Pref Party Speech

DeltaBetaBaby · #1 07-24-2001, 09:49 PM

Okay, I have to talk at Pref Party, and I just want to know what really stood out in your minds during formal recruitment. I know this has to be really personal, and come from me, but what types of things did you like? I have written like seven, but I don't know what approach to take.

I have one that is my rush story, one that is a random story about a month after I joined, one that kinda follows me through my two years of experience, one that talks more about the rushees, one that is kind of a tribute to one of my best friends, one that is like an abstract speech about sisterhood....well, you guys get the idea.

If you could just let me know what really stood out in your mind on pref night, it might help me decide which angle to take.

AlphaSigLana · #2 07-24-2001, 10:11 PM

I honestly don't remember the speech given during pref. oops I do remember another house's - the girl talked about having asthma and she started crying super hard so I think that is why it stands out.

twinstars · #3 07-25-2001, 09:54 AM

i went to 2 pref parties when i was a rushee. at the first one, (not where i pledged), the girls told random stories about nice things their sisters had done for them and about how much their sorority meant to them. there were some tears. it was nice but not fantastic.

at the place i pledged, each year we have about 10 girls recite this sweet poem.... i don't remember all of it but the last line is "i was at my best when i was with those people"... and we show this video that's set to music that makes everyone cry no matter how many times we've seen it. you can't not cry, that's how touching it is. it's not really specific to our house but more about life in general and our ideals. it's hard to explain, but that's what we do. i am actually more touched by it from the inside than i was as a rushee, when it was all really just a blur.

twinstars · #4 07-25-2001, 10:45 AM

i thought we made the video ourselves... is it a national thing?

erniegurl00 · #5 07-25-2001, 01:21 PM

The one thing that stuck out in my mind wasn't the speech at all. A Lil Sis had written her Big Sis a letter about how much she loved her and appreciated her. The Lil's actual brother had committed suicide, and she was hesitant to tell the house. She told her Big, and she helped her through the process. (Sorry I don't remember all of the details.) The Lil surprised her Big by reading it for Pref Night. For those rushing it was a great way of seeing what true sisterhood means. I was crying the whole time! Anyway, I don't think just one person stood up and gave a speech. Everyone was in a circle, and random actives would say out a memorized part of a speech or poem.

Is there a way that you can combine your speech with parts of your experience of rush and what sisterhood means to you and your sisters? Hope this helps!

------------------
If the angels up above
Could hear us sing our song to you
They'd see that in our hearts
We're Pi Phi's from the start

shadokat · #6 07-25-2001, 03:37 PM

At one of my pref parties, the women did a candle pass, and each said what sisterhood meant to them. Let's just say that they weren't very original, and it really got sort of tedious. Another was a solemn sort of ceremony...I can't recall what about. The other (the one I went to) did a whole ceremony about sisterhood and sang the song One Voice, which we by that time were all bawling, and it was just awesome. The ceremony actually involved the rushees, and that's what made me feel so much a part of their group. I think it's more important to involve them than to just make it about your sorority.

imsohappythatiama · #7 07-25-2001, 05:41 PM

DeltaBetaBaby--

One year at my chapter, we had a Senior read "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein (a childhood classic), and then briefly explain how Kappa is like the Giving Tree. It was very touching, and I'll never forget it!

------------------
Oh, Kappa Kappa Kappa Gamma,
I'm so happy that I am a
Kappa Kappa Kappa Gamma,
Nobody knows . . . how
happy I am!

imsohappythatiama · #8 07-25-2001, 05:48 PM

DeltaBetaBaby:

Here is the Pref Night speech I gave my senior year (Note that I did not write this; it's been handed down through the years, and I found an old yellowed copy of it one day when I was cleaning out our chapter's ritual closet, and I just knew it would be my pref night speech.) You could easily adapt it for your org, I bet. Here goes:

What is Kappa Kappa Gamma?

If its really anything at all, Kappa is not entirely, a fleur-de-lis, national conventions, monogrammed rings, worn-out songs, Bylaws, Membership Standards, or a golden key badge.

And it is not entirely an institution, a creed, a legacy, an obligation, or a way of life.

If you're going to insist that it is something, Kappa is only...

...Moving in for the first time and slowly learning that all beautiful people have fat legs and use mouthwash and wear last year's coats...

...Sitting next to an alum you don't particularly like and being nice because it all means something to her...

...Long, tired eternities of black coffee and exam snacks when you can't remember the Renaissance architects or the stages of
photosynthesis and respiration...

...Borrowing a skirt from Karen and a blouse from Amy, and shoes from Meredith, and a belt and a coat from Liz and passing it off as your own...

...Sitting on the back steps and listening with all your helplessness because she's lost and she's lonely and it seems the whole world just fell into ugly pieces...

...And it's coming in very late one night and closing the door to tell someone who's seen you through the hardest years of your life that you're happy now, and you're getting married...

And Kappa is, I suppose, a kind of evaluation. You grow up inside these elegant halls, and perhaps you do learn more of the grizzly, ungrateful circus we call life than if you had lived it somewhere else.

You learn that a football player is sometimes just shoulder pads and that skinny arms sometimes hide a great man.

You learn that some lecture halls are just watery echoes and that there are silent rooms for deeper rivers of self-reflection.

You learn that no matter where you come from or who took you there, you've still got to find that one small acre that belongs to
you, by yourself.

You learn to wait, because change is slow and change isn't always right.

You learn that there's still alot left to believe in and a whole lot more to hope for.

You learn that love has never been easy, and that it's a long time coming.

And if you're very smart, or very lucky, you learn that no matter how big or how messy the world becomes, what is precious and
what is permanent is always the same.

And in the very end, you learn that Kappa Kappa Gamma can only be a better way to stumble up the back steps and out the front door.

------------------
Oh, Kappa Kappa Kappa Gamma,
I'm so happy that I am a
Kappa Kappa Kappa Gamma,
Nobody knows . . . how
happy I am!

ChiOmegaBlackGirl · #9 07-25-2001, 05:49 PM

I am going through Rush in about 4 weeks. Question - Does everyone have to give a speech at the pref party, because I have heard nothing about it?

aephi alum · #10 07-25-2001, 07:41 PM

imsohappy ~ I've heard almost exactly the same speech in relation to AEPhi. It's not so much a reflection on a specific sorority, as it is about having a sisterly bond in general. You find the right house, be it AEPhi or Kappa or whatever, and you know you've come home.

ChiO ~ I think it just depends on what your sorority does for pref. In my chapter, not everyone gave a speech, but everyone had a role - reading a poem, or leading everyone in a song, etc. I think this was b/c we were such a small group (~20) - in a larger chapter, it wouldn't necessarily be the case that everyone would say or do something, other than join in the songs.

DeltaBeta ~ I wish I could give you more specific help, but I joined via COB, so I've only seen my own sorority's pref ceremony. We did do letters - one sister reads a letter she's written to another sister who's touched her in some way (helped her get through a difficult time or whatever). It's a surprise to the other sister. And there are usually lots of tears...

33girl · #11 07-25-2001, 08:52 PM

Crying is not uncommon but don't go over the top. One of the sororities (not mine) whose pref I went to had this girl read a poem at the end of the party. By the end of it she was bawling so hard I thought they were going to have to take her out on a stretcher.

Funny thing is, I went to a rush convocation (this is 10+ years later) and they are STILL doing the same dang poem!!

Dianne · #12 07-25-2001, 10:27 PM

Imsohappythatiama, what a beautiful speech! When I went through Pref, ZTA had a senior just talk about how much Zeta meant to her, and that she was so sad she only had one year left. It was sweet, but what really got me was when they recited the creed, and every girl said a line, and you didn't know who was gonna say the next one. It seemed like you it was coming from all around the room. It made me feel surrounded by sisters. It was incredibly effective.

------------------
"Seek the noblest."
Zeta Love! <3

DeltaBetaBaby · #13 08-03-2001, 02:42 PM

Help! I really need someone to read my speech for me. Is there anyone who has been through formal recruitment who can tell me what they think of it? I would prefer to e-mail it privately to someone. Thanks!

PenguinTrax · #14 08-03-2001, 02:52 PM

Bring it on. Pnguintrax@aol.com. I'd be happy to review it for you.

Quote:

Originally posted by DeltaBetaBaby:
Help! I really need someone to read my speech for me. Is there anyone who has been through formal recruitment who can tell me what they think of it? I would prefer to e-mail it privately to someone. Thanks!

[This message has been edited by PnguinTrax (edited August 03, 2001).]

caddd365 · #15 08-03-2001, 07:21 PM

Hey!
Just a question for shadokat...
the song "one voice" are you refering to the song that billy gillman sings?