This weekend the rooms in the Student Union will be filled with women, but don't get too excited, men - it's a sister affair.
The Greek Association and Panhellenic Council will be holding the annual event known as formal rush. The Panhellenic Council is the governing body for all on-campus sororities, and the event is used as a formal recruiting tool.
To attend formal rush, female students simply have to give their name, person number and an entering fee of $15 to any active sorority member on campus. The council this week has planned a series of events in the Student Union.
Each sorority will be represented at a table and will give possible rushees a chance to meet with sisters and alumni of each organization. The $15 can be dropped off at the sorority tables this week or at the Student Affairs office.
Each rushee interested in joining formal rush will be given a pamphlet about the separate sororities when visiting the Student Union during the week. They will also receive a white ribbon, which they must wear when participating in the formal rush activities.
"It's a great way to get a feel for everyone," said Phi Sigma President Chelsea Signore.
Any female student can sign up as long as they are registered for at least 12 credit hours and have a GPA of 2.0 or higher.
Formal rush officially starts Thursday with an information session by the Panhellenic Council. The council consists of seven members, one from each sorority.
During the information session the girls will be given a rundown of rush events planned for the week. Friday night at 9 p.m. everybody will meet in the Student Union, when the fun portion of rush begins.
During the Friday night session each rushee will visit with all seven sororities. They will listen and be entertained with songs, icebreakers and skits in each of the seven sororities' themed rooms.
Some popular themes of the past were an army motif in which the sorority's room was decorated in black and camouflage and a hippy theme where the sisters covered the walls with Jerry Garcia bears.
The formal rush process is considered short, according to Signore.
"After the first night, each girl is told to write down the five sororities they would like to receive a bid from out of the seven," Signore said. "On Saturday they will go through the same process except they will write down four."
The girls will continue to do this everyday until early next week. At that time each rush will have dwindled their list down to their two favorite sororities. The girls will then attend two preference parties typically held in Capen, one for each of their top two sororities.
"Formal rush is a good tool to weigh out the different sororities," Signore said.
After the preference party the girls will be directed to write down their top three sororities they would like a bid from. Wednesday morning the seven sororities will have a bid-matching meeting according to the girl's rushing bid lists and the sororities' list.
The formal rush process will come to an end next Wednesday at the office of Student Affairs, 150 Student Union. The girls will receive bids from sororities and decide whether or not they would like to continue through to the pledging process.
However, formal rush isn't all about receiving bids. It is also an easy system for students to meet sisters from many different people and learn about Greek life.
The process of organizing formal rush week has not been an easy one. Many sororities including Phi Sigma came back early from break this year, to begin practicing for the event.
According to Signore many sororities often practice two to three hours during the week and even longer on the weekends to prepare for rush.
"Formal rush is hard to run and takes a lot of work, time, and effort," said president of the Panhellenic council Jillian Burke "It becomes one of your number one priorities."
In addition to all members helping out for rush week, two sisters from each sorority are elected in the fall to be rush councilors. As rush councilors they are responsible for bringing the girls around to events and answering any questions they may have.
The job forces the rush councilors to disaffiliate themselves from their respective sorority until the end of formal rush to make sure they have a neutral appearance to the girls rushing.
The formal rush process is supposed to be fun and entertaining, and if someone decides after the weekend that she no longer wants to continue pledging, she can bow out.
"No matter what way you're leaning towards, it can't hurt to check out some of the sororities and see what's out there," Burke said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
