TEXARKANA MAGAZINE
with my natural preference for a sense of connection, I decided to go through rush and pledge a sorority. Because my mom was also in a sorority, I was considered a “legacy” in that particular one, therefore having some sort of “foot in the door.” However, Momma made it clear she wanted me to go through my own process and find a home that was best for me, even if that meant not pledging the same sorority as her. So, I joined hundreds of other girls on campus, going from house to house all week, meeting sorority girls passionate about their sisterhood, philanthropy, and placement on the University of Arkansas map. I will be the first to admit the process of going through rush, now called “recruitment” in Greek-life lingo, can sound incredibly silly and rather judgmental. Those going through it are hoping to make a good impression and find their place in a home full of girls who have studied you the weeks prior. The sororities know your name, your hometown, your reputation, and, unknowingly to you, may have even been looking at posters of you plastered on their bathroom mirrors or eating cookies with your name on them from your hometown’s alumna group during “work week.” At the end of every day, the girls going through rush make decisions to narrow down their preference sheets, therefore “cutting” those sororities with whom they felt less comfortable. At the same time, the sororities are making their own cuts to narrow their list down to girls they want as potential sisters. The two lists are combined to determine the next day’s round of visits. The optimal situation is for preferences to align and for girls to be invited back to their chosen sorority houses. Unfortunately, it does not always work that way. Girls are not always invited back to the sorority houses they liked, and the sororities find out one of their favorite girls chose not to come back. Feelings get hurt, and depending on the passion one may have
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LIFE & STYLE
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