floor length or even semi-formal; it was just a really “nice” dress as we were instructed to wear. So let me tell you about this beauty.

First, as in keeping with the latter 70’s fashion, it fell just below the knee – could there be a dowdier, more unflattering length for most women? It was some kind of sheer fabric that the salesgirl called “fluid” and had a satin lining in a shade of yellow that I don’t think is truly found in nature. The closest thing I can compare it to is the yellowish-tan color of a piece of Mary Jane, pull-your-crowns-off chewy candy.

The sheer overlay was a floral paradise of yellow, yellow and yellow. Well, it was different shades of light to medium yellows, with such a tight floral pattern you could only feel like it needed to be pruned and thinned out. It had a firm elastic waist and was worn with a very thin (think shoe lace) fabric belt that matched the lining. Here’s the best part – the skirt was designed to billow, and billow it did if you twirled fast enough. You just had to be careful it didn’t helicopter up on you and show the world your unmentionables.

It had short, semi-puffy sleeves that also contained skin-cutting elastic to make the bottom edge of the sleeves ruffle out. And speaking of ruffles, a bounty of them ran up and down the V-neck—my, but it was a busy little dress! I loved it, though, and wore it with my thick, six inch platform shoes…okay, not really. I think a simple pair of slingbacks in one of the safe neutrals did the trick.

Dressed and ready, I was off for my first pref at Village People. It was held off campus at the home of an alumni and I remember how beautiful the girls looked in gowns that matched their sorority colors. They seemed to shimmer in the candlelight, and really, I was so overwhelmed by the quiet beauty that the entire party felt surreal. I don’t remember a whole lot of ceremonial details about this pref! The sister who sat with me spoke ever-so-softly about what the Village People meant to her and how they had rallied around her during a difficult time in her life. The time passed quickly and I never really felt like I snapped out of the dream-like state that settled on me when I first arrived. I left knowing, though, that I would be very happy as a member of the Village People.

Donna Summer’s pref was also held at an alumni’s house. It was a magnificent home brimming with antiques and had dark hardwood floors. Again, a sister engaged me in one-on-one talk and spoke of the important role the sorority played in her life. In some ways, the pref was going a lot like the one at Village People…until …

I was led up a staircase and into a small alcove lit by two hurricane lamps where the sorority president stood next to a vintage mirror. After saying a few words about the sorority, she gently turned me around so that I faced my reflection in mirror. “Now tell me _________,” she said, “can you see yourself as a sister in Donna Summer?”

I’m not normally a crier, but tonight I was. I normally AM a talker, but tonight I wasn’t. As tears streamed down my cheeks, I could only look in the mirror and nod. The president smiled and made eye contact through our reflections. I knew. I just knew.

I listed Donna Summer first and Village People second.

My friend Swiss was having a real difficult time! She had attended prefs for Donna Summer and Abba and was really struggling with which way to go. She loved both and had been trying to choose between them since the first night of theme parties. Sitting in the student center (where we returned to after prefs), she cried, talked to our rush advisor and cried some more. One by one, people were filling out their cards and leaving – but not Swiss. She finally waved me on and I returned to my dorm and waited for her to call – but she never did! I knew I’d have to wait until tomorrow and see which suite she walked into after bids were extended.

[greekdee]

Bid Day!!!

Before we were allowed to open our bids, we had to wait for the rush advisors to do their big “reveal” -- ha, we already knew their affiliations thanks to the boo boo in the rush booklet! Still, each rush advisor took part in a small ceremony where she walked up to a podium, lit a candle and said, “My name is _______ and I light the candle of…(sorority name).

Finally, we got to open our bids and I was beyond thrilled to see that I was invited to join the wonderful sisterhood of……………









DONNA SUMMER!
Otherwise known as…..







I Feel Love…







For…












PHI MU!!!!!

[greekdee]

Follow Up

What happened to my friend Swiss? She pledged Abba! Did we stay friends like we promised? You bet! We were in each other’s weddings, have vacationed together with our husbands and children and are still in touch today, getting together whenever opportunity allows.

Bleu became my sister in Phi Mu!

Extra Sharp and Limburger both went Village People and Brie pledged Commodores.

Joan Jett pledged KC and the Sunshine Band. Gouda actually pledged them too – later through open rush – but did end up depledging.

Sadly, Heat Wave did end up folding towards the end of that school year.

Here is the code:

ABBA: Alpha Delta Pi
BEE GEES: Alpha Xi Delta
COMMODORES: Kappa Delta
DONNA SUMMER: Phi Mu
HEAT WAVE: Alpha Omicron Pi
KC SUNSHINE: Delta Zeta
VILLAGE PEOPLE: Sigma Kappa

My school was East Tennessee State University


Thanks for reading!!!

[carnation]

Originally Posted by greekdee

What happened to my friend Swiss? She pledged Abba! Did we stay friends like we promised? You bet! We were in each other’s weddings, have vacationed together with our husbands and children and are still in touch today, getting together whenever opportunity allows.

I love hearing endings like this!

[greekdee]

So true what Carnation said. Those pre-pref cuts were rough. There were some cuts after Round 1, but nothing like what you see earlier in the recruitment process today. Really, back in my day, most women were invited to the majority of theme parties, but the ax started to fall after that. I was a rush advisor my senior year and did, sadly, see some girls really get hurt.

[BraveMaroon]

What a fun story! Thanks for sharing it.

[FSUZeta]

i loved your story! thanks so much for sharing.

i loved your description of your outfits-flashbacks for sure for me! we did think we were styling!