By Mike Bertram
The second week of September was quickly approaching, and Austin Hellman, the Recruitment Chair of Theta Chi, had a jam-packed Monday ahead of him for which to prepare. Cramming for two morning quizzes wasn’t the biggest priority at the forefront of his mind. Something much more exciting and fulfilling was buzzing around his brain. Rush Week! It was that time of year again where Greek organizations recruit new members to join one another in brotherhood and commitment. Despite the excitement, Hellman had his hands full with managing event planning and attendance.
Blasting music, laughter-filled skis and large, bright Greek letters littered the different greens around campus all week. The events lasted from about 5-7 p.m., but there was hardly a soul who left before 8 p.m. Moods were high and the good times rolled. Attire was as casual as casual can get. Brothers welcomed those interested in the fraternities, engaging in conversation and playing a corn hole game or two with them. And no party was left without great grub. After the event, multiple hour long meetings took place, discussing the events of the day.
The parties took over most weeknights until Saturday. Then the long anticipated moment came when those who accepted bids from one of the seven Fraternities got a chance to make the traditional run from the BandShell to the Greek Quad with the other new members.
“Rush Week is truly stressful for everyone, especially when you get so invested in certain kids and you want them to run down that hill with you so badly. But in the end it’s all worth it,” Hellman explains.
The proceedings of sorority recruitment week have a little bit of different story. Savannah Clark, a member of Zeta Tau Alpha, describes how their day slightly varies. It all begins with a beautiful dress, a sassy pair of heels and the perfect hair style. There is hardly a girl who doesn’t love to dress up. Clark says that all of the sisters are only allotted a short time frame to set up the event and members of Panhellenic must fine tooth comb the proceedings to check that no rules or guidelines are broken. It’s a much more formal event compared to the fraternity recruitment.
Once the setup is complete, the sisters have about 15 minutes to eat before the event starts and once it begins, they can’t touch any of the food. Each sorority has a maximum of 10 minutes to talk to the rush members before they must move on to a new group. Unfortunately, conversation often resort to surface levels.
“It’s a lot more formal and uptight then a lot of girls initially expect. Once they actually go through it they understand how difficult it is when they’re on their feet for 5 hours at a time talking to different sororities,” Clark comments.
In addition to this, those going through Rush may only accept one bid. Rho Gammas are in charge of helping rush members find their home.
“The job of a Rho Gamma is to make sure all the girls make it to the parties and that they find the proper place they belong. It’s one of the most important jobs in Rush Week and that’s why I decided to be one,” said Rho Gamma sister Gabby Yordan.
While both the fraternity and sorority recruitment weeks were crazy and fun-filled, the difference in how the events played out is considerably noticeable. Fraternities play on casual, recreational atmospheres while Sororities favor formal dress and focus on the conversation.
Some believe that the discrepancies in how the events are run is unfair, especially because it seems like the sororities get the short end of the stick. Despite the differences, what matters most is that new members happily found their true home among new brothers and sisters to share their experiences together at FSC.
