During first sets, each girl participating in sorority recruitment must visit every single house. These first few days are hectic, as the biggest challenges consist of finding each house, making it there during your scheduled time slot and finding your designated spot inline. Here, directional skills and time management skills come into play. Also, during these "mixers" it is important to make sure you are able to make a good first impression in the few minutes you have in each house.
As each round continues, girls must decide which houses they would like to cut from their list. They also must strategize the order in which they rank each house on their list. This involves evaluation of experiences in each house. Additionally, this involves thoughtful strategizing as girls must also take into consideration which houses may be cutting them during the given round.
As the rounds continue and the list of house options are narrowed down, the time spent in each house gets progressively longer and it becomes more important to make a good impression in the houses that you would like to keep visiting. At this point in time, the game consists of making sure you win over the minds and hearts of the members of the sorority, playing up your strengths and the qualities that make you a good fit for the house in question. Obviously, there is a limited number of spots in each house for new members. As the rounds continue, competition gets stiff.
As unfortunate as it may be, sorority recruitment possess many qualities of games. There is an element of competition as there is less space in houses than there are girls going through recruitment. There is the element of strategizing as girls must be sure to think about the cuts and rankings. Lastly, there is the element of being good at the game of interpersonal interaction. While some girls are able to effectively display their strengths and positive qualities during visits in houses, other girls struggle to give off an amazing impression, despite how personable they may be. All of these factors determine the success that one will have during sorority recruitment.
Ugh. Sorority Rush... honestly, what else is there to say? All through elementary, middle, and even high school, teenage girls are known to be mean, manipulative, and sneaky; all of these qualities are represented in forms of "cliques" and then the roles each girl assumes in the one they belong. Each clique contains unspoken "rules" that each girl must follow and stand for in order to maintain their status. As we age, we learn how hurtful and simply bad these cliques can be, yet as we grow, we seem to be more and more harsh with these actions. Coming into college, a girl may take this journey and think of it as a relief- finally one is able to escape all of these tricky little games and create a new life for themselves in a new place with new people... and then comes sorority rush. Although I admit, I, too, am a part of a this process, but I can confidently say I joined for different reasons than some girls do. To be in a sorority is supposed to promote love, sisterhood, and philanthropy- and don't get me wrong, it definitely brings in these aspects- but at the same time, it's all a competition of who is "cool enough" and "deserving" of holding a spot in a sorority, all to maintain a position in a high social status and standing. Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore my sorority and all it stands for, but at the same time- aren't I little old to be joining a "girls club," judged for which house I chose to be apart of, and then repeat the experience on younger girls- judging them and picking them apart to make sure they are fit for my house? I think so. The fact that each house has practices and strategies for rushing girls further proves all of it's game-like qualities. All of these sororities, cliques, groups, etc. available to join as we grow older prove how many games are present in our lives, and it's all about how we play that determine how we are viewed.
ReplyDeleteAmanda Schmerin
The true issue I see with fraternity/sorority recruitment is the limited amount of time you have to get to know the new freshmen on campus. Other schools like Vanderbilt simply do a the rush process in the school's second semester, so the freshmen can get a better feel for where they fit in. Currently, we have about 4 weeks in which to determine the group of people that we will be hanging out with for the rest of my years in college. That's way too short of a time to get to know people. I truly believe a lot of the stress and problems with the current organization of rush is the 4-week long period of time to get to know people.
ReplyDeleteI really agree with your post Paige! While the purpose of recruitment is to essentially see where you feel like you belong, it is sad to say that the entire process is ultimately a game. While the girls who are "rushing" feel the need to impress the houses they want to get into, it can definitely be seen as a form of "deception," as they are showing the girls in the various "houses" the person they want them to see. Furthermore, this relates to the idea of the "imaginary audience," essentially being the person you want people to see you as. Another aspect of the process which can be seen as a form of gaming is the idea that each girl rushing is essentially competing with the rest to get in the house they want. Because each sorority can only accept a limited number of women each year, there is no doubt that competition comes into play. From the other side of recruitment, the girls who are doing the recruiting are essentially playing a "game" as well, as they are on their best behaviors, putting a smile on their faces, and acting extremely interested in every conversation, despite how they may truly feel about the girl they are talking to. This tends to be the case, because every house wants to be "wanted," making the different sorority houses competitive with each other as well. I think that this gaming aspect of recruitment essentially ruins the whole purpose of why people rush in the first place. While the purpose of rush is to let both the girls rushing and the girls in each house to get to know each other, and see where they belong, by "masking" one's true self, despite which side of recruitment you are on, how is one supposed to see where they truly fit? Contrastingly, how is one able to decide whether a PNM (potential new member) fits the standards of their house if they are unable to see that person's real true self? Therefore, I completely agree with you that recruitment is a form of gamin within itself. Specifically this aspect of recruitment is what should be reassessed, in order to fix the problems that arise from it.
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