This story was originally published in the Indiana Daily Student on Jan. 11, 2010.
Libby Lienhoop was born to be in a sorority.
Her parents met while they were in the greek system at IU, and her brother, aunt and grandparents also spent their college days in IU fraternities and sororities.
Libby grew up with her mother’s sorority memorabilia – mugs, clothing, jewelry and a rug that’s been falling apart for years that her mother refuses to get rid of.
Now a freshman at IU, Libby wants the same thing.
“When I was little, my parents would drive me around campus and show me the houses,” Libby said. “Being able to go through them all was just so fun. ... I just feel like it’s my turn.”
Libby was one of about 1,500 women to go through sorority recruitment in the last week. Rush began in December with 19 Party and ended Monday with Bid Day.
Knowing that IU has the most competitive recruitment processes in the country made Libby nervous, but above all, she was excited.
“I try not to think about it,” she said of not getting a bid. “It makes me really sad. I have no idea what I would do.”
However, Libby pushes any negative thoughts out of her mind and reminds herself what this process is really about.
“I’m just looking for good friends and good connections,” Libby said. “This is something I’ve been waiting my whole life for.”
FIRST INVITE, DAY ONE
The chants grow louder and louder.
“We are the Alpha Gams, Alpha Gamma Delta hey!”
Potential new members file into Alpha Gamma Delta as the sorority sisters yell, clap and welcome the women.
“Basically, we just want members that are going to positively affect our house,” says junior Rachel Brotman, vice president of recruitment for AGD.
At First Invite, each chapter prepares a skit to perform for the potential new members who have been invited back to the sorority.
The theme is “AGD Update,” and the women will use this skit to showcase the chapter’s personality.
“We do humor very well, so this is definitely our favorite part of recruitment,” Brotman says. “It allows PNMs to see who we really are.”
The skit begins and Taylor Swift enters the stage. She is excited to learn of a bid from Gamma Gamma Gamma until Kanye West takes the microphone and informs her that, in fact, Alpha Gamma Delta is the best house around.
Brotman says she can tell that a girl will fit into the house when the conversation clicks.
“It’s kind of called a ‘rush crush,’” Brotman says. “When you think back on it, it’s just the easiest conversation of the day. You’re smiling and honestly talking to a person, as opposed to ‘girl flirting,’ because that’s a lot of what recruitment is.”
***
Libby is jumping in the snow.
“I’ve been cooped up inside all day, and all I’ve wanted to do is play in the snow,” she giggles while bounding down the sidewalk.
Earlier in the day, Libby was handed her First Invite list, with all 14 houses back that she ranked during 19 Party.
“My Rho Gamma was like, ‘That doesn’t happen,’” Libby said of her recruitment counselor. “I was just so ecstatic.”
Libby’s excitement stayed with her throughout the day. She visited eight sororities and tried to keep an open mind.
“You hear stigmas and stereotypes of all the houses, and you try to erase them before you go in,” Libby said. “It makes it a lot better if you don’t think about it.”
At one sorority, Libby said she felt so comfortable that she didn’t even feel like she was going through recruitment. At another, she fell down the stairs and almost took some composites with her.
“I’m cracking up at myself ... and all the other girls are laughing,” Libby said. “But the girl who was rushing me, I just couldn’t get a laugh out of her.”
That’s when Libby knew that the house wasn’t right for her.
“I was just like, ‘Please laugh at me,’” she said. “Whenever you talk to the girls and you get them laughing, it makes the conversation a lot better.”
FIRST INVITE, DAY TWO
The sounds of whispering and shushing alternate, until the women begin yelling, clapping and banging on the doors.
“Zeta love is good, won’t you join our sisterhood, if you’d like to stay, you can be a ZTA ... a boom boom,” they yell, increasing the volume each time.
“If the chapter is having fun and the chapter enjoys this, the PNMs will, too,” says senior Lauren Tomboni, vice president of membership for Zeta Tau Alpha.
The potential new members are led away to chat with some of the sisters, while others set up the multipurpose room to look like “Movie Night with the Zetas.”
The Zetas act out “The Hangover,” “Confessions of a Shopaholic” and “He’s Just Not That Into You.” Tomboni says these movies each carry a meaning behind them, such as ZTA couldn’t work so hard at philanthropies if they were hungover every morning.
Different ideals are emphasized, but above all, Tomboni says conversation is key in her house.
“We’re looking for a pledge class that is well-rounded and well-suited for the house,” she says. “Asking the right question and getting answers that are actually meaningful ... is something we really focus on.”
***
Libby slipped again – this time in a mud puddle.
“I was walking on my tip toes, trying not to get the back of my pants wet from the snow,” Libby said. “Little did I know there’s a huge-ass mud puddle. I landed straight in it in my flats, and oh my gosh ... I screamed.”
She was already running late to a house, and having to clean mud off her “purple and brown feet” made it all worse.
However, she did have something to break the ice with.
“You get more relaxed and relieve some of the tension,” she said.
Libby visited six chapters that day, one of which was the “epitome of a sorority.”
“They always look good, they are always wearing makeup and are perfectly groomed,” she said. “I didn’t really see myself fitting in there.”
After finishing with all of her houses and having to narrow her list from 14 down to eight, Libby was stumped.
“Everybody else had their lists all done,” she said, “and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I don’t know what to do.’”
After finally selecting her houses, Libby said she was looking forward to Second Invite, the party where sororities provide some sort of entertainment to potential new members.
“With slide shows, you’ll be able to see how they portray themselves in pictures ... and what they’re really like,” Libby said. “I have more pictures of me being goofy and making silly faces than of me being serious. It will be interesting to see what kind of pictures they have.”
SECOND INVITE
The women of Kappa Kappa Gamma stand in two lines, forming an aisle between them.
“Kappa Kappa Gamma presents ... ” one woman reads, followed by a name. Each potential new member called back to KKG for Second Invite is announced individually.
“The nights are always rough and sometimes the voting is really long, but everything has been running smoothly,” says junior Sarah Capps, recruitment chair for Kappa Kappa Gamma. “Except last night the moving company forgot to show up, so that was ... well, there’s always surprises, but you just learn to roll with the punches.”
In the formal dining room, there are red linen-draped tables, all with coffee beans, candles and flowers strewn on top. Each potential new member is shown to a seat where a “Kappa Kappaccino” awaits her.
After a video and photo slide show, seven women step to the front of the room.
They sing “For Good” from the Broadway musical “Wicked.” Sisters standing around the room are sniffling, and at least one starts sobbing.
“We have singers that sing songs that deal with sisterhood,” Capps says. “The parties get a little bit more serious with this entertainment.”
***
Libby is confused.
While visiting her eight chapters, she had an awkward conversation at one of her favorite houses, and isn’t sure where she should rank it.
“This girl came up to me, and I had a bad feeling,” Libby said. “I should have never said the word ‘philanthropy,’ because that’s all she talked about ... I just wanted to tell her, ‘I don’t care, let’s talk about something else.’”
Libby was further confused by the atmosphere of the house, which was upbeat compared to the house she had just come from, where she got very teary.
“I knew it wasn’t going to have the same effect,” Libby said. “I mean, if you turn the lights off and give me the right song, I’m sure I can get emotional.”
And then she fell in love ... with a house.
“I felt totally relaxed,” Libby said. “When I was waiting for the round to start, they tell you to look around at the girls because they could be your future pledge class. I loved all those girls.”
After the day’s emotional roller coaster, Libby said she wouldn’t wear very much makeup for Preference Round.
“I’m afraid I’m going to cry, and I never cry,” Libby said. “I didn’t even cry during ‘The Notebook.’”
PREFERENCE ROUND
Women in white dresses descend the staircase, holding onto the railing decorated with white garland.
As one Pi Beta Phi sister gives the women a ten-second warning, another starts to fall down the stairs, but luckily, her sisters catch her.
“Smile bright,” says senior Elizabeth Adamo, recruitment chair for Pi Beta Phi.
“My whole theory is that a happy Pi Phi recruits a happy Pi Phi,” she says.
The women begin to hum in unison as potential new members are introduced one by one. A strand of pearls is placed around each woman’s neck as she is escorted into Pi Phi’s version of heaven.
There are white sheets covering the floor, walls and ceiling. Silver stars dangle alongside crystal chandeliers. The women sit on soft, white pillows, which surround tiers of treats – chocolate-covered strawberries, mini quiche, pineapple drop cookies and sparkling apple juice.
“It’s good because we have 100 girls here that can help set up,” Adamo says. “We have a pretty efficient system down.”
After chatting in heaven, the women are led into the entryway, where they are read the Eight Pearls of Pi Phi, including love, patience and honor.
“These are all really important characteristics we hope to see in our potential members,” Adamo says.
Next, the Fireside Chat is performed. Each sister holds a note card or slip of paper in hand and reads it to a specific potential new member, highlighting parts of a conversation they’ve had or aspects of the woman’s personality that they like.
“It makes the potential new member feel really special and recognized,” Adamo says.
***
Libby is ready.
After four rankings, seven days, 19 chapters, 44 parties and countless nerves, she knows where she belongs.
“They always say you’ll have a feeling and you’ll know ... and I was like, ‘That’s not going to happen to me,’” Libby said. “I’ve never been into the whole fate thing, but I kind of feel like that now.”
She said when she was talking to one of the women; she had to stop herself from breaking a rush rule.
“I just wanted to be like, oh my God, you are my sister,” Libby said. “I want to be in this house.”
Even though Libby said she has a good feeling, there’s no sure thing in sorority recruitment.
“It’s overwhelming just waiting,” she said. “I’m so nervous. I feel like I’m psyching myself out.”
However, Libby enjoyed her time at each chapter and said she could see herself in any of them.
“But it was just that feeling,” she said.
BID DAY
Women crowd around a bus in the middle of Jordan Avenue. They scream and bang on the bus’s doors and windows. They’re holding signs, balloons and cameras, waiting to take pictures with their new pledge class.
The doors open and Libby is the first one off the bus. She jumps off the last step and into the arms of her new sister.
She’s instantly holding a balloon and a sign, and she can’t wipe the huge smile off of her face.
“When I opened my bid, oh my God, I started crying,” Libby says. “I didn’t want to open it, and I inched it up, and I saw the ‘C’ and ... I was so excited.”
She’s being pulled in every direction; being introduced to her new sisters, taking pictures with her pledge class and hugging every woman in sight.
Libby is handed a black hoodie with her new sorority’s letters on it – Alpha Chi Omega. She pulls the sweatshirt over her head while continuing to jump up and down.
“This is fate,” Libby says.
She’s still smiling.
Interested in Fraternity rush?
- According to the Interfraternity Council’s website, there are 28 fraternities and 4 colonies at IU.
- IFC offers two opportunities to rush, one in the fall and one in the spring.
- Men’s rush is much more informal. There’s usually a registration event, and then men visit chapters, take tours and are invited to dinners at the chapters that are interested in them before being offered bids.
