There’s A Lot Of Jumping And Clapping
Before you enter the sorority house, a lot of weird shit is going to happen, and I’m just hoping that if you know what to expect, it will be less weird. You will hear a bunch of girls cheer screaming inside the house, and they will be aggressively banging on the door. It’s honestly creepy, and sounds like banshees are trying to escape. I don’t know why we do it. Then the door will open, and you may or may not be faced with what’s called a “door stack.” Girls will mystically pile on top of each other to methodically sing their song at you as you stare. It looks like this.
Then they will form some sort of tunnel of jumping, clapping, singing, smiling women that you’ll walk through. Someone will grab you, and then you follow her, but she won’t really acknowledge you other than a “Hi!” until the song is over, at which point, you’ll talk and tour the house. The rest of it will be fairly normal except for the interruptions every five minutes when a new sister comes to have the same conversation with you. At the end, you’ll hear the song getting louder and louder as more sisters realize it’s time to wrap things up, and all the PNMs will be slowly guided out like ghosts.
This is all super intimidating, but don’t let it intimidate you. It’s just a few days of weird, and then you’ll find your home.
Word Spreads
My junior year of recruitment, there was a PNM who really hated one of the sororities. So much so, that she was purposely rude to the girls, and didn’t even get ready to go to their house. She wore khaki pants and a polo, and then went home and changed to come back to the other houses. She couldn’t be banned from recruitment for it, but word spread about her like wildfire through the Greek community, and she was promptly dropped by every house after that for poor form. Point being, don’t do anything really shitty or crazy in one house and expect a clean slate in another. An awkward conversation, or even tripping will easily be forgotten. Purposely fucking shit up will not. Just be a good person.
Don’t Talk About Boys
The “three B’s” of sorority recruitment are booze, boys, and beliefs. Depending on the house, sometimes sisters will casually drop a line about partying, and I think that’s fine even though it’s technically against the rules. (Keep in mind, YOU should not bring it up. She just wants to let you know her house rages.) “Beliefs” generally means political and religious beliefs, and I don’t think it’s the world’s worst to mention that you go to church on Sundays or that you worked on some politician’s campaign.
But boys? I would stay away from the topic. The more specific you get about a boy, the worse. Girls are too possessive, and you just don’t want your relationships with boys to affect your relationships with girls. The frat you’re obsessed with might have fucked the sorority over during homecoming. Or maybe the names you’re dropping are a girl’s best friends, and you’re just making yourself look like the desperate freshman for thinking you’re about to date this playboy. Your current hookup might be someone’s ex-boyfriend. There’s so much that could go wrong when you bring up boys, and it’s just not worth it.
Sorority girls are not perfect.
The scariest thing about going through recruitment is honestly the stereotype that sorority girls are perfect. And during recruitment, they’ll look perfect, which only makes it worse. But, hello, right now you look perfect too. You put on your fake lashes, and just got your roots died, and you got a spray tan, and put on a full face of makeup, and wore a new dress, just like they did. This is a special event, and you’re all treating it like one. And that’s fine. They are trying to impress you just like you’re trying to impress them. But in conversation, you’ll find a lot of them are goofy, and silly, and really normal. 10/10 don’t jump, clap, and sing on a regular basis. They mostly just eat chips and salsa in sweatpants and greasy buns.
You WILL get dropped.
Everyone goes into recruitment thinking they found the sorority they want. You’ve stalked the website and the Instagram account, and you think you know where you want to be. But it’s not just about wanting to be somewhere. It’s about belonging. And that is what makes recruitment tough for a lot of girls. They say it’s a mutual selection process, but for the beginning rounds, it’s the sororities doing most of the selecting. The fact of the matter is you WILL get dropped from some houses, and it doesn’t feel good. You’ll question yourself, and you’ll almost definitely cry at some point throughout the week. I know this isn’t encouraging, but you have to trust the system. You’ve only known the sorority for a week. The girls have known the chapter for years and they know who belongs. They’re trained for weeks to scout out the people who will bring out the best in their organization, and if you’re dropped by a sorority you loved, it just allows you to find the sorority that loves you. You just have to believe that it will work out. I urge you to see it through to Bid Day. It will be worth it..
Nice Move454
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Veronica Ruckh
Veronica (@VeronicaRuckh) is the Director of Total Sorority Move for Grandex, Inc. After having spent her undergraduate years drinking $4 double LITs on a patio and drunk texting away potential suitors, she managed to graduate with an impressive GPA and an unimpressive engagement ring -- so unimpressive, in fact, some might say it's not there at all. Veronica has since been fulfilling her duties as "America's big," a title she gave to herself with the help of her giant ego. She has recently switched from vodka to wine on weekdays. Email her at veronica@grandex.co
@VeronicaRuckh
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