A member of a sorority myself at UCSB, I couldn’t help but be immediately intrigued by a novel titled Dirty Rush from our HC Survival Kits. Humorous and captivating, this book by Taylor Bell had me turning its pages by the minute. And yes, I finished the book the same night I started it.
The book is set in the South at Delaware University. Although I live in my sorority house and consider myself quite the “sorority girl”, this book showed me that Greek Life in the South is a bit different from ours here in Southern California. (And by a bit, I mean a lot)
However, the friendships forged and bonds created in the book genuinely attest to the type of relationships sororities foster. They bring you together with other girls whom you know absolutely nothing about, yet you all have something uniquely in common, your Greek letters. These bonds provide you with a special comfort that shapes your college experience. It is an experience that is truly once in a lifetime.
The novel opens with an outlandish email written by the infamous Rebecca Martinson, when she was on the executive council of her sorority at the University of Maryland. Martinson lashes out at her sorority in the email, making crude and rash statements about their behavior around boys, discussing how the girls are an embarrassment to the sorority. Martinson’s email was leaked on the internet, and she was contacted by dozens of press and news websites about the shocking message she sent to her sorority.
The email is truly hilarious because almost anyone who reads it would be shocked to believe that Greek Life is taken so seriously by men and women. But, “Dirty Rush” tells it like it is, once you “go Greek”, it becomes one of the most intense commitments in your life.
This book is real, it shows the good, the bad, and the ugly. More importantly, it proves that being in a sorority can truly change a person for the better.
Dirty Rush is a must-read for anyone in college who has experienced one too many drunken frat boys, wild sorority rules, and the craziness of college life in general. It will have you laughing from cover to cover, and who knows, it just might make you want to join a sorority!