Formal Recruitment Suicide??? - Page 3

Indy2000 · #31 06-29-2000, 09:46 PM

I felt the same way when I rushed last year. I fell in love with one of the houses I prefed and would only pledge there. Unfortunatly, it did not work out for me, I got the 'wrong bid' I declined it and am rushing again this fall. I would recommend to 'suicide'for anyone who does not want to pledge at the other house.

Princess2002 · #32 06-30-2000, 05:43 PM

Indy2000:

Are you still hoping to get a bid from the same chapter you wanted last year, or have things changed for you? The reason I ask is because my situation is similar to yours, and I also feel the same way---that a person shouldn't accept a bid just to join a sorority, instead that they shoudl really be happy with the decision they make.

mwedzi · #33 07-03-2000, 10:53 AM

PandaBear,

The rush process on your campus sounds exactly, and I do mean exactly, like the one on my campus. Girls are not allowed to join another sorority if they suicide, and that seems awfully unfair.

But anyway, every little detail you used to describe your formal rush, even the number of Rho Chi and how they are mixed and what now sounds like me old school. Where do you go to school?

BTW, at the time I put down 2 choices which was the max we could put and putting down one (unless you had been invited to preference night by only one) was suiciding. I thought I could be happy at either one, as I did not know the sororities very well and I did only know them from formal rush. But I realize now that I would not have been happy at the other choice. Thank goodness things turned out the way they did.

Indy2000 · #34 07-05-2000, 12:38 AM

Princess2002:
I don't regret my decision at all, I did not feel like I could have contributed to the house that gave me a bid. I'm not deluding myself to think that I will get a bid from my number one choice. Luckily for me there are 16 chapters at UF and I would be happy at 8 of them.

You DO NOT have to accept a bid if you are not comfortable with it. If you choose to rush again and then pledge, the process will mean so much more to you. Good Luck

tommy7482 · #35 07-12-2000, 05:05 PM

I don't understand why sororities make the bidding process so difficult; it is so much easier with fraternities. If we like a guy, we give him a bid on bid day, if we don't like him, he doesn't get one. Plain and simple. You're just asking for disaster with a formal preference list, and all of the preceding week of mandatory rush parties seems pointless. perhaps it is just harder to get to know a sorority than it is a fraternity, due primarily to social reasons.

prospectiverushee · #36 07-13-2000, 02:54 PM

When I was pledging Angel Flight( a service orgainzation) their rush kind of work the same was as etienneSAI described. Rush I belives was two days, always held over a weekend. The first day was the getting to now the other people a brief explaination of the organization, perhaps a slide show,a few refreshments. The second day was the interview portion. After that the committe makes it's decsion and if you're selected, the group decorates your door. It's usually at the Candlelighting service.

etienneSAI · #37 07-14-2000, 12:33 AM

tommy,

i totally agree with you. i completely envy the fraternities on my campus, because they're really straight up about things. no "i'll invite you to four days of rush but not give you a bid" kind of thing. i remember rushing and i wanted a certain sorority SO badly, but they dissed me on the third day. i dropped out of rush and ended up rushing and pledging SAI seperately. it was SO much better.

SAI's rush on my campus is awesome because since we don't go through panhell like the other sororities, we can kind of make things up as we go along. we don't have PX's, we don't "snap-bid", C.O.B, drop rushees or anything like that. we simply have three nights of rush, ask the girls to fill our pref cards on whether they would accept a bid from us if given one and meet after the last night.
we go to our advisor's house and order pizza, movies and whatnot. then we sit at the table and look over grades, academic honesty issues and pictures we took of the rushees, in case some don't remember names with faces. then we do a blind vote. this means we put our heads down and our advisor asks us to raise hands if we're for or against a rushee. majority wins. if it's a very close vote, we'll discuss reasons for voting the way we did and later vote again. i think it's an awesome way to vote. we call the girls the next night and let them know either way, then while the pledge mom and her helper talk to the girls, we go into thier dorms or apartments and decorate thier doors.

all in all, i'm very pleased with my rush process. very democratic and honest.

etienne

------------------
"red is the color of music and has been since the very earliest of times. the caps of faeries and musicians are well-nigh always red."~*~w.b.yeats

Kymberleigh · #38 08-05-2000, 03:18 PM

I just want to say that when it comes to deciding where you feel at home then it shouldn't be all that confusing. I went through formal rush my freshman year with the girls on my floor. I knew where I wanted to be by the second night. I knew I was home when I walked in the door. I suicided on Bid Night, and I got a bid. I love my house tremendously.

One of my floormates that I was close to went through with me, when she heard me talking about how much I loved this particular house she suicided also. Telling me how great it would be for us to be sisters. However, things didn't work out for her. Three days later she was snap-bidded on by a struggling chapter on the campus. She accepted, and went through pledging and initiation. Two months or less afterwards she de-activated. The point of this story is that she didn't care what house she was in. She just wanted to belong. Her and I are still friends, and she realizes now that she only joined any house, because she wanted to fit in somewhere.

The moral of this, and my advice. If you are unsure, don't sign your bid card. To me your letters are forever. You are forever a sister of your house. So, you should know where you want to be, it shouldn't be a big hoping and wishing thing. If you don't get in to the house you like then chalk it up to not being meant at that time, and rush again. Don't settle, you'll never be completely happy.

Silvergal25 · #39 08-05-2000, 06:36 PM

Could someone explain to me what a snap bid is? I'm a little confused. Thanks. :-)

canadajen · #40 08-09-2000, 10:25 PM

I agree ... this is a great topic!! I actually attend the same school as Siobhan, but I have a bit of a different take on the suicide bidding thing ... Rho chi's are told to discourage PNMs (potential new members)from suicide bidding, & to inform them about the risks during the matching process; However, I don't know about suicide bidding being penalized here at our school (University of British Columbia (UBC)), or understand what indeed happened with the situation a couple of years ago. The reason that I say this is because I myself did indeed 'suicide bid' successfully.

What I can tell you all is how scary it was to wait for what seemed like eternity to see if I would get the dreaded phone call. When PNM are not extended a bid at our school, they are contacted before they show up for Bids Day. When I didn't get that phone call, I still wasn't sure ... it was torture waiting all night & day to find out for sure!! But in the end, it did work out for me

) Sadly, I know that it doesn't always turn out like this.

My best advice ... follow your heart, but don't be too quick to cut out a sorority & potential sisters that could very well end up being the right choice after all (if that makes sense).

I swear that I asked everyone as I went through Rush - how will I know which one is right for me? - and the answer was always the same - "you'll just know." And they we're right.

Best of luck to everyone during rush & be sure to keep us posted!!!

canadajen · #41 08-09-2000, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by PnguinTrax:
Yes, if a chapter knows that they will not be placing a particular woman on any of their bid lists, that woman should not be invited back to the last night (Preference).

This is not a Panhellenic rule, however, and sometimes women do get cut from a list after Preference. What happens is that a woman may have enough votes from the chapter to get invited back, but on the last night there not enough of a majority for her to be placed on a bid list.

Barb

[This message has been edited by PnguinTrax (edited June 16, 2000).]

To my knowledge, I think that this is at least a Panhellenic rule on our campus that any PNM that is invited to sorority's pref night must be on that org's bid list ... I'm curious, is this the case elsewhere?? ...

Kymberleigh · #42 08-11-2000, 03:00 PM

A snap bid is where a sorority extends a bid to a girl who didn't get picked up by a house during Bid Matching at the end of rush. Houses are allowed to extend snap bids to girls who went through rush but were not invited to pledge a house. Snap bidding occurs right after bids are given out, and that person can chose to except or decline. A person can recieve numerous snap bids. A house can extend and except snap bids untill they reach rush quotta.

That's how it works on my campus

MooseGirl · #43 08-15-2000, 12:06 AM

I find all of this so interesting...i never had a full understanding of formal recruitment. On my camous there are 2 npc and 1 local bglo. Us 2 npc do not have formal rush because it does not work...we only have about 10 members each, and greek life is not really important to a lot of students here. we have tried in the past to do formal and have failed miserably. So we just stick to having 2-3 info nights and a pref...keep things simple. the girls decide if they want to come back to the parties or not.

now i really understand the challenges that my sister chapters go throught to recruit.

Jen

twigs344 · #44 08-18-2000, 10:24 PM

What does GLO stand for?

Microbiomajor · #45 08-26-2000, 08:54 PM

Okay, I'm going to answer a few questions that have been asked throughout this whole board.

Suicide, et al....
At my school, if a woman signs her card after preference night, she is obligated to join one of the two sororites if she is given a bid. If she is not given a bid she is free to go wherever. If she gets a bid, and does not accept it, she may not rush again for one calendar year. I personally suicided my chapter because I knew it was where I had to be and, although I respected my other pref, I just knew I wouldn't put my all into it. I am very happy with my decision.

PX and suicide...
I was also a PX last year, and our advice to women was not to suicide, BUT if they were very seriously considering it, they were not penalized, we just had to explain that there was a higher chance of them not getting a bid. It was their decision to make and we could only help them in the process. After pref night, we counseled women who needed help, and then they were sent off to a room to fill out their cards without us (PXs) so we never knew their choices. Every other night we saw their cards so we knew how they would react the next day i.e. if they were getting their top choices or last choices.

On being a PX...
It was hands down the best experience of my life. We had a huge form to fill out, with 8 essay questions, plus general info, and an interview just to be selected. People talk about the bad things like disaffiliation, but I truly believe that being away from your chapter makes you love it more. Plus you form bonds of sisterhood with all your fellow PXs. You go through so much together. And helping the women go through formal rush is one of the most exciting feelings in the world. Being there for the highs and lows, answering their questions. In a way, they become your children. You take all their feelings to heart and you get to live one of the most exciting times in your life all over again.