ISUKappa's Retro Recruitment

[ISUKappa]

Day 4 – Preference Night
2 parties of an hour each

There was no phone call or knock, so I knew I had at least one invitation this day. A.M. gave us our lists at 8:30 this morning and I was happy to see
England
Finland

I figured after my disastrous conversation on 5-party day that Germany would cut me, but I was still okay with the two chapters I had left. I had enjoyed England since day 1 and Finland had been growing on me. We had all day to prepare ourselves for the parties since they didn't start until 6:30 that night, and according to my rush book, we had rush group activities for a few hours that afternoon. I wore a black, calf-length sleeveless fitted jersey knit dress with white piping around the neck, arms and under the bust. It was my graduation dress and it was dressy without being overly so (but still totally 1997).

My first party was Finland. The house was decorated in mostly white with touches of the sorority's color(s) and flower(s) here and there. I think the active members wore white dresses and they sang a couple songs. I don't remember much else other than I think maybe we had chocolate covered strawberries for our dessert (Pref was the only time you could eat something). I think the gal who preffed me was a bubbly member I'd talked to earlier in the week and I'm sure they had someone talk about what the chapter meant to them. It was nice, but obviously not particularly memorable for me. At our place there was a sorority symbol that we were to pick up and put in a bowl on our way out. I thought I would fit in at Finland, but I couldn't wait to see England.

Next I went to England. We entered in the formal living area where a member with a beautiful voice was singing a song about the sorority. I was paired with a member I'd talked to few times earlier. After about 20 minutes, we went downstairs where a room had been decorated with white tulle and Christmas lights, and low tables had been placed around the room with candles (we still used real candles back then), a mirror, confetti and sorority symbols. I think we had cheesecake here, and either the sorority's name or our name was written on the plate. The member whom I was paired with had the whole table rolling (there were 6-8 of us around a table) with a story about how she'd almost set her hair on fire the previous year as a rushee. After eating, they had a member from each pledge class get up and share a touching story of what the chapter meant to them, plus the President and Rush chair spoke. There were lots of tears, from rushees and members alike, and it was very moving. At the end of the party, the rushees were to pick up the sorority symbol off the table and drop it into a “wishing well” before leaving the house while other active members quietly sang sorority songs. It just felt right, and I knew I wanted to be a part of this chapter.

After the last party, rushees were told to go to the Memorial Union to talk to a Rho Chi and fill out and sign her pref card. I met up with S and K while we were there and while we adhered to the strict silence rule while in the MU, afterwards talk was free game. I didn't take too long filling out my card and listed (in order)
England
Finland

On our walk back to our dorm, S and K shared their decisions. S had gone to Finland and Netherlands (we were at opposite parties for Finland, though) and while she truly liked both chapters, felt Netherlands was her home. K visited Norway and Ireland and SIP'd Ireland. We couldn't wait for Bid Day!