Sorority rush is probably one of the most hectic and stressful times during the school year. Last year, I remember rushing with all of my friends and going to all of the fun events (mostly for the free food). I wanted to expand my friend circle and find a group of girls who would never leave my side. Now that I have had a year to reflect on my sorority rush, the time has come to participate in rush as an active sister. At first, I thought that being on the other side of rush would be similar to rushing as a freshman. I can’t believe how wrong I was; here are the top 5 things that distinguish rushing as a freshman and experiencing rush as an active sister of a Greek Organization.
The Amount of Time Taken
Rush was super time consuming as a freshman. With events from all the sororities going on every night, having time for homework and socializing with other friends was off the table. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I believed that as an active sister, rush would not be as stressful or time consuming as freshman year. Fun fact: I was wrong…really, really wrong. We are required to be at all events we host and need to meet as many potential new members as we can in a week.
Meeting New People is Easy (#fakenews)
As a rushee, memorizing the names of sisters in each sorority was something I found easy. However, as a sister who had to learn the names of over 50 girls in one week, it was challenging. I did not even talk to a lot of the rushees due to the one week time constraint. I almost felt bad if I couldn’t remember the name of a rushee who already knew mine.
Choosing A Greek Organization is Easier than Choosing a New Member
There are only 4 sororities at Kenyon College. This makes choosing your dream Greek Organization fairly easy if you know which group of girls you want to become your sisters. However, choosing new members is hard when you haven’t met everyone rushing your organization. I know I found it hard to remember girls when it came to deciding who gets a bid. (Advice for future rushees: Make a lasting impression! We know you’re cool, but make us remember you’re cool).
You Do Not Need to Attend Every Single Event (again #fakenews)
As a potential new member, everyone tells you that you do not have to go to every single rush event. It is, however, encouraged that you attend most events as a rushee to increase your chances of receiving a bid. If you are in a sorority, you are expected to be present at every event hosted by your organization. This three hour time block adds up throughout the week, making getting your work done challenging.
Rush Overall Helps You Expand Your Social Circle
This is the main reason why I love rush. As both a rushee and an active sister, I have met so many people that I connected with, even if we did not join the same organization. Rush taught me that being in a Greek Organization at Kenyon does not mean that you won’t be friends with anybody else outside of the organization. I made so many new friends during rush, and because of this, I look forward to rush every year.
Overall, rushing a sorority was one of my favorite experiences at Kenyon. As a past PNM, I remember making so many friends and finally finding a sorority with many lifelong friends. As an active sister, I will continue to look forward to rush events and meeting the new PNMs that will eventually join the sisterhood.