Rush resumes with 14 Party

Alli King always knew she wanted to rush, but after 20 Party, she had to wait to go any further.

At first it was stressful. She thought about it sometimes through finals and break, but it was mostly in the back of her mind. She had ranked her top 14, but she didn’t know if any of those houses would ask her back.

“You really had no idea what houses you’d get back or if you’d be dropped for grades or anything like that,” she said.

On Thursday morning, she finally stopped waiting. Her Rho Gamma met with her group at the Union and pulled them all aside individually. When it was Alli’s turn, she was nervous. She got her schedule, and she got back all 14 of the houses she ranked.

“I would have been happy getting back 10 or 12 of the houses,” she said.

The recruitment process began again this week with 14 Party, which continued Friday. The women visited as many as eight chapters Thursday and six chapters Friday in rounds of 45 minutes each.

On North Jordan Avenue, potential new members, or PNMs, strode the sidewalks in jeans and boots, leggings and nice tops, consulting thin strips of paper that told them what house to go to next.

The Click Five’s “Just the Girl” poured out of speakers outside of Alpha Epsilon Phi.
“Cause she’s bittersweet, she knocks me off of my feet, and I can’t help myself I don’t want anyone else ... She’s just the girl I’m looking for.”

First Invite, said Ashley Clark, vice president of communication for the IU Panhellenic Association, is about getting to know the chapters more. Women in the houses often put on skits to impress their values, such as philanthropy, on potential new members.

On the extension, PNMs lined up in two lines outside Chi Omega. The women
inside burst into chants.

“C-H-I-O,” they sang, banging on the doors.

Across the street, Alpha Omicron Pi threw open its door, revealing women clapping with their arms above their heads as they welcomed their potential new sisters.

Though many women didn’t get all of their top choices back, they learned more about which houses were a good fit for them and continued the process. Freshman Dana Nathan said she still had hopes she would find her place in the greek system.

“You get to create relationships,” she said. “Everyone says you’ll have sisters for life, and I know that sounds cheesy, but it’s true.”

Women gathered outside AEPhi, waiting for the round to begin. Inside, women started screaming and chanting as they walked the PNMs out for the next round.

“How do I get on the bus?” one of the PNMs asked. “Where’s Kappa Delta?”

Rho Gammas, or temporarily unaffiliated women who serve as recruitment counselors, dressed in everything from wigs to candy striped pants. They helped women get from place to place and offered support and assistance. They used fake names to keep themselves unidentifiable with their chapters.

“We’re basically here to be the goofy, lighthearted part of it,” Rho Gamma “Jenna” said. “It can be a really serious process for a lot of girls, so we’re here to bring it back to earth.”

The PNMs are only in the middle of the process. After 14 Party, rush will continue Saturday with Second Invite, or 8 Party, followed by Preference Round on Sunday. Those selected receive bids Monday.

Though there are many rounds to go, Nathan said she trusts the process will work out how it should.

“It’s very competitive. Everyone says, ‘I got this house back or that house,’” she said. “But I think you get certain houses back for a reason.”

King said she was excited to continue as well.
“I think it’s more exciting because it’s all going to happen so fast now,” she said.