Here is a recent article about Stanford Rush thru the eyes of a PNM
http://daily.stanford.edu/tempo?page...y=0001_article
One girl, one goal: Become Greek
By Victoria Degtyareva
Staff Writer
Friday, April 22, 2005
You may have seen the throngs. The mini-skirt-wearing, trendy-purse-toting, perfect-hair-sporting throngs.
It could only mean one thing: sorority rush.
From March 30 to April 4, Stanford girls whipped out their best schmoozing skills in hopes of getting an invitation to join one of Stanford's five Intersorority Council sororities.
For Silvia Sanchez, a freshman living in Roble, the experience was eye-opening.
"Throughout the year I had sororities in the back of my mind," said Sanchez. "I was pretty much set on joining even before the rush process started."
Rush officially started on a Friday night with an Open House, at which girls could attend 35-minute "parties," each sponsored by one of the five sororities, to begin deciding the process of mutual selection.
"The first day was so much fun; it was completely different from what I expected," said Sanchez. "I came in with a preconceived notion of what a sorority is all about, but the girls completely changed my mind about everything. They are just normal people who don't live up to all the bad things people say about them."
Sanchez said the best part of the night was that she felt she could be herself around the sorority girls.
On Saturday morning, the girls anxiously went to find out how effective their social skills had been and which sororities had invited them back for another round of parties.
Sanchez was happy to discover that her performance at the Open House had won her four invites<\p>--<\p>one to Kappa Alpha Theta, one to Pi Beta Phi, one to Chi Omega and one to Delta Delta Delta.
The second night, the girls could potentially attend up to four sorority parties, each lasting 40 minutes, depending on how many invites they had received from the previous evening. If a girl received five invites, then she would have to choose only four out of the five.
"When we arrived at the parties, the sorority girls were in two lines and we walked through the lines, talking to one girl at a time," said Sanchez. "Also, each of the sororities prepared a skit to let us know what they are all about."
Sanchez said that at this event she felt even more comfortable than at the last.
"I didn't feel like I was being interrogated at all, it was more like a conversation," she said. "It's a process of mutual selection so I was gauging them just as much as they were gauging me."
After the parties, the competition increased as sororities narrowed their choices for new recruits. On Sunday morning, the remaining girls nervously picked up their second invites to see which parties they could attend that night. At this point, the girls going through the process had to narrow their choices from four sororities to three.
"I went to three parties tonight and spent 45 minutes at each one," said Sanchez after going through the Sunday night round. "The main emphasis of these events was the philanthropic aspect of the sororities. I was very impressed with all of the good things these girls do for the community."
Sanchez said that her positive opinion of the sororities was only reinforced by the night's events.
"Overall, today was just a very awesome day," she said on Sunday. "I really liked the fact that we got to participate in the girls' charities. I felt like I got to take part in something really good and it only made me want to join the sororities even more."
However, while trying to establish friendships with the sorority members, Sanchez did not have time to meet the other girls who were being recruited.
"I haven't met too many of the rushees and the ones I have met, I don't know very well," she said. "But they all seem like really nice girls who are looking forward to the same things that I am. They seem like very driven and goal-oriented girls, as most Stanford people are."
The next morning, the girls went to pick up their vital fourth-round invites. While the girls were allowed to attend a maximum of two one-hour parties, Sanchez received only one invite<\p>--<\p>to Tri Delt, her first-choice sorority.
This last event was more formal than the previous three and was held at the Sheraton in Palo Alto. According to Sanchez, there were dramatically fewer girls than there were at the beginning of the rush process.
"This event was a lot more personal than the others had been," said Sanchez. "The girls showed us a video and told us about what made them choose their particular sorority."
After attending the parties, the rushees were not allowed to talk to any of the sorority members or any of the other rushees, in hopes that they would be able to make their own final decision without any influence or pressure.
The next day came the moment of truth<\p>--<\p> bid day. From 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., the few remaining girls picked up their sorority bids and decided which bid they would accept.
Sanchez received one a bid to join Tri Delt, which she accepted.
"From the very beginning I had Tri Delt in mind because I knew a few of the girls in the sorority and got along with them really well," she said. "During the process I clicked with the Tri Delt girls more than with any of the other sororities. I could really see myself living with these girls, being their close friend and confiding in them."
Sanchez said she felt the rush process was a very positive experience and is excited about becoming a part of Tri Delt.
"There are many advantages to joining a sorority, you get to miss out on the Draw, you have networking opportunities for the future and you make a lot of close new friends," she said. "I feel really bad for the girls who dropped out in the middle of the process or who didn't get any bids."
