[SquirrelyDays]

Don't despair. Pollyanna to the rescue: now there's plenty of time to change out of her recruitment dress and put on athletic clothes and saunter leisurely across campus to begin band camp while talking animatedly on the phone with Mama. Plan B didn't work, but we have Plan C ready to go: COB.

In the meantime: we learned that shy Shelly the suitemate has decided to wait until spring semester to participate in the informal recruitment sessions then. At least Rosebud will have a buddy to go through that process with if she doesn’t find a place through fall COB. Also, on Day 1 of Round 1 there was a tremendous thunderstorm in the middle of the recruitment parties, and the Rho Gams held the PNMs in silence in their locations for over an hour. Moms were freaking out all over Facebook because they couldn’t reach their daughters. Glad she missed that!

ALSO also: Rosebud’s marching band experience has been great from the moment she arrived on campus. She said the band has many traditions that feel like sorority things. She wore a tiny safety pin with ribbons of the school colors all week – like a pledge pin. She was placed in a “band buddies” group on the first day so new members could meet returning members – like bid day buddies. Plus her own instrument section is a big family already. The band has themed dress-up days and little contests that sound a lot like Polish Week team-builders. Her instrument section won the overall band spirit award on the last day, so it sounds like they work together well. She said there are ritual-like things and initiation-type moments that she won’t tell me about because I’m not in the band. Another band parent who lives local shared a shaky, blurry video of an inspiring twilight ceremony they have annually that concludes the first week of band camp, and it sure does feel familiar. At that ceremony band members receive a special pin to wear on their uniforms – sounds like pinning on a badge. Two band parents who are local professional photographers were roaming around during band camp taking fun candids and posed group photos, and posting them free for us far-away parents to download. (960 images to scroll through to find the 5 pictures she was in). Regardless of what happens with sorority rush, she has a home-away-from-home, and all of that fun has certainly distracted her from the SNAFU of recruitment.

Suitemates update: gymrat Gina was flipping out when she got home after Round 1 because her Rho Gam took her phone out of her hands (breaking the rules!) and entered her ranking choices for her (no no no!) … and entered them incorrectly. Her last preferred org was swapped with her Rank 2 org. Tears everywhere. (And that's why we don't DO that, silly Rho Gam.) Rosebud asked if there was anything to be done. I explained that really, that’s not a crisis. Almost no one gets invited back to ALL their preferred orgs. Her Rank 2 will probably move up. And she definitely should not get her mother to intervene on her behalf. If the Panhellenic VPR said, “deal with it,” then that’s what you do.

For Round 2, participants could visit a maximum of 9 organizations.
Gymrat Gina went back to El Retiro, Casements, Mangoes and Ca’ d’Zan.
Talented Tammy went back to El Retiro, Casements, Villa Vizcaya, and Ca’ d’Zan.

They were a little bummed to have less than half a schedule, but rallied.

For Round 3, with a max of 6, they returned to those same 4 orgs.
They were anxious, because out of those 4 orgs they each had 2 they definitely didn’t want and 2 that they were deciding between.
They each preffed at Casements and a chapter without a house, and they each SIP’d Casements and both received bids to Casements. Choosing to SIP is common on this campus because of the unhoused chapters. (SIP = single intentional preference = only writing 1 sorority on your bid card)

They were delighted with that result! We are happy for them. Strategically, though, it was the outcome with the least advantage for Rosebud. Casements was full to the brim last year and not likely to have COB spots that might be offered to a suitable suitemate who couldn’t make it to formal recruitment. Boo. Also, it started making the suite a little awkward because two of the girls were together all the time and the other two girls were a little bit left out. Just a bit.

And now I have been directed not to use the term “suitemates.” It’s weird, apparently.