"I'm rushing 'for' a certain chapter"

[33girl]

Originally Posted by groovypq

I'm a little late to this thread (new baby will do that to you...) but I have noticed this trend in the past year or so. The School Class of 2017 Facebook page is rife with posts about "What sorority are you rushing? I'm rushing XYZ!" or "I know which sorority I want!" and they clearly don't have any idea how recruitment works. And since we're a deferred-recruitment school, they will only be MORE sure of they're "rushing XYZ" by the time recruitment rolls around.

We're a small school (4 NPC orgs) and really, most people are XYZ or bust - and they drop out if XYZ cuts them. Either they go through informal the next fall and try to get in that way or they don't go social Greek (a lot join the service org... and I am NOT knocking service orgs, but at my school there are indeed a lot of people who join it just for letters, unfortunately). I really, really wish there were a way to get PNMs to be more open-minded.

Side note: my chapter's province president is constantly telling them to stop using "rush" and "pledge." However, it seems like no one on campus uses the "proper" terminology. She said once she gets the "campus culture," but still every year there's a lonnnng discourse about proper terminology. I'm not sure how to correct it.

Ok, here's the question. Are you doing deferred recruitment correctly? You don't have a lot of silly rules about no contact first semester, RAs have to disaffiliate, freshmen can't go to fraternity parties, etc etc, do you?

The more NORMAL contact PNMs have with sorority members, the more open minded they will be, as they will get to know them as normal human people. The more rules and garbage are put in the way, and the harder it is to make a simple person to person connection, the more closed-minded the PNMs will be.

And if the worst thing in the world that's happening at your school is that people are saying "rush" and "pledge" your province president needs a chill pill. They've been trying to eradicate these terms for decades now, and the fact that it hasn't happened just hits home that the "proper" terms are stupid.

[groovypq]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Ok, here's the question. Are you doing deferred recruitment correctly? You don't have a lot of silly rules about no contact first semester, RAs have to disaffiliate, freshmen can't go to fraternity parties, etc etc, do you?

The more NORMAL contact PNMs have with sorority members, the more open minded they will be, as they will get to know them as normal human people. The more rules and garbage are put in the way, and the harder it is to make a simple person to person connection, the more closed-minded the PNMs will be.

And if the worst thing in the world that's happening at your school is that people are saying "rush" and "pledge" your province president needs a chill pill. They've been trying to eradicate these terms for decades now, and the fact that it hasn't happened just hits home that the "proper" terms are stupid.

I'd say it's hit or miss on doing it "correctly." We had four Greek advisers in six years (and are soon to get another new one), and each one did things differently. There are no rules about first-semester contact or fraternity parties, but last year the rho chis were chosen and had to disaffiliate about halfway through the first semester (and were watched like HAWKS).

In the past, freshmen were allowed to attend informal recruitment parties, just not receive bids. I did think that gave them a taste of things and allowed them to get to know sorority women. Now, though, we do dynamic recruitment which is a whole different kettle of fish (I don't even have it all figured out yet).

And yes, I agree on the chill pill needed.

[33girl]

WTF is dynamic recruitment? That sounds like some sort of horrible corporatespeak.

[MaryPoppins]

Originally Posted by 33girl

WTF is dynamic recruitment? That sounds like some sort of horrible corporatespeak.

Yeah. Like when I had one job but 5 bosses that didn't report to one another or even to the same C-Suite.

[groovypq]

Originally Posted by 33girl

WTF is dynamic recruitment? That sounds like some sort of horrible corporatespeak.

Truthfully, I have yet to figure it all out. Last fall for informal recruitment, it meant my chapter and one other, who only had 2-4 openings, recruited by meeting PNMs for lunch, coffee, etc. (hanging out with sisters) and then extending bids to fill the spots. The other two chapters, who had graduated large senior classes and had more spots, held open houses. There was still a bid day.

I didn't like this method because, even though it was only open to sophomores and above, I felt like it put my chapter at a disadvantage because, even if freshmen couldn't attend open houses, they'd at least be seeing the fliers/posters/Facebook invites and it would put a chapter's name in their heads. With my chapter not doing open houses, their name wasn't getting out there as much. Now, they had the rest of the semester to get to know freshman PNMs but still... first impressions.

Also, my chapter lost out on some great PNMs because they wanted the "experience" of going to open houses.

To me, it was too much of a free-for-all. I've been told by my chapter members who are Panhel exec members that it will be more coordinated this year. We'll see.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by 33girl

WTF is dynamic recruitment? That sounds like some sort of horrible corporatespeak.

Phired Up refers to their style of recruitment as "dynamic." It basically promotes what you've said here regarding the fostering of more "normal" conversations and relationships.

Originally Posted by 33girl

The more NORMAL contact PNMs have with sorority members, the more open minded they will be, as they will get to know them as normal human people. The more rules and garbage are put in the way, and the harder it is to make a simple person to person connection, the more closed-minded the PNMs will be.

I would guess it's not some weird kind of recruitment style that groovypg's campus Panhellenic created.

But I could be wrong...

[DeltaBetaBaby]

I think we all recognize the difference between "My older sister is an XYZ and I know all of her friends and hang out with them constantly and want to be an XYZ" and "I wanna be an XYZ because this hot guy told me XYZ was the best". But in either case, you STILL shouldn't make it public.

[Titchou]

Frankly, I'm not a fan of Phirred Up in the first place. It was designed for the mens' groups and I don't think they've gotten the hang of the womens' groups.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Titchou

Frankly, I'm not a fan of Phirred Up in the first place. It was designed for the mens' groups and I don't think they've gotten the hang of the womens' groups.

I agree. Yes, get rid of the ridiculous silence restrictions that some campi have had, but that doesn't mean a free-for-all, all the time. If a rushee complains about one round-robin night of rush where God forbid she might have to talk to women she has nothing in common with, that to me says she isn't a very good prospect for Greek life (or just life, period).

If you have a chapter that has no clue how to rush outside of formal, yes, PhiredUp can open their eyes, but that doesn't mean they can make it the be-all and end-all. You need to be skilled at both types of rush to truly succeed.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by 33girl

That's wrong to hogtie the chapters by not allowing them all to do the same thing and call it any sort of organized effort. With truly open COB, not coordinated in any way by Panhel, it's up to the chapters how they want to rush. If ABC wants to have huge open houses and skits to fill 3 spots, they can. If XYZ wants to fill the 20 spots they have with the 20 girls on the softball team without throwing a single party, with just walking over to practice and giving the girls the bids, they can.

But if Panhellenic is coordinating an effort, there should be AT LEAST one night where ALL the rushees meet ALL the chapters, regardless of their current size. To do otherwise isn't very Panhellenic.

Agree 100%

Originally Posted by Titchou

Frankly, I'm not a fan of Phirred Up in the first place. It was designed for the mens' groups and I don't think they've gotten the hang of the womens' groups.

I've actually seen it work for highly competitive chapters/schools. It would take forever to explain here, but they do cater to those environments and they alter their generic rules and lessons for such a group.

Originally Posted by 33girl

I agree. Yes, get rid of the ridiculous silence restrictions ...

Ironically, if just this was done, a program like Phired Up could help immensely. It's not just about COB, but rather, they encourage "real" connections and relationships outside of a quick 20 minute conversation at a recruitment party.

[seisanne]

Somebody posted a couple of days ago on the Class of 2017 Facebook page asking "What sororities/fraternities are you guys rushing for?" Said somebody isn't rushing a Panhellenic sorority and probably doesn't know better... but there are plenty of people rushing for ABC and XYZ Panhellenics who are saying which one or two they're there to rush. Uh oh.

[Soomie]

Recruitment starts for me tomorrow. I have heard these sort of comments all over the place. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked, "Which one are you rushing for?" When I try to explain that that's not how it works, they say, "No, no, no. I mean, which one do you want to be in?" And I'm like, "That's not how it works." Then I get confused looks as if I'm the one who doesn't know what I'm talking about. I think most of it stems from people's misperceptions about Greek Life. Some people could be confusing the formal recruitment process with the informal recruitment process (where you rush for a sorority who needs to meet quota).

[irishpipes]

Soomie, they may mean "Even though you have to go to all the parties, which one do you want?" Even some NPC alumnae use this terminology incorrectly.

A PNM I wrote a rec for this year is a legacy to a chapter and her sister just graduated 2 years ago. She told me that her own sister advised her to "only rush for the ones with a good reputation." For Pete's sake this is a recent alumna of a chapter at Oklahoma State. People say things wrong all the time.

[FSUZeta]

Soomie, you are ahead of the game because you get it! I just heard of a young woman who will be rushing spring semester and several of us alums from different sororities volunteered to write recs. for her. She very politely thanked us, and then told us she would get in touch later after she decides which ones she wants to concentrate on ! :-0

[Sciencewoman]

My daughter already had her recs sent for winter recruitment by this time last year. I'm afraid that young lady is in for a wake-up call. Having recs now will help the members know which PNMs they'd like to concentrate on this fall!