important question

ilovetheviolets · #1 09-08-2003, 07:34 PM

I was wondering how many chapters out there still do a frills rush, yes or no, please tell me where you're located (south, north, big school, small school). I am trying to find some support to a suggestion I'm making, I will not tell you what it is so no answer is biased. Please give me your honest opinions about frills recruitment vs. no frills recruitment.
(frills=all the bells and whistles, balloons in the thousands, etc...)
THANK YOU EVERYONE!
-Violets

DZHBrown · #2 09-08-2003, 07:49 PM

Well, while it's not on the scale of other schools, MTSU does a low frills rush. It's definitely scaled down over the years, so I'm thinking frills is on its way out! Any MTSU ladies want to chime in?
For instance, just two years ago (my senior year), we did lots of balloons and decoration for our chapter room the first night. Now, the first night isn't in the chapter rooms anymore and there's not *as* much decoration.
I think no frills is the way to go. If I were a PNM, I'd want to see what the chapter and the sisters were about, not how much they could spend on decorations and how well they could do it. While it is pretty and it is fun to see it all, it wears the girls in the chapter out to put it up every night, it's a LOT of money to spend on something that will be seen in one night and it's not what is important.
MTSU is in Middle Tennessee (30 miles SE of Nashville). There are 21,000 on campus, but last I heard only 7% of the population is Greek.

AXWhoah · #3 09-08-2003, 07:53 PM

University of Arizona (large Pac-10 school about 35,000 students) is still very much a frills school. We have door chants, fun matching outfits, skits....but we're trying to move toward no frills, though I'm not holding my breath. Meaning it will be a long while before we get there. Some of the things that have changed since I've been here....no food on pref night (used to be fancy desserts), no identical matching clothes, no jewelry (so girls can't be all Tiffed out)...small things.

AUDeltaGam · #4 09-08-2003, 08:40 PM

Auburn University- Auburn, Alabama...

FRILLS ALLLLL THE WAY!

Glitter650 · #5 09-08-2003, 08:41 PM

My school which is VERY non competetive and small rush (3 NPCs) we have very VERY low frills rush... we decorate.. but it's a few balloons and some streamers and maybe some things on the walls, nothing too extravagent... and we have food on pref... but my chapter just does choc9olate strawberries and sparkling cider and I've heard other chapters do like mini cheese cake or some simple little thing... no like SUPER fancy food or anything like that and matching clothes yeah... but stuff from your closet basics.l. (black shirt, khakis) not the same J crew Black shirt and Gap Khakis or whatever..

DZHBrown · #6 09-08-2003, 09:43 PM

Just to add a little more - as long as I've been involved with Panhellenic at MTSU, we've never been allowed to serve any food or beverages to the PNM's during recruitment (except during COB events). We do still dress alike (either exactly matching or similar). We do still do the songs and chants (which I like!). Mainly what we've cut down on is the amount of decorations. (I think)

Well, I've used lots of parentheses in this!

adpiucf · #7 09-08-2003, 10:40 PM

UCF is no frills--- when I went through back in the "day," it was the first year of no frills--- you went from frills with prom dresses and evening gowns everyday to ice water parties with minimal decor and pretty dresses-- now it is khaki shorts and a maximum of 30 balloons inside the house, no skits and minimal decorations.

Believe it or not, I love it this way! It shows the real side of the sisterhood--- conversation is what should motivate a member to join-- not a longing to join because someone pulled out all sorts of bells and whistles. We must remember-- these women are in college to LEARN-- why get all stressed out about covering the house in glitter and glam, and they have a BUDGET to maintain-- why spend it all on recruitment decor when it can be used for advertising recruitment, buying chapter house necessities, throwing great philathropy events and sisterhood retreats, social, etc.--- I am not saying the houses shouldn't be clean, the women looking alert and their best-- just that you don't need to have a tulle waterfall draped gracefully down your staircase and the entire house masked in fabrics. Let's get to the nuts and bolts-- the core of membership-- the members themselves-- invest in good conversation workshops and programming to increase their ability to successfully recruit and retain members!

AGDee · #8 09-08-2003, 10:45 PM

I think that no-frills is a lot easier for the sorority women and less confusing for the PNMs. When I went through rush (yes, back then it was rush), they had a skit for each party, food and beverages for each party, a party favor (something with letters or flowers, etc.), name tags and decorations that all followed a theme. Add learning rotation, songs, finding apparel and trying to remember all the PNMs and it was an inordinate amount of work AND expensive. We did this both in the fall and winter semesters to boot! No frills brings it down to what is really important.. who the sorority women and PNMs really are.

Dee