That 70s Rush!

[That_70s_Rush!]

Gather around, young’uns! Granny’s got a story to tell you. I’m not a regular greekchat poster, but I have been lurking for years. Since several greekchatters have mentioned in the past that they’d like to hear a recruitment tale from the long ago era of frills, and at this time of year we are low on current recruitment stories, I thought it would be fun to tell you my tale. It’s all about that thing called rush. Yes, rush. That’s what we called it back in the olden days. So here it is, in all its frill filled glory . . . That 70s Rush!

[That_70s_Rush!]

18 Year Old Me
I grew up in a large metro area and attended a small private school, which I will refer to as Prissy Prep. There were two public high schools in the immediate area, which I’ll call East Suburbia and Central Suburbia. I had several close friends and even more acquaintances from junior high, church and other social activities that went to those schools.

I was pretty active in high school; it was easy to be since there were fewer than 100 students in each class. It was an academically rigorous curriculum and I graduated with a GPA high enough to earn a full scholarship to each state university I applied to. I decided to attend Jumbo State University (JSU), which is a large state school located in a big city about two hours away from home. Most of the students from my school who end up going to college in-state end up at JSU.

When I arrived at school, I knew absolutely nothing about sororities or rush. I arrived at campus early because I was required to attend a special orientation program for my major. But since it was the week before classes, most of the girls who had already moved in were there because they were rushing. (Yes, it was called rush then, and I will be using the vernacular of the day in my tale.) No one in my family had ever been Greek, so it never occurred to me to even investigate it. Two of my new suite mates were planning on rushing, which was scheduled to begin the day after I arrived on campus. They convinced me it would be a great way to meet people, and since classes didn’t start for a few days, I agreed to join them. After I discussed it with my folks, the girls brought me over to the Greek Life office and I registered. No recs. No preconceived notions. No idea what to wear. No expectations. No Greekchat to give me rush tips. Nothing.

[sceniczip]

I'm really excited for this story! I love hearing about "rush" vs. recruitment lol.

[That_70s_Rush!]

The Suitemates
Lisa was going to be the forth generation in her family to join a sorority. She knew the JSU Greek system inside and out. She was at least a single legacy to over half the houses on campus, and a triple legacy to one (which she had her heart set on joining and I later learned was the house everyone seemed to want.) Although I’d never met her before, Lisa went to East Suburbia high school and dated a guy who attended Prissy Prep. She was drop dead gorgeous, insanely well dressed, and super smart. I would have been completely intimidated if she hadn’t been one of the nicest, funniest and most sincere people I’ve ever met.

Tina was from out of state, a cheerleader and valedictorian. Smart, very pretty, and unfortunately extremely conceited, which was something it took me much too long to figure out. She must have researched the Greek System long before arriving (LOL how did anyone do that before the internet?!) because she knew the reps of every single house, had her recs in order and knew exactly where she was going to end up. And that just happened to be the same sorority Lisa wanted.

That sorority they both want must be something special, right? So I decided that it was probably the best place for me too. I can’t wait until we’re all sorority sisters! Gee, I’m not naïve at all, am I?

[That_70s_Rush!]

Greek Life at JSU
Even though it was the mid-70s and an era of decline for Greek life on many campuses, Greek life was still very important at JSU, and about a quarter of the student body was Greek. Although not quite SEC crazy, rush was extremely competitive. I think there were 700 - 800 girls rushing with me and quota ended up being around 50. With a few exceptions, most of the sororities had between 100 and 160 members. At the time, there were 13 NPC groups on this campus. Since this is the 1970s and I am woefully uncreative, I am going to name them after characters from “That 70s Show.” Here they are in random order:

Eric
Donna
Hyde
Fez
Kelso
Jackie
Red
Kitty
Laurie
Midge
Bob
Leo
Randy

Our parties were stretched out over five days, with an Orientation Session and Rush Counselor Meeting on the evening prior to the first day of parties and Bid Day on the evening of the sixth day. The sets were broken up like this:

Set One: Open House Day One – first 7 house parties
Set One: Open House Day Two – last 6 house parties
Set Two: House Tours – up to 8 parties
Set Three: Theme/Skit – up to 5 parties
Set Four: Preference – up to 3 parties

As long as people are interested and not bored to tears, I'll start talking about the actual rush days tomorrow.

[DaffyKD]

Can't wait to see how you '70's rush compared to my own.

DaffyKD

[lovespink88]

I can't WAIT to hear your thread!

[true_blue]

Love this! Keep it going!

[CougarGrad]

I love it already! Let's hear more!

[That80sRush]

Love this thread already!

Where will Lisa and Tina end up??

[That_70s_Rush!]

Convocation/Orientation Evening
After spending the entire day in my major orientation program, I arrived back at the dorm to get ready for rush orientation. Lisa and Tina assure me it will be a casual affair, which is a good thing because all I have time to do is take a quick shower, put on some lip gloss and mascara and change my clothes. We walk over to the activities center together, looking a little like clones. We’re each wearing an embroidered peasant top, Levi’s 501s, and water buffalo sandals. No, we weren’t hippies. That’s just the way most girls dressed at the time and we met up with lots more girls wearing the same “uniform” at orientation.

The activities center is packed and so loud! I am overwhelmed by the sheer number of girls who are rushing. This rush thing is obviously a much bigger deal than I realized. The Panhellenic board takes the stage and explains just how things will work. I’m a little surprised when I learn we can’t go to the parties with whomever we want. I had hoped to tag along through rush with my suitemates, especially since I was sure we’d soon be sisters! I had a bit of an awakening when the process was explained during orientation.

After the convocation ceremony and orientation, we all break up into our rush groups and get to meet our Rush Counselor. She seems so sweet and genuinely interested in helping all of us. She hands out a booklet that includes a page for each sorority with a photo of the house along with their Greek letters and the words spelled out in English. All of those Alphas, Phis, Pis and Deltas! I knew the only chance I had to keep them straight would be to take good notes; and thankfully each page also had a place just for this purpose. Especially during the first four days, I ferociously scribbled notes right after each party. I still have that booklet and am using it to write this today.

I know two girls in my rush group from the public high schools I mentioned, but not well. The worst part is I feel like everyone seems to know what they are doing except ME! I’m confused but since I’m in it for fun, I’ll give it the old college try.

I’ve had a very long and overwhelming day and go right to sleep once I get back home, in spite of my jabbering suite mates whose anxiety keeps them up well past midnight. I sleep like a baby. I haven’t a care in the world.

[WVU alpha phi]

Love this rush story already, keep it coming!

[Scully]

Originally Posted by CougarGrad

I love it already! Let's hear more!

Me too!

[Low C Sharp]

*applause*
________
AVANDIA LAWSUITES

[That_70s_Rush!]

I am glad people are enjoying my story! It's especially fun seeing some of our more - uh - mature greekchatters chiming in! So on with my tale...

Set One Day One - Open House
I’m breaking up the first two days here since they were the open house rounds but except for the first and last houses, I have very little recollection of which houses I saw on which days.

It’s really warm and I decide to wear one of the new sundresses I had bought a few weeks before going to college. I’d spent most of the last 12 years of my life in uniforms and didn’t have much of a casual wardrobe, so my mother had thankfully taken me out for a shopping spree before leaving for school. Like most girls, my wardrobe mainstays were Levi’s 501s, sweaters, cute t-shirts, Mexican peasant tops, khaki shorts and cutoff 501s. I wear my hair the usual way, long, straight and parted down the center. I’m wearing a pair of sky high Kork-Ease platform sandals, with sun tan colored panty hose naturally! Yes, girls, we all wore hose then! This is the look I wear all the way through rush until preference, and it’s a look almost all the other girls are wearing as well. I remember being relieved that I fit in with the other girls.

It’s already insanely hot and the sorority houses and activities center where we are supposed to meet each day are all located on the opposite side of campus from most freshmen dorms, including mine. These are the dark ages before campus shuttle systems and the parking on that side of campus is non-existent. By the time we meet our RC at the activities center, and start the trek to the first party, most of the rushees are already melting. It’s not a great look for making good first impressions (and some girls are already freaking out about it), but at least we are all in good company!

Hyde – Oh my God! The noise! Why didn’t anyone warn me about this? They come stampeding out the door like a herd of buffalo, screaming, chanting, clapping, cheering and singing. I was not expecting this at all! This is a pretty large house and I recognize a few girls from both my school and the public schools back home. The house is ok looking but one of the girls I talk to mentions they have sleeping porches (which has to be explained to naïve me) and I am not keen on that at all. They are all very attractive in a high maintenance way but seem a little bit too wild for me. All the girls I talk to really emphasize how many socials they have with the fraternities. I’m pretty sure I won’t fit in here. I’m not nearly as pretty and as outgoing as these girls and I am already feeling a little overwhelmed.

Donna – So this time I am ready for the noise, and these girls didn’t disappoint. This is another huge sorority and is full of girls from my high school. I don’t know all of them personally, but recognize everyone at least by name or their face. Our conversations are like a walk down memory lane and the time just flies. There is already one thing that concerns me though. Many of the girls I know come from extremely wealthy and prominent families. Although no one at my high school was exactly poor, these girls are like the who’s who of my home town’s high society and live in a completely different stratosphere. I am worried that I might not measure up. They are also very athletic and have lots of awards for that, and I am a pretty clumsy girl! But overall, I feel good about this group.

Kitty – This house is gorgeous and looks like an Italian villa. It is only about 10 years old and was custom built for the chapter shortly after they colonized. There’s a huge amount of noise coming from the girls inside before they burst out the door to welcome us. But I am shocked at how few girls there were making all that noise. This chapter only has about 25 members. There are a lot of unattractive girls and several are very overweight, but they all seem very nice and genuinely happy to meet me. I don’t know or recognize anyone here. They have a high GPA and are actually excited when I tell them what my rather geeky major is. In spite of what many rushees would consider shortcomings, I like all the girls I talk to in spite of their looks and awkwardness.

Bob – This is another smaller chapter; there are maybe 60 or so members. I don’t recognize a single person here and it seems they are all from either Chicago or New York. These girls are really sophisticated! Every single one of them is brunette, darkly tanned, perfectly coiffed, fashionably dressed and wearing lots of expensive looking jewelry. Unfortunately, the first girl who rushes me seems completely bored with me and there are lots of awkward silences until she bumps me to an equally unenthusiastic sister. I feel like an unsophisticated bumpkin and like I have nothing in common with these girls. The house is very 1960s looking with very low ceilings and dark wood. I feel claustrophobic because it’s so dark and cramped. Maybe that has a lot to do with it too. I even trip on the step of the sunken living room as we leave. Although several sisters see it happen, no one bothers to try to help me or asks if I am ok. Definitely an omen of doom. I already know I definitely would not fit in here and can’t wait to leave!

Fez – This house has one of the highest GPAs and is one of the biggest on campus. It’s also the one Lisa and Tina (and I! Ha!) want. There do not seem to be many girls from my town, much less my state, in this house. The girls are very attractive in a preppy sort of fresh scrubbed way and I feel comfortable here. Although I don’t know any of them, they feel very familiar and remind me a lot of the girls I went to school with. They have a nice comfortable house, and although it isn’t quite as grand as some of the others I will see, it feels very homey.

Kelso – This is another big house with lots of girls from my high school, but they are more of the laid back kind of girls who don’t try too hard to impress others. They know they’re special and don’t have to tell anyone they are. They also have a high GPA and are very cute in a down to earth kind of way. They have a gorgeous historic house and it is one of the oldest sororities on campus. I have some great conversations with some girls I already know here and I really like it.

Randy – Oh dear. This chapter makes me want to cry. No chanting, singing or cheering, they just open the door and stand in line to personally greet us as we enter. There are only about 10 of them and they are so completely socially awkward, it literally looks like they took the ten least attractive and shy girls on campus and put them in one place. There are 3 to 4 rushees per member, and the poor girls have no conversation skills at all. The rushees all seem to be talking amongst themselves in each group and the sisters aren’t saying much at all. The only thing I can remember my rusher telling us is that everyone gets her own room and can move in right away. I imagine so since they have a beautiful spacious house and no members. You can almost smell the desperation here. I cannot wait to leave because I am so uncomfortable and embarrassed for them!