All the doors to the sorority houses were wide open, tiny white
lights had gone up, and young women were functioning on minimal
sleep.
The tension and excitement stemmed from the annual recruitment
period, commonly known as rush, when aspiring members visit the
houses on sorority row, and decisions are made.
The first week of school gave each female student at UCLA the
opportunity to become a member of one of the 11 sororities on
campus.
This period, which bred anxiety and anticipation for potential
members, also created an atmosphere in which active members worked
furiously to set up for each day’s events.
“During rush, everyone is really busy. Last night two
girls fell asleep standing up as they were taking down decorations.
… Girls are having nightmares right and left,” said Melissa
Miller, president of Chi Omega, as she was getting ready for a skit
in which she would portray the character Miranda from “Sex in
the City.”
The sororities’ process is more formal than that of their
fraternity counterparts, and in many ways more intense.
Meanwhile, a sorority member walked up the steps to the house
and said she was having nightmares about her computer crashing as a
result of working with computerized bid lists.
While many sorority members say the process is tiring, they also
say there is a lot of excitement involved.
“It’s great because everyone has to come together.
We have 72 girls in our house and they’re all here. … It
really creates sisterhood bonding,” said Becky Silberman,
president of Alpha Phi.
Active sorority members arrived at UCLA anywhere between a week
and two weeks before school started in order to prepare for
rush.
Included in the preparations for rush, sorority members listened
to alumnae talk about their chapter’s history, and
participated in workshops about recruitment rules.
The Panhellenic Council, an organization that consists of active
members from all the sorority houses, organizes the activities and
schedules for rush. The council also decides upon the rules active
members are suppose to follow during rush.
One of the rules cites that for the first three days of the
recruitment period, sorority houses are not allowed to serve food
““ only lemon water can be served. The reason for this rule
and many others is the fear that “dirty rushing” will
occur.
“Dirty rushing” is the term used for unfair rushing,
when potential new members make decisions on houses they want to
enter based on influences such as the type of food served at an
event.
“The rules are strict because we don’t want to run
the risk that someone will taint their perception of a sorority
when they see something outside of a scheduled event,” said
Paige Sawyer, director of recruitment for the Panhellenic
Council.
Most sorority members say going through a formal rush forces
potential members to make decisions based on the relationships they
create, and not on their preconceived notions of sororities.
“One of the problems with the Greek system is that there
are so many stereotypes ahead of time. The rules are there to
perpetuate a better understanding of the system,” said Keri
Conner, a member of Delta Gamma.
The four-day rush process, which began Monday, started with
potential members visiting all 11 sorority houses, for 35 minutes
each.
Following the rushing process is Bid Day, which will occur Sept.
29, when potential new members will receive an invitation to a
sorority house.
During rush, the number of houses potential members visit
gradually decreases, and the amount of time they spend at each
house increases. The result is a greater opportunity to form
relationships with active members.
As potential members filed in and out of the sorority houses,
which were decorated by themes such as “Hollywood,”
they were faced with a variety of entertainment options.
Active sorority members said they meticulously planned skits,
cheers, dances and songs.
On Wednesday, the Delta Gamma sorority house planned a slideshow
in which three screens were utilized, and pictures were shown in
sync with music.
Thursday was the last night of the rushing process, which is
referred to as Preference. Potential new members visited only two
houses ““ their top choices ““ for an hour and fifteen
minutes each.
Preference, which is steeped in tradition, begins at 7 p.m. when
the active members step outside their houses dressed in black
cocktail dresses, and proceed to sing to potential members.
While the rushing experience was hectic and extremely busy for
all sorority members, many said the benefits outweighed the
exhaustion.
“At the end of the night, everyone is proud of everyone
else, we couldn’t be a house without rush. … It’s all
about sisterhood and friendship, when all our hard work comes to
fruition,” Miller said.