Rush Crush

Glitter, fuchsia sports bras, and monogram necklaces should not be determining factors for whether or not a girl receives a bid from a sorority. However, rumor has it that all of these props and costumes are dynamics that play a role in the Panhellenic formal recruitment process at The University of Texas at Austin. Recruitment, more commonly referred to as rush, is a grueling week long process that entails visiting fourteen sorority houses on campus. Though the cliché of “just be yourself!” is the motto for rush, the fact is that each and every girl is putting up a façade in order to represent her own idea of the perfect performance, while essentially selling herself to the sorority.

Although the system is supposedly confidential, oftentimes the recruitment process is criticized as superficial and unfair. Without a doubt, this claim can be justified considering that girls are initially judged based on five minutes of chit-chat with a current sorority sister to decide if a girl moves on to the next round. There are certainly contradictory aspects of this process, as well. First of all, each “rushee” is required to dress identical; day one and two consist of a plain white t-shirt and khaki shorts; day three requires a comfortable daytime dress; day four insists upon a conservative black dress; and the list goes on. How do these uniforms allow a girl to stand out among the crowd of mascara addicted, hairspray hooked, and overly enthusiastic young women?

The only picture I took during rush: an embarrassing selfie. Source: Bryna Herskowitz

Each sorority has its own method for singling out the 90 or so girls they are truly interested in among the 1,300 that are rushing. Bias also plays a fundamental role in formal recruitment due to the fact that having a sitting sister (a true sister related by blood) or legacy (mother or grandmother) that is in that sorority usually makes that girl an automatic recipient of a bid. There are many steps taken to prepare for the production that is rush, including buying outfits, writing essays, and asking for recommendation letters. Furthermore, older girls arrive in Austin days before rush begins in order to start “work week” and solidify their performance to the freshmen.

Shakespeare once proclaimed, “All the world’s a stage,” and rush is definitely a recital in its own right. The minor practices and more substantial training of the “rushers” and “rushees” combine to form a performance like no other. Though some may see this as hyperbole, formal recruitment is a type of Social Darwinism, à la The Hunger Games; only the best survive. Essentially, a girl must have all of the right components in order to make it into her top choice sorority. Whether this means literally practicing her performance in front of a mirror in the weeks leading up to recruitment, or putting on a persona similar to the one that she thinks that the sorority wants to see, each girl is performing for herself and for the sorority. Though rush concludes after one week, the decisions made during those few days impact college girls for the rest of their lives.