Sorority Recruitment (aka ‘Rush’)

Coming from Australia where sororities don’t exist, the whole concept of recruitment seemed very foreign to me. Before Duke my knowledge of sororities really just came from movies. Making the decision to be a PNM (Potential New Member) thrust me into an unfamiliar, yet exciting world.

For those not in the ‘know’ recruitment at Duke spans over three weekends and has 4 ‘rounds’. You go to different ‘parties’ where you essentially meet girls from each ‘chapter’ (sorority) and mingle with them in a kind of speed-dating, girl flirting, loud and very energized way for over seven hours each day. Each round has a different dress code ranging from ‘casual but cute’ to ‘cocktail’ on ‘bid day’. And most importantly it’s a BIG DEAL. Many American girls have spent their lives preparing for rush, are ‘legacies’ (with mothers, grandmothers etc having been part of a particular sorority). Fake tan, dieting, and careful outfit selection appear to be popular themes and girls were getting increasingly nervous as round one approached. There are after-all strict rules to be obeyed. There is to be NO TALKING to any sorority members once rush begins, not in the bathrooms, not in class, not anywhere. There is to be no discussion of the 5 B’s (Boys, Booze, Bucks, Bible and Bids) during recruitment ‘parties’. And the non-official rules, look good, smile and be classy.
Round one is now over, and I have visited 9 different sororities for 40 minutes chatting to 3-5 girls in each (guided by my ever-helpful Gamma Chi’s, aka group leaders). It wasn’t stressful, it was actually a lot of fun meeting all these interesting, dynamic and fun girls. It is, however, a little exhausting.

Hundreds of girls come out of each round and rush off to brush their hair, fix their lip gloss and pop a mint or two in their mouth before heading off to the next round. (I am most definitely one of them!) We fill the Durham Convention Centre with excited twittering and giggling, and stream out to board the buses, tired but excited for the next day.

Tomorrow is round 2, we have filled out preference cards stating our favourite 7 and bottom two sororities and are awaiting tomorrow when we find out who invited us back…and who ‘dropped us’ (a potentially horrifying prospect).

Good luck PNM’s and ladies remember…“Maximize your options” ;)