During fall rush, all eyes were on the University of Alabama for drama, fashion and it-girls. Moving into spring semester, eyes have turned to Southern Methodist University, a private university in Dallas. Although happening on a smaller scale, SMU’s sorority recruitment process has a lot of similarities to the big leagues — and TikTok is here for all of it.
Looking back to 2023 at the University of Alabama, we had some Bama it-girls that stood out during rush. Some of TikTok’s favorites include Bella (@bellagracegates), who stole hearts with her sweet attitude and colorful outfits. Another crowd favorite Bella (@bella.reaves) took over my FYP with her roommate to show off her Elle Woods style fashion. We even got to keep up with 2022 rush queen Kylan (@kylan_darnell) as she took on rush from the POV of a recruiter for 2023.
During SMU rush, a new queen has risen, and that queen is Alexandra (@queenalexandraaa). Alexandra rose to popularity because of her keen fashion sense, her love of pink, and the fact that she has the Queen of England on her wall, which TikTok was quick to point out in the comments. Alexandra still hasn’t updated us on what house she ended up rushing, but TikTok sleuths are on the case to try and figure it out.
Other notable figures within the world of SMU rush who have gone viral are Amaya (@amayapatel_), Heidi and Kasia (@blondenarcissists), and Piper (@princesspipess). These girls all got recognition largely for OOTD videos, which were a huge trend for SMU rush, but much like Bama rush, their recognition also comes from their personalities and the investment we have in their rush journey.
For SMU Rush, fashion is key.
For any sorority recruitment season, fashion is at the forefront. SMU is no exception. OOTDs are a common way for PNMs to connect with TikTok and were especially popular this rush season. Although shirts are often assigned to the PNMs for designated rounds, PNMs still pride themselves on making outfits of their own with fun jewelry and colorful bottoms. SMU limited their PNMs a decent amount by only allowing the girls to pick their entire outfit for pref (aka the final round of rush), requiring them to wear t-shirts for most rounds, but that didn’t stop our girls from showing off how they spiced their outfits up. Whether it’s Chanel shoes or the classic Van Cleef necklace, SMU girls know how to dress. I’m here to soak up the fashion inspo.
SMU RushTok has its fair share of drama, too.
Of course, no rush is complete without a bit of drama. We saw most of the drama from Bama rush this year through Morgan (@on_thedaily_with_morgan) after she was dropped from rush.
As for SMU rush, TikTok is coming together to rally for a PNM named Didi (@bobarista.shawty) after she was dropped by all houses. She posted on day four after getting cut from all houses to share what her outfit would’ve been for the round, as she only found out after getting ready. Her video is currently sitting at 8 million views and has garnered attention and comments from major brands like Urban Outfitters, as well as popular creators like Alix Earle.
Didi actually ended up posting a TikTok afterwards where she thanked people for the support, but also requested that people be kind to everyone involved in the rush process at SMU. “I think you can say kind things to me without putting down other girls, because a lot of the girls I met during this process were the sweetest girls ever,” she said, going on to talk about how she felt that she would continue to be friends with girls she met even after being removed from the process.
While rush at Bama and SMU are different, they share a lot of similarities as well. My personal favorite similarity is that dance videos haven’t ceased from the chapters — there are plenty of well-choreographed pieces executed in front of sorority houses for us to enjoy. The rush process just ended for SMU PNMs, starting on Jan. 9, and concluded on Jan. 14 with bid day. I’m sad to see SMU rush go, but the videos have just gotten me excited for the content to come in fall 2024 for rush!