Winning the competition for the next crop of littles is a task that requires creative thinking and a unique twist that will set your house apart from all the others. If you're reading this blog post, chances are you're a sorority recruitment chair or someone actively involved in planning a rush event that is looking for an amazing event idea that will make your letters shine brighter than all the rest. As a traveling comedy troupe, we here at Riddlesbrood take our whimsical brand of lunacy to all kinds of different venues all over Pennsylvania and New Jersey -- wedding halls, restaurants, and even retirement homes. But some of the best events we've ever participated in have been sorority parties -- both Rush and non-Rush.
If you're looking to deftly avoid continuous open bidding and make Preference Day a cake walk, here's our advice.
Advice for the Above and Beyond Crowd
Originally, Greek Life recruitment was referred to as "rush" because fraternities and sororities would literally run to freshman dorm rooms on move-in day in a fierce competition to get as many freshmen for their house as possible. By comparison, modern day Greek communities have made recruitment much more amicable, but that sense of competition is still there bubbling under the surface -- causing a shift in focus from quantity to quality.
Today, recruitment is about attracting PNMs entering your college or university to not only the Greek Life culture as a whole but specifically to your house as future sisters. Making sure that you have your choice from the plethora of candidates means you'll need to throw Rush events that leave everyone talking. Spicing up the standard itinerary of pajama breakfast parties and girls in pearls meet-and-greets should be your number one priority. Given how much of your Rush roster has been homogenized by your Greek Life adviser, any opportunity to showcase your particular sorority will give you an edge when it comes time to hand out bids.
Tried-and-True Themes
For those of you who are looking for a general list of sorority Rush party themes, we have compiled one for you from photos and videos of Rush events we've seen on YouTube. Hopefully, this list will prove inspirational:
A custom Show
blacklight
board game night
casino night
costumes
country western
Disney-theme
etiquette dinner
mani-pedi party
masquerade
pajama party
single-color theme (blue, pink, white, usually house colors)
southern-belle party
sports tailgate
Game Show party
win-lose-or-draw
Sorority interest sessions are all the same; so you're not going to rock anyone's world there. Instead, you're going to be looking to make your mark at the sorority-hosted events. Most Pan-Hellenics limit how many of these you can host, so making each one count is essential.
You may also want to check out the following Web sites for decoration ideas and other resources.
Brains and Bounties: How to Stand Out in the Crowd
Congratulations. You have made it to the end of the article. As a reward, we are now going to share with you the plans for the ultimate secret recruitment weapon.
Inviting PNMs to a live comedy performance in your house or at the student rec center is a nuclear bomb of awesome that can give you a massive recruiting edge. It has the potential to showcase not only the fun and lively atmosphere the girls can expect when they join your chapter, but also the personalities of the potential bigs they'll be partnered with.
For instance, our comedy troupe has a game show event that always goes over well. We work with the sisters to gather information that we can then turn into customized questions. On the day of the event, we bring in actual podiums that the "contestants" can stand behind with real working buzzers.
We also host scavenger hunts which are highly customizable to both your campus and chapter. These hunts can be catered to include chapter-specific items or landmarks that help explain more about your house.
Philadelphia Sorority Rush
Even if you don't live in our area of the U.S., chances are there's a local comedy troupe that can help make your recruitment event shine! You should consider contacting them to see
a) if they're available during Rush week, and
b) if they have performance options that are right for you.
And for sisters who live in the Philadelphia area, if you're looking to include a comedy performance in your fall or spring rush events, you should give Riddlesbrood a call at 866-276-6399 or check us out on the web to see all the different types of shows we offer.
Most importantly, good luck with your event planning and your bid selections... we know how hard you work! And don't worry -- I'm sure you'll get to sleep sometime.