No frills recruitment ... what does that mean?

[KSUViolet06]

The general goal of no frills:

To focus less on stuff/decorations/outfits/skits/balloons/crafts and MORE on actual conversation with PNMs.

What it often became:

Kappa tattling on (example) Pi Phi because they have glitter on their tables and no decorations are allowed.

The transition time from frills to no frills in the mid2000 brought out the petty in all of us.

[SWTXBelle]

I like what Texas State does now - recruitment is held in hotel ballrooms. PNMs don't have to worry about the heat, or rain, each sorority is on a level playing field that concentrates the pnms' attention on things other than the house, and the houses don't have to be turned upside down for recruitment.

[Titchou]

And the day Ole Miss goes true no frills, I will be long dead and buried!!

[thetalady]

Originally Posted by Titchou

And the day Ole Miss goes true no frills, I will be long dead and buried!!

Greek Life at Ole Miss has taken some turns lately that would make your mouth drop. The lack of solid representation of NPC organizations in the Greek Life office (called Fraternal Leadership and Learning) is shocking to me. There is a single, part time grad student in the department that is a member of an NPC organization. None of the other employees in the department, professional University staff, are NPC. And that is just the start...

[Titchou]

I'm sure....all the more reason that true no frills won't happen. Someone may not have $10K worth of cream roses at Pref but the money will be spent somewhere...

[OldFLDDD]

I was really sad to hear that the houses no longer did skits, etc. when my daughter went through last year. I LOVED being a part of our skits back in the day and thoroughly enjoyed them as a rushee as well! BUT. That being said, there really wasn't much focus on the girls going through and getting to know them as much as it was "showing off" our girls and what WE were about. It seems like there was just a few minutes of talking before setting down to see the skits, which I believe we had for three rounds! So from that perspective, I get why they have gone to the No Frills style of recruitment. It focuses more on the value of each PNM as well as levels the playing field between the houses.

[Loyally Kappa]

Originally Posted by Titchou

And the day Ole Miss goes true no frills, I will be long dead and buried!!

I know for a fact that one house rented a baby grand piano this year because all the other houses had them. I don't think things are going to be totally no frill yet!

[33girl]

Originally Posted by OldFLDDD

I was really sad to hear that the houses no longer did skits, etc. when my daughter went through last year. I LOVED being a part of our skits back in the day and thoroughly enjoyed them as a rushee as well! BUT. That being said, there really wasn't much focus on the girls going through and getting to know them as much as it was "showing off" our girls and what WE were about. It seems like there was just a few minutes of talking before setting down to see the skits, which I believe we had for three rounds! So from that perspective, I get why they have gone to the No Frills style of recruitment. It focuses more on the value of each PNM as well as levels the playing field between the houses.

I think that skits were probably originally meant to be a light hearted 5-10 minutes where the rushees could sit down, eat, take a little break from all the questions. Good idea. Unfortunately they ballooned into Broadway-esque productions and too many generations of sorority members think that’s what skits are supposed to be.

[OleMissGlitter]

You all need to go and read the recruitment rules....I mean I am all for a "no frills"--seriously as a past network specialist for my sorority and a past chapter adviser from Ole Miss--everyone has needed to "tone" down things for a while.

http://panhellenic.olemiss.edu/wp-co...Procedures.pdf

However-just read the rules...the part of "flare jeans from a certain store" is the best rule I've ever seen. Apparently flare jeans are considered a costume

i. No costuming will be worn during Panhellenic Primary
Recruitment. Costuming is prohibited.
1. Sororities may not require or “strongly suggest” that members
purchase a specific article of clothing for recruitment (i.e., flare
jeans).
2. Chapters may wear “blue jeans” or matching t-shirts, but may
not require flare blue jeans from a certain store.



Another favorite is:
Videos may not show:
1. Men (i.e. Matt Luke, athletic teams, etc.)--this is very amusing to me.


Then it talks in detail about what they cannot do on Bid Day. By golly--they really just want them to make friends and not have any pretty balloons for cute pics in the background No balloons, no food trucks, etc
E. Bid Day
a. Chapter members and alumnae should not visit other chapters, including said chapter’s
house or designated bid day space.
b. All activities are alcohol and drug free. Even chapter members who are 21 years old
are not allowed to consume alcohol.
c. Chapter members are allowed to wear matching t-shirts on Bid Day.
d. The only outside decorations allowed during Bid Day shall be two banners, up to
three sets of wooden letters and three sorority specific props (e.g. Chi O can have an
owl as one of theirs).
e. There shall be no:
i. Balloons
ii. Streamers
iii. Confetti
iv. Food machines (i.e. popcorn or cotton candy machine)
v. Outside vendors (i.e.. face painter, balloon maker, DJ, etc.)
Recruitment Rules and Procedures 2019 | 19
f. All food and refreshments served on Bid Day must be served inside the sorority chapter facility with the exception of water being served outdoors.
g. There shall be no live entertainment (e.g. DJ or band), inside or outside, on Sorority Row or Rebel Drive. There may be music inside the chapter house off of a phone or laptop, but no outside person can be hired.
h. There shall be no non-familial men or alcohol during the Bid Day. Only new
members, active members, their families, and alumnae may be on the sorority chapter’s property during Bid Day activities.
i. Exceptions are limited to university officials and contracted photographers.



Lastly, I will say there is a rule (and I think this has been in place for a while) where you can't go house-to-house to see where your rush crush ended up. I get that and I really hope they enforce that. I can remember seeing groups of sorority women just wandering around looking for their "girl" to make sure she was happy or whatever. And all of the sororities use to do this.

Anyway, as an alumna with two young legacies we don't even try to go to bid day since it's really not our place to be there. I'm not an advisor anymore but I will come back one day. Anyway, cheers and best of luck to all of the Ole Miss PNMs this week! I hope you find your home like I did 23 years ago!

[33girl]

But considering the age group, I don’t think you really need to say “Wrangler skinny jeans” if that is what’s in, because no one would consider wearing Britannia flare jeans anyway, even if you just say “jeans.”

[alittleclueless]

Originally Posted by OleMissGlitter

However-just read the rules...the part of "flare jeans from a certain store" is the best rule I've ever seen. Apparently flare jeans are considered a costume

My guess is that this is to prohibit sororities from requiring their members to purchase high-end brands like Moussy (which run well over $300) and allow them to pick the brand and wear $19 Old Navy jeans if they want.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by alittleclueless

My guess is that this is to prohibit sororities from requiring their members to purchase high-end brands like Moussy (which run well over $300) and allow them to pick the brand and wear $19 Old Navy jeans if they want.

Ding ding!

[VioletsAreBlue]

As somebody who went through no-frills rush before no frills was a thing (small school, didn't have these big budgets), I have to ask. Before "no frills" existed, did you really get a chance to connect with women, if you were so busy with skits and crafts, etc.? I'm genuinely curious.

In my rush, I was simply brought around to have as many conversations as I could. There was a 5 presentation about our philanthropy and maybe a 5 minute video with photos and music to show the sisterhood, but other than that it was all conversation. Except for pref, obviously.

As for clothes, we were dictated down to the shoes. I remember there once being a HUGE argument about brown vs. black with a navy shirt.

[thetalady]

Originally Posted by OleMissGlitter

Lastly, I will say there is a rule (and I think this has been in place for a while) where you can't go house-to-house to see where your rush crush ended up. I get that and I really hope they enforce that. I can remember seeing groups of sorority women just wandering around looking for their "girl" to make sure she was happy or whatever. And all of the sororities use to do this.

Not ALL of the sororities used to do this and it was certainly not to make sure she was happy. I know of specific instances where those groups of girls would actually go to another house's bid day celebration to talk a particular girl OUT of accepting her bid and have no Greek affiliation for a year, with the promise that they would extend a bid to her the following year. Panhellenic violation much??

[VioletsAreBlue]

Originally Posted by thetalady

Not ALL of the sororities used to do this and it was certainly not to make sure she was happy. I know of specific instances where those groups of girls would actually go to another house's bid day celebration to talk a particular girl OUT of accepting her bid and have no Greek affiliation for a year, with the promise that they would extend a bid to her the following year. Panhellenic violation much??

whhaaattt? That's disgusting!