With the fall semester just around the corner, many college students nationwide are signing up for one of the largest events on many campuses, sorority rush. Even if you’re not in Greek life, I’m sure you’re familiar with rush thanks to all the social media content that comes from it — the OOTDs, the dance videos, the bid day celebrations. However, there are still so many little facets of sorority rush that don’t get a ton of attention on social media — one of which is dirty rushing.Â
If you’re in Greek life — or even if you know other people who are — you may have heard whispers about dirty rushing social media. It’s a taboo practice that’s super frowned upon, and yet, people still do it. Sometimes it’s intentional, but there are also plenty of cases of accidental dirty rushing. And if you get caught, you can get into serious trouble with both your school and the Greek life organization involved in the dirty rushing — this goes both for the dirty rusher and the dirty rushee.
But what is dirty rushing,exactly? Dirty rushing is when Greek organizations — or members from those organizations — engage in prohibited activities while trying to recruit potential new members (PNMs). These activities might include promising bids, sending or receiving gifts, spreading rumors about other orgs, and other things. Fortunately, each Greek org on campus is part of a system-wide governing body — such as the College Panhellenic Council for Panhel sororities, making sure each org ensures a smooth and fair recruitment process by following the rules set on a national scale.Â
The rules of dirty rushing may differ from school to school, or organization to organization, but ultimately, if you plan to participate in rush — either as a PNM or a current member looking to recruit your new sisters — these are some common examples of dirty rushing to avoid.Â
Contacting Or Being Contacted By A Sorority Before Recruitment
One of the big no-nos regarding rushing a sorority is contacting or being in contact with a current sorority member. As much as it may be tempting to network and befriend current sorority members, this is considered getting a “head start” on rush and is against the rules of recruitment. Of course, if you already have friends in sororities, or if you befriend someone organically who happens to be in a sorority, that’s fine. Just be sure to avoid talking about rush or sharing your interest in joining their sorority. It’s all about everyone being on an even playing field!
Receiving Or Sending Gifts
Sororities are also not allowed to sway your opinion of them during the rush process by giving you gifts — like, at some schools, they can’t even give you a bottle of water during rush parties. Similarly, PNMs are not allowed to bribe their way into a sisterhood through gift-giving. After all, you should want to be a part of a sorority that loves you for who you are as a person — not for your presents.
Being Promised A BidÂ
Another “Rush 101” rule is that sororities are not allowed to promise PNMs a bid or even advancement into the next round of recruitment. There are numerous factors in play as sororities decide who moves forward in the rush process and ultimately receives a bid. In short, with sorority rush, nothing is guaranteed — but that’s why you should just trust the process.