Q about rush themes....why?

[AXWhoah]

The Gamma Phi's at UA usually do some the "Gammy Awards" for skit day and they all get dressed up in formal dresses with their hair done, like they're going to an awards show...not sure how the rest of it goes but I always thought the idea was cute

[STL Kappa]

Two of our days during recruitment, skit day (MY FAVORITE DAY!!) and philanthropy day, usually have a theme. (Of course the powers that be have now changed the rules so chapters can't go all out and decorate the whole house anymore. I get the whole no-frills thing, but some of it is fun! )

Anyways... here's some of the things I can remember:

-Alpha Phi and DG both had "Sex and the City" themes for skit day where they served fake Cosmos
-Gamma Phi did a Las Vegas thing (if I remember right!) because their philanthropy was Crescent Casino
-KD did a Broadway theme on skit day (this was so cool!)
-Kappa does Kappa Kabana (we like spelling things with Ks ) for our philanthropy day and a "Miss KKG" pageant on skit day... where everyone wears formals
-Tri Delt did a news theme, kind of like a spoof of Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live (it was SOOO funny... exactly my sense of humor!)
-On skit day, ADPi did a jungle theme because of their mascot (they decorated their house BEAUTIFULLY and incorporated this theme into everything... their skit, their dancers, etc.
-Zeta did a skit about two roommates who came to Mizzou: one went Greek and joined Zeta, the other didn't... and soon found herself wishing she could get in on all the fun her Zeta friend was having. (This was really different from the rest of the skits, but I think in a good way, there was not ONE girl in that room who couldn't relate!)

I second what KLPDaisy said... themes are just a way to make your chapter more memorable during recruitment. (And in my opinion, an awesome way to make the experience more fun and less intimidating.) A lot of our chapters (most of them in fact) pick themes that have NOTHING to do with their mascot, or philanthropy... but are still able to incorporate them... and it works! Good luck!

[Phigirl04]

Yeah, I know this might sound superficial, but the various themes were one way I kept things straight during recruitment. I'd remember that and then the girls and such. And then ask my Gamma Chi which house that was. Somehow I just couldn't keep the letters connected to the group the first few days. Just too much going on I guess.

[AnonAlumna]

I remember we did a 'Big Top' theme for day one! It was so neat. We made little tent/kiosks and had a different 'theme' for each tent. One tent was all about campus involvement (our twirler was there in her uniform...cheerleader uniforms hung for decorations, and lots of pics of sisters at football games, and different organizational meetings). Another was for intramurals with lots of pics and our trophies (which we RULED by the way!). Then there was a philanthropy one, a 'social' one, and so on. The first day was more casual, and trying to force to many specifics about our group was too confusing. Like others have suggested they'll remember the themes more from the beginning then anything else. As time goes on they'll learn the women and orgs!

I also remember one group did a 'Pajama Party' theme. It was so cute! They all had pajamas with their symbols on them.

[GPhiBeachbum]

thank you for all your suggestions, i think they will really help.... rush is really different at my school because we don't have houses, so rush is held in classrooms. we also don't have a skit night, and our bid day is also a lot different.

at my school, there are 3 nights of rush.

the first, when PNM'S see all 10 sororities, is a "meet the sisters" night, where you basically talk about your general history and what you are all about as a chapter.

the second night, when PNM's see their top 5 choices, is philanthropy night.

the third, where PNM's see only 1 or 2, is Pref Nite.

[chideltjen]

Originally posted by GPhiBeachbum
thank you for all your suggestions, i think they will really help.... rush is really different at my school because we don't have houses, so rush is held in classrooms. we also don't have a skit night, and our bid day is also a lot different.

at my school, there are 3 nights of rush.

the first, when PNM'S see all 10 sororities, is a "meet the sisters" night, where you basically talk about your general history and what you are all about as a chapter.

the second night, when PNM's see their top 5 choices, is philanthropy night.

the third, where PNM's see only 1 or 2, is Pref Nite.

How are the classrooms? Big, small? Sac State doesn't have houses for recruitment either, so they end up using the Student Union rooms. It's were most meetings take place as well. You can get pretty creative in small conference rooms. Classrooms can be rough if the chairs are immobile though. It'd be interesting to hear how your's turns out.

[TxGirl]

Also check out Oriental Trader for decorations - their stuff is pretty cute and really cheap. They always have hawaiian, mardi gras etc.

You don't necessarily have to do anything big either. One group where I advised had all the women put their drop on a black ribbon and they all wore red shirts and black capris. It stood out, but wasn't really a theme.

I think that these things help the PNM's remember the chapters and that there isn't anything wrong with that. I know that when I went to school we had 5 Alpha something chapters and it was really confusing if you weren't familiar with all the chapter names. Using what happened that day at the event is a good way to make sure the PNM puts the correct chapter down on her acceptance list. Over the years I have heard many times that a PNM intended to put down XYZ chapter but put down XYY chapter in error. They have so much going on and are so excited about the process, it's hard for them to remember everything during the "rush".

[Kasis-anon]

You mentioned that yours was the only chapter that did not yet use a theme as a recruitment tool, may I ask what the other chapters on your campus do for themes? How extensive are their decorations, do they order matching t-shirts or wear other theme-oriented clothing? Do you notice that these themes directly tie into their mascots, mottos etc... If I read your original post correctly you were not yet comfortable with the ideas your fellow members were suggesting, you did not see an immediate connection with Gamma Phi Beta. This might be true, but as you have read party themes are used in recruitment to aid guests in remembering the chapter, as well as for excellent conversation starters within the parties themselves.
Yours is certainly not the only school that holds recruitment in classrooms, you should speak to your advisor and see if they can get in touch with other GPhiB chapters that participate in recruitment within a school or other smaller university buildings.
Also, good luck with the all of the recruitment planning, it is an extremely taxing job no matter what the chapter size, rest assured you are gaining experiences that will serve you in years to come. All of this planning and managing of details is not as "superficial" as some would say. It gives young women major educations in project management. So try and enjoy some of it and know you are doing an amazing thing.

[kddani]

Maybe go with something that reflects the personality of your house.

We did a total rush makeover while I was an active, and totally changed the face and image of our chapter (much for the better!).

One of our goals was to show that we were more trendy that perhaps our reputation was. One of our themes was "party animals" and everyone wore some sort of animal print, and there was animal print everywhere, and one side of our suite was made to look like a club. It was fun and different! And everyone remembered it and was talking about it between parties. We wanted to show that we had fun, and we did!

I think we may have done KD Angels... lots of clouds and light colors and blue, making it look like heaven. And our skit was using the Charlie's Angels song that Destiny Child did.

My chapter wasn't one that could pull off or even wanted to pull off something cheesy and fake. We could've never done some of the standards.

Be UNIQUE! Send out an email on your chapter's list serve, just to brainstorm.

Use some sort of song that's current and trendy.

These are just some random ideas. Show your personality, don't try to mold to an old standard that's boring and tired.

[AnonAlumna]

I love the 'party animal' thing, Danielle! That does sound like a blast...not to mention not everyone had to be dressed exactly alike!

I also like your suggestion to get ideas from the other girls in the chapter! You never know where a good idea could come from! It also helps you gauge what your chapter is capable of pulling off!