Allie Jones

Thinking about rushing a sorority?  Read the other side of the story, here!

I’ll admit: upon entering college last year, joining a sorority was not on the top of my priority list.  I wanted to get involved writing for campus publications, audition for theater productions, ace all my classes—basically, I wanted to be the same über-involved girl I was in high school.  To me, Greek Life seemed like a distraction from what was really important.  And besides, I had already been a high school cheerleader AND a Catholic school girl—adding “sorostitute” to the list seemed like one lame porn plot too many.

But nevertheless I found myself signing up for rush with the rest of my freshman floormates.  I figured I’d go through the rounds to see if I was missing anything, and eventually drop out if I wasn’t.

It turns out I was.  Meeting hundreds of girls in the span of two weekends may sound like a total nightmare, but it was the perfect way for me to meet like-minded women: driven, sociable, and engaged.  Rush was a way for me to get exposed to groups of girls outside of my freshman hall, and I’m still friends with girls I met during recruitment, regardless of whether I ended up pledging their sorority or not. 

So here is my experience in the first year of sorority life—I think my sorority spirit could even make Casey Cartwright proud.

Getting dumped is the absolute pits.  We’ve all been kicked to ye olde curb at least once in our lives (thanks a heap, Doug*, you crushed my fifth grade spirit), and it is never a picnic.  It is really the nature of the dumping, however, that determines the moroseness of the dumpee.  I believe the calculus is something like [(douchebag + new girlfriend) – thoughtfulness] x (# of times “it’s not you” mentioned) = # of pints Ben and Jerry’s consumed; but hey, math was never my strong suit.  If you’d like to think about it more linearly, here’s my list of ways to be dumped, from bad, to worse . . . to worst.

*name changed to protect the not-so-innocent

What did you do last night, collegiettes?  Stay out late at the bars? Trudge home from the library in the wee hours of the morning? Odds are, with finals coming up and holiday parties going down, you’ve been losing some sleep. It’s tough to keep your makeup and skin looking great after all those late nights! Cue makeup artist Faye Wypiszynski: founder and owner of Feya Cosmetics based in Chicago, IL.  Faye knows how to keep you looking fresh and awake.  After all, her past clients include Tipper Gore—if she can make a politico’s wife look alive on a grueling campaign trail, she must be able to make us collegiettes look alive during finals.  Read on for her insider tips

Don’t be afraid of oil!  
Faye notes that young women often make the mistake of avoiding oil-based soaps like the plague.  She insists that “oil on top of the skin generally won’t make you break out.  Young skin in changing weather often dries out too much, causing the surface skin to flake.”  Faye recommends switching to a milder, milky cleanser in the winter months.  Replace missing moisture with a gentle face wash like Cetaphil.

Avoid harsh products.  
Faye advises against using “constant-exfoliating products like Proactiv” without giving your skin a rest.  Products that use harsh agents to control acne are actually more effective if you don’t use them constantly, says Faye.  This way, you can get the benefits of exfoliation without over-drying your skin in the cold months.

College is a wonderful time for, ahem, exploration.  What we must remember however, my dear collegiettes, is that you have four (sometimes even five!) years to complete said exploration.  You need not make your way through all the fraternities in the first week of classes.  So which classic “freshman” moves should you avoid this fall?  Read on for HC’s top seven:

1. Posting pictures on Facebook of all your super cool party times. 
This is the easiest way to make yourself look like you are not super cool—after freshman year, no one post pics of that craaazy Wednesday night playing beer pong in a fraternity basement.  You can post photos from going out, but skip the ones with red cups or super-sloppy faces.  It just makes you look like you never drank before college if you have to constantly affirm on the Internet that you do, indeed, party.

2. Spending multiple nights at one fraternity house . . . with multiple members of said fraternity. 
Don’t get me wrong ladies.  It’s okay to have fun with guys, but having fun with guys who know each other/live together is a one-way ticket to a reputation you don’t want.  Nobody wants to be the Omega Chi Tissue Paper of Fall 2011 . . . just don’t do it!  Especially if you want to be able to hang out with that fraternity/group of guys longer than one semester.  Hook up with too many guys in a group, and it’s too awkward to go back.

Just pick one, OK??