Joining a sorority is one of the many college “rites of passage” that many students may want to be a part of to make great memories to look back on. However, some students, including myself, who rushed while they were a junior, were not given a serious chance to be a part of some great groups that Augustana Greek life has to offer.
Throughout the whole rush process, students first sign up after seeing fliers scattered all around campus or through social media posts. As rush continues, they are driven to designated locations that each sorority and fraternity has set up for them to meet the potential new members (PNM). Each group of PNMs is ushered to different locations to talk to sorority members to get a feel for the dynamic of the group and for the sorority to meet each PNM.
Informal rush is a long and draining event, spanning three days where students talk to give the Greek groups a good first impression. But as the days continue, talking with so many people in each group can be exhausting, and when you’re exhausted you’re not your best self, making the rush process exhausting.
During my experience of rushing during my junior year, I enjoyed meeting all the sororities but was daunted by being surrounded by First-Years and sophomores, who are more common to see than upperclassmen.
After informal rush is over, formal rush begins. The sororities invite back PNMs they think might be a great addition to their group. Formal rush is almost the same as informal, except that it’s a smaller group visiting the sorority instead of the hundreds that came before.
In my experience, I only got invited to one of the six sororities on campus, which baffled me as I thought I made a great first impression with all the groups. Only being invited to one sorority didn’t give me an option to choose which Greek group I would like better and could join.
Despite me making a good impression throughout the rush process, it felt like none of the other groups wanted me to be a member because I wasn’t a first-year or sophomore, which, as mentioned earlier, is the majority of students rushing.
Being surrounded by people who were in positions I was in almost three years ago, and mentioning that I was a junior every time I was asked what my year was, it was as if I would never be considered simply because I was an older student.
Some may question why I didn’t rush while I was a First-Year or sophomore, but at that time I didn’t find an interest in joining a sorority. With this, I feel it should be mentioned that no matter what year a student is in, the groups should still heavily consider them to be a new member of the group instead of just underclassmen.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the sorority I joined. All the same, I do wish that the other groups invited me back, so I could get to know them better at their formal rush events and have a better experience during rush, not only for me but also for future upperclassmen.
