Latest / The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast / How bad do you want it? Sorority Rush 2026.

Transcript

How bad do you want it? Sorority Rush 2026. · The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Dirty Rush, the truth about sorority life with
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: your hosts, me, Gia Giudice, Daisy Kent, and Jennifer Kessler.
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: Welcome back to another episode of Dirty Rush. I am
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: Joan Bassos and I am joined today by Trista Sutter.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: And today we are going to talk to our anonymous
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: Dirty Rush producers who touched down on college campuses to
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: get the inside dirt on all things Rush. We are
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: so excited to be here because we have I feel
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: like we have spies here. at the colleges at Dirty Rush,
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: which is so fun. And I'm picturing our producers who
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: are all Cali girls who don't look like the typical
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: Southern girl rush students. And I'm thinking they all had
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: to go like borrow clothes from people and do like
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: do different stuff to them so they would fit in.
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: I'm having a hard time picturing those. And actually, I
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: think we're going to get some honest answers also from,
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: I think we have joining us first. Hi.
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: How are you guys?
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: How are you doing? It's been too long, but I
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: understand you're on the road.
• 1:07
  Speaker 4: Yeah, so I was at Bama.
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: We went in the beginning of August, which is when
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: they were starting their work.
• 1:16
  Speaker 4: Week into Rush.
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 1:18
  Speaker 4: Those girls take it very seriously.
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: I want to hear, like, I'm sure you had assumptions
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: because we've all watched the Bama Rush videos along with
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: a lot of the other Southern schools. Like, did you,
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: when you kind of were in the house, is it
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: even more intense in the house? I picture it being
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: very frantic getting ready for Rush.
• 1:37
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: I mean, so we were just kind of like walking
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: around getting the lay of the land. The thing that
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: was kind of the barrier to entry is these girls girls,
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: I think with all the media attention around Bama Rush
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: in the last few years, you know, with that Netflix
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: talk or HBO documentary, um, it, everyone.
• 1:57
  Speaker 4: Was very just hush hush about it.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: And I went full, like, I've got a lot of
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: preppy clothes in my closet and I went full like
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: Southern prep kind of trying to get the uniform and
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: to be like more approachable and talking to these girls
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: about it.
• 2:16
  Speaker 4: And they, nobody wanted to talk to me.
• 2:19
  Speaker 5: So can you set the stage? Yeah.
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: So I flew to Bama purely like in a journalistic
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: realm for the purpose of just being there on the
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: ground to report back to our podcast about, you know,
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: the differences and rush there from my experience. And also like,
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: it's why we have this podcast, right? Like sorority life
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: is just something that's so particular to the colleges in
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: the United States and that whole culture.
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: And so very.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: Different from the West coast to the East coast, South Midwest,
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: like it varies.
• 2:58
  Speaker 4: So it's like actually quite fascinating because.
• 3:02
  Speaker 5: Yes, totally. And you went to school where? I went
• 3:05
  Speaker 5: to UCLA. Okay.
• 3:07
  Speaker 6: Got it.
• 3:07
  Speaker 5: Thank you.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: Like huge school. And then has like a bit like
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: a Greek life presence, but.
• 3:15
  Speaker 5: But not like Bama.
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: Not like Bama.
• 3:19
  Speaker 4: And the style is totally different.
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: And so they, they could tell that you were not
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: like what you said you were being, like they could tell,
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: they looked at you and they're like, Hmm, she's a little,
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: I wasn't.
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: Like going in being just like, I wasn't going in
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: to try to rush or it's like, well, everyone was, yeah.
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: Like while everyone was going through work week, I was
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: like walking up and down sorority row, just asking, going
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: up to girls.
• 3:48
  Speaker 4: And being like, hi, can I ask you a few questions?
• 3:51
  Speaker 4: I love that.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: Podcast and, you know, would love to hear whatever.
• 3:55
  Speaker 4: And like a lot of these girls were like, no,
• 3:58
  Speaker 4: I don't want to talk to you or I know
• 4:01
  Speaker 4: so much of it.
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 4:02
  Speaker 4: Just because I think a lot of them have.
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: Gotten a lot of that in the last few years,
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: you know, and, and, I found out later on the
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: trip that actually like they have been advised from their advisors, presidents,
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: you know, people on exec, like do not talk to
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: anyone about rush.
• 4:22
  Speaker 4: Just don't get yourself in trouble.
• 4:25
  Speaker 5: That was going to be my assumption. I've been told
• 4:28
  Speaker 5: by the powers that be to not talk to the
• 4:31
  Speaker 5: press just because they probably need to have like, their,
• 4:36
  Speaker 5: you know, media training, the people who have been media trained,
• 4:40
  Speaker 5: talk to the press.
• 4:41
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: Probably older girls. Do you think that sororities have gotten
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: kind of a bad rap? Like maybe they're, they've gotten
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: too over the top and you, is that why they're
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: not like wanting to talk to you? Do they, are
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: they trying to like tamp it down a little bit?
• 5:00
  Speaker 4: I think like there's been two things at Bama.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: There's been like, you know, more, it's been more under
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: a microscope, like a Southern rush in general has been
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: more under.
• 5:11
  Speaker 4: Microscope in the last few years with like.
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: Outside media attention.
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: But then like, there's also been like internal girls either
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: in sororities or who are going through rush documenting their experience.
• 5:22
  Speaker 5: Like on TikTok and blowing up for it.
• 5:25
  Speaker 4: And then also like trying to expose it.
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: And so I think overall, especially like kind of the
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: Southern way is to just like, I don't know, like
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: not just like keep things more to yourself or be
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: polite and like, and be more, um, yeah, but a
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: little proper radar.
• 5:45
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: Proper, you know, whatever it's like, especially Southern women. So
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: I think like, it's kind of out of their nature.
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: I don't want to say they're like, I just want
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: to like, it's kind of out of the nature to,
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: to want to be like, exposing the sororities or whatever
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: the way like a lot of girls like going through
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: rush have tried um.
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: Were you able to talk to any of the pnms
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: were they on campus yet or were they around where
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: you had access to them yeah.
• 6:12
  Speaker 4: There was a lot of excitement like i talked to.
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: There were some girls who were yeah pnms who were
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: getting ready um like at the hotel that i stayed
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: at to talk to them and it was like I mean,
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: like purely out of just wanting to get to learn more.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: But in terms of like if sororities have gotten a
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: bad rap, I think they're just trying to like limit
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: the media attention and the people going into rush for like.
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: the reasons of getting famous.
• 6:39
  Speaker 4: On Tik TOK. Like it's totally lost the plot a
• 6:41
  Speaker 4: little bit. Yeah.
• 6:44
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: They're trying to bring it back to, we're here to
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: meet the girls and find the best fit for us
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: as opposed to it being a media show and an
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: Instagram opportunity.
• 6:52
  Speaker 4: I mean, the South is like, And Southern sororities are
• 6:56
  Speaker 4: so traditional, right?
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: And that just goes against the grain.
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: So I think they're just, yeah.
• 7:02
  Speaker 5: Would you say that you got a feel for who
• 7:05
  Speaker 5: is the, like which sorority is considered the top sorority
• 7:08
  Speaker 5: or maybe a couple?
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: What I came to understand was that there's old row
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: sororities and fraternities.
• 7:16
  Speaker 4: In the new row.
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: And the new row, it just means like the oldest sororities,
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: which happen to have like, just more prestige, I think.
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: And then some of these newer sororities are the ones that,
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: newer sororities are the ones that have, like, gotten the
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: more of, like, the maybe less traditional girls and more, like,
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: who are, like.
• 7:39
  Speaker 4: Blowing up on TikTok and becoming, like, big in that way.
• 7:43
  Speaker 6: So, but I, I, like, got mixed reviews, but I think, like,
• 7:51
  Speaker 6: Phi Mu is the top Old Row sorority because, yeah.
• 7:57
  Speaker 4: I don't know. It's just like what I was hearing.
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: And everyone who said Phi Mu was top, they'd be like,
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: it's the only white sorority house on campus where everything
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: else is like brown brick.
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: Were the houses insane? Were they like incredibly gorgeous?
• 8:13
  Speaker 4: I mean, short answer is yes.
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: And I was shocked because the UCLA sorority houses are
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: like stunning.
• 8:22
  Speaker 4: Like they are on.
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: like one of the most beautiful streets, one of the
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: nicest parts of LA, like right on Hill Guard. And we,
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: like my sorority house had this double lot. We house
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: 60 girls. And like we had a whole courtyard and
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: everything was like gorgeous. So my bar was high. And
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: they just like blew it out of the water. Like
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: it looks like they spend....
• 8:46
  Speaker 5: If not millions, like hundreds of thousands.
• 8:50
  Speaker 4: Like maintaining these houses.
• 8:52
  Speaker 5: Yeah. And then decorating during lunch.
• 8:56
  Speaker 4: Well, that's what I mean.
• 8:57
  Speaker 5: Like balloons and all that.
• 8:58
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: All of it.
• 9:00
  Speaker 4: Like just like 11 out of 10.
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: I mean, it's just like, I would love to know
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: what their budget is for just for rush. I know
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: they just go all out. I mean, you know, we've
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: all kind of now seen the social media of what
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: they do. So I think now like every year you
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: got to do better because now everybody's looking at it.
• 9:18
  Speaker 4: I feel like a lot of pressure, whatever you think
• 9:21
  Speaker 4: it is, it's more.
• 9:22
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: What were the outfits like? Was there like a certain
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: brand that everybody was wearing? Did everybody have flowers on?
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: What was the theme this year? Yeah.
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: I feel like I got a very good sense of
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: like what the girls wear through different like parts of
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: their day, especially because like the boutique scene in Tuscaloosa.
• 9:40
  Speaker 4: Is just, they're really on their A game.
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: Like, and it's like the classic kind of preppy.
• 9:48
  Speaker 4: Dresses for recruitment, like.
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: Just very colorful, like traditional cut, you know, but then like,
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: I mean, the, the thing that i just like loved
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: is that all these girls are on their like hot
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: girl walks all the time like i was seeing everyone
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: walking everywhere with weighted vests with their girlfriends carrying really
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: bottles yeah their workout sets.
• 10:16
  Speaker 5: They are just work they are all and you know
• 10:18
  Speaker 5: what that's funny that you say that that they're so
• 10:20
  Speaker 5: focused on working out because my gosh, when I went
• 10:24
  Speaker 5: to college, I don't know about you, Joan, but hello,
• 10:27
  Speaker 5: we did not care about that. We were wearing flannels
• 10:30
  Speaker 5: and getting breadsticks at 3 a.m. And, and maybe they'll
• 10:35
  Speaker 5: do that after they, yeah, totally.
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's so funny.
• 10:39
  Speaker 5: I love that it's the wellness area of college. You know,
• 10:43
  Speaker 5: I love that.
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: I mean, yeah, I think I gained the freshman 15
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: within like the first two months of college.
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: Totally.
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: It didn't take a year.
• 10:52
  Speaker 4: It took like eight weeks.
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: I feel like the University of Maryland was so big
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: that I probably walked at least five miles every day
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: just to go to class from my sorority. It was
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: so far away. My sorority was the farthest from my...
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: I was a computer science major. It was the farthest
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: building from my sorority. It was like a two-mile walk
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: every time I went there.
• 11:14
  Speaker 4: Mine was the same, too.
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: It was just.
• 11:17
  Speaker 5: UCLA was nicknamed.
• 11:19
  Speaker 4: University of calves, legs, and ass.
• 11:22
  Speaker 5: That's hysterical. Oh my gosh.
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I get it.
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: I know.
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: I don't think you could gain weight at Maryland because
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: you had to walk so far.
• 11:31
  Speaker 5: Oh my gosh. That's so funny.
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: I think if you went to Alabama, I have this
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: preconceived notion of being in a Southern, going to a
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: Southern school. And if you're not in a sorority, you
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: like don't really fit in or you don't have like a,
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: like built in group of friends, like everybody joins sororities.
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: If you went to Alabama, do you think that you
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: would have gone through the rush process? And, and how,
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: what do you think about the girls that don't end
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: up getting in a house or don't rush at all? I.
• 12:15
  Speaker 4: This is a great question. I do think that that
• 12:19
  Speaker 4: is like a key.
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: Distinction with Southern schools versus other schools, like especially like
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: schools in California where there's just a lot going on
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: and you know, you can be at a lot of
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: different clubs and teams. Like I know at UCLA, I
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: had so many friends who were in Greek life because
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: they were on ski team or surf team or things
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: like that. I think like, the big draw of a
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: Southern school is like, everything is about the school, that town,
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: your sports team. And a lot of that ties in
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: with like Greek life activities. So I do think that
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: it just like, it just attracts that type of, you know,
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: person who really wants like the Greek life experience. And
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: so I do think it really makes a difference if
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: you're not in that scene.
• 13:10
  Speaker 5: So your sorority, you said it housed 60 girls. I
• 13:15
  Speaker 5: had a huge house at Indiana and I have to
• 13:18
  Speaker 5: assume that the houses at Bama are gigantic. Do you
• 13:21
  Speaker 5: know how many people that they have living in the
• 13:26
  Speaker 5: houses at one time?
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: I think it was like the same kind of 60 girls.
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: They have these big pledge classes and I think it's
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: like a to get into the who can get into
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: the house probably without.
• 13:39
  Speaker 5: Oh, because it's not it's not a thing for a
• 13:43
  Speaker 5: guaranteed thing for everybody. Like you have to it's like
• 13:45
  Speaker 5: a lottery system where you have to apply to get
• 13:47
  Speaker 5: into the house once you're in the pledge class.
• 13:50
  Speaker 4: I did not ask this specific question.
• 13:52
  Speaker 5: It's all good. If you don't know, it's all good.
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: But that's a good like I would assume so, because
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: I think I remember them saying how big the pledge
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: classes were.
• 14:02
  Speaker 4: And typically it's.
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: Like sophomores that live in the house but i think
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: i what the one thing you know like we can
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: kind of leave on this but the one thing that
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: i did understand was that um dues are so expensive
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: oftentimes girls will drop out like don't you know drop
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: after they're you can't afford it.
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: Yeah some schools and some sororities you're required to live
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: in the house. So the opposite problem, it's not that they,
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: so many people are trying to get in and want
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: to be there. Like they need to fill the house
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: to like make it work financially.
• 14:39
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 14:40
  Speaker 5: That was my house. That was my house. We had,
• 14:42
  Speaker 5: we had, I cannot remember how many, but we had
• 14:46
  Speaker 5: a massive pledge class and, um, everyone was required and
• 14:51
  Speaker 5: the girls that didn't want to live in the house anymore,
• 14:54
  Speaker 5: like junior year, they just left. And, um, you, you
• 14:58
  Speaker 5: had to like, I don't know what it's called, like
• 15:01
  Speaker 5: getting out of the sorority. They had to like, do
• 15:04
  Speaker 5: you know what the word is? Like, um, like divorcing themselves. Yeah.
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 15:10
  Speaker 4: You know what I mean?
• 15:11
  Speaker 5: Like, um, yeah, something like that. Um, So you.
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: Had to live there to be in the sorority. Like
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: you had to actually physically live in the sorority to
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: be a member of the, like an active member of
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: your sorority. To be active.
• 15:25
  Speaker 5: That's the word. Active. They were inactive members. If they
• 15:29
  Speaker 5: wanted to live off campus or not in the house,
• 15:31
  Speaker 5: then they had to deactivate. That's the word.
• 15:35
  Speaker 3: Is that right?
• 15:36
  Speaker 5: Yeah. And I think you're touching on the reason why
• 15:39
  Speaker 5: is because the house was so gigantic that That in
• 15:42
  Speaker 5: order to pay for the house and all that came
• 15:46
  Speaker 5: with it, they had to fill it.
• 15:49
  Speaker 4: So great to talk to you both.
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: Nice to talk to you.
• 15:51
  Speaker 6: So great to see you.
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: See you next time when we're out there.
• 15:55
  Speaker 3: Yep.
• 15:55
  Speaker 6: Yep.
• 15:55
  Speaker 4: I can't wait.
• 15:56
  Speaker 5: Next up, we have an anonymous Rokai or Rogam, whichever
• 16:00
  Speaker 5: you call them at your university, coming on from the
• 16:02
  Speaker 5: University of Washington. Welcome to the podcast.
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: Here, wait.
• 16:06
  Speaker 5: Sorry, guys.
• 16:07
  Speaker 7: I am just in the middle of recruitment, dealing with
• 16:11
  Speaker 7: some PNMs.
• 16:12
  Speaker 6: Amazing.
• 16:14
  Speaker 5: She's literally in the middle of it.
• 16:16
  Speaker 6: Yep.
• 16:17
  Speaker 5: I love it. Look at you.
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: Walking like around campus. You are.
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I've got my pajamas on for pref.
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: You are boots on the ground, girl. I love that.
• 16:27
  Speaker 5: Wait, I'm sorry. Well, first we need to introduce you,
• 16:30
  Speaker 5: but I need to know about these pajamas for pref. Like,
• 16:32
  Speaker 5: is that a thing?
• 16:33
  Speaker 7: Yeah, all the RCs wear pajamas for pref, matching pajamas.
• 16:38
  Speaker 3: Just because it's like.
• 16:40
  Speaker 7: Everyone's in their beautiful dresses. and wearing matching sets or
• 16:47
  Speaker 7: like looking beautiful.
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: So we all wear our cute pajamas. That's so fun.
• 16:53
  Speaker 5: So tell us where you are at in the process.
• 16:57
  Speaker 5: So you're at Pref Night. That is going to happen
• 17:00
  Speaker 5: tonight and then you'll give the bids tomorrow, correct?
• 17:03
  Speaker 6: Yes.
• 17:04
  Speaker 7: Pref is currently happening right now. The first round has
• 17:06
  Speaker 7: already started and then bids go out tomorrow.
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: So explain to me, what a row gamma is. That's
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: not the sorority you're in. That's the position that you
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: are in right now as a advisor. Is that correct?
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: I literally had to look it up. They did not
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: have this. By the way, I went to college in
• 17:23
  Speaker 2: the 80s. So I had to look it up to
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: find out what that meant. So can you explain that
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: to maybe listeners who don't have a clue what that is?
• 17:30
  Speaker 7: I'm an unbiased source for potential new members to kind
• 17:34
  Speaker 7: of figure out how they're feeling about different chapters and
• 17:38
  Speaker 7: make sure that Potentially members are going through recruitment for
• 17:41
  Speaker 7: the right reasons where they feel the most genuine sisterhood
• 17:46
  Speaker 7: and I help guide girls who Don't really know what
• 17:50
  Speaker 7: they're looking for in a chapter yet or are dropped
• 17:53
  Speaker 7: from chapters in the first round that they really felt
• 17:55
  Speaker 7: connection with and I encourage them to keep going in
• 17:58
  Speaker 7: the primary recruitment process and and stick it through till
• 18:02
  Speaker 7: bid day in order to try to find their home
• 18:06
  Speaker 7: because you'll truly find the place that she's meant to
• 18:09
  Speaker 7: be if she sticks it through till bid day. And
• 18:13
  Speaker 7: I think my recruitment process in particular relates to PNMs.
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: I ended up joining a chapter that I didn't really originally.
• 18:20
  Speaker 7: See myself in, but now I couldn't see myself anywhere
• 18:24
  Speaker 7: else and I couldn't be happier with my decision.
• 18:26
  Speaker 6: So....
• 18:30
  Speaker 3: It's just like truly you don't know what you.
• 18:36
  Speaker 7: Are going to end up with and the sisterhood you'll
• 18:39
  Speaker 7: find until you have joined the chapter and spent time
• 18:44
  Speaker 7: with the girls and dedicated yourself making friends because you
• 18:49
  Speaker 7: never know your best friend could be in the chapter
• 18:52
  Speaker 7: you least expected yourself to join.
• 18:54
  Speaker 3: Yeah, totally.
• 18:56
  Speaker 5: I totally agree.
• 18:57
  Speaker 6: Be open.
• 18:58
  Speaker 5: Minded. That is the best advice. I'm right there with you.
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: I would have loved to have had an advisor because
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: the year when I went to, when I went through rush,
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: I didn't get the house that I wanted. And so
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: I didn't take the bid from the other house. And
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: then I went through again the next year. So I
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: kind of put up the whole thing. Like, it got
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: delayed a whole year. That entire year, I felt very, like,
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: bad about myself. I felt very rejected. I got preferenced.
• 19:24
  Speaker 2: I'm like, well, they really knew me because I preferenced there.
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: So they really did reject me. And then I was determined, like,
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: I felt like that was the only house for me.
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: And that was really hard. Having an advice of somebody that, like,
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: you know, kind of had stepped up. had like a
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: step backwards and could see it more rationally, it would
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: have been so helpful.
• 19:43
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 19:44
  Speaker 5: Is this a new thing? Like, I'm also completely ignorant
• 19:49
  Speaker 5: of what... Row Gamma is. Is it a new thing?
• 19:53
  Speaker 5: And is it a free thing? Or, you know, people
• 19:55
  Speaker 5: are paying a lot of money to hire people who
• 20:00
  Speaker 5: are consultants, but they can talk to you.
• 20:03
  Speaker 3: Totally, like a coach.
• 20:05
  Speaker 5: Amazing. Yeah.
• 20:06
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 20:07
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 20:08
  Speaker 3: So we are disaffiliated from our chapters.
• 20:11
  Speaker 7: We choose to apply to BRCs and interview for the
• 20:15
  Speaker 7: position instead of recruiting for our chapter. So I recruited
• 20:20
  Speaker 7: for my chapter after my freshman year, going into my
• 20:23
  Speaker 7: sophomore year. You have to recruit for your chapter one
• 20:26
  Speaker 7: year before you apply to be a ROGAM.
• 20:28
  Speaker 6: Okay.
• 20:30
  Speaker 7: It is really like an enriching and rewarding experience because
• 20:34
  Speaker 7: you see the girls in your group grow so much
• 20:37
  Speaker 7: throughout the week and discover a lot about themselves. And
• 20:41
  Speaker 7: you get to be the person who is with them
• 20:45
  Speaker 7: when they open their bids on bid day and they
• 20:47
  Speaker 7: see all of their hard work come to fruition.
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: And it's so special to watch.
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: So how many people are in your group and how
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: many Rogams are there?
• 20:55
  Speaker 3: There are plenty. About 40 Rogams, I would say.
• 20:58
  Speaker 7: I have 25 TNMs in my ROC group and we
• 21:02
  Speaker 7: have three Rogams for the group. Oh, okay.
• 21:06
  Speaker 6: Okay.
• 21:07
  Speaker 5: And the girls just choose to do this on their own. Sorry,
• 21:10
  Speaker 5: we're focusing on this, but I am so curious about it.
• 21:14
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 21:14
  Speaker 7: And one of the Rogams is kind of in charge
• 21:17
  Speaker 7: of managing things, the chapters. They do the two minute knock.
• 21:21
  Speaker 7: They make sure all the PNMs are lined up in
• 21:23
  Speaker 7: the right order and that.
• 21:24
  Speaker 3: They're ready to go into the chapter.
• 21:27
  Speaker 7: They make sure that the chapter facility is like following
• 21:32
  Speaker 7: all the.
• 21:32
  Speaker 3: Rules that are set by Panhellenic.
• 21:34
  Speaker 7: They check on bouquets, make sure that For our school,
• 21:39
  Speaker 7: captors are only allowed to have five.
• 21:40
  Speaker 3: Bouquets on display. So they go through and they get
• 21:43
  Speaker 3: out the bouquets.
• 21:44
  Speaker 7: And they make sure that the closets don't look like
• 21:47
  Speaker 7: they've been staged. And kind of certain things to keep
• 21:50
  Speaker 7: the recruitment process equal among captors.
• 21:53
  Speaker 3: And then they also.
• 21:55
  Speaker 7: make sure that the time that the round starts is
• 21:58
  Speaker 7: synced up across the Pan-Hellenic community. So every single chapter
• 22:02
  Speaker 7: opens their doors at the exact same second, every single
• 22:05
  Speaker 7: round and closes them at the exact same second, every
• 22:08
  Speaker 7: single round.
• 22:09
  Speaker 6: Wow.
• 22:10
  Speaker 5: I mean, do you feel like the more I think
• 22:14
  Speaker 5: about this, like you are in a sorority and you
• 22:17
  Speaker 5: are consulting with these girls and helping them through the
• 22:19
  Speaker 5: process and like, Do you feel any kind of bias
• 22:24
  Speaker 5: pulling you towards like having them come to your house?
• 22:27
  Speaker 5: How do they work that out?
• 22:29
  Speaker 3: It's really hard.
• 22:30
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: That's why we have three artsies or three Rogams per group. Oh,
• 22:34
  Speaker 3: got it.
• 22:35
  Speaker 5: That's a great idea.
• 22:36
  Speaker 7: If a PMM is choosing between your chapter and another,
• 22:39
  Speaker 7: they really recommend that you pull another Rogam in to
• 22:42
  Speaker 7: help with the decision. But personally, I feel all different
• 22:47
  Speaker 7: ways about my chapter throughout the week. Sometimes they're sitting
• 22:50
  Speaker 7: on my chapter and they're telling me that they hate it.
• 22:53
  Speaker 7: And sometimes they're telling me that they couldn't see themselves
• 22:56
  Speaker 7: anywhere else and that they love it.
• 22:58
  Speaker 5: Oh my gosh, that's gotta be so hard.
• 23:01
  Speaker 7: Yes, you kind of just have to be ready for
• 23:03
  Speaker 7: whatever they throw at you, but it is a really
• 23:05
  Speaker 7: rewarding process.
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: And they must know that you are in a sorority.
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: So I feel like you're being pretty bold.
• 23:13
  Speaker 3: They all try to guess our chapters.
• 23:16
  Speaker 7: And it's like a huge thing to reveal what chapter
• 23:18
  Speaker 7: we are in on bid day.
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: And all the girls get.
• 23:21
  Speaker 7: Really excited about it and make guesses.
• 23:24
  Speaker 5: You might have already said this, but do you live
• 23:25
  Speaker 5: off campus? You don't live in the house.
• 23:27
  Speaker 7: No, I live in our chapter houses, freshman, sophomore and
• 23:31
  Speaker 7: junior year.
• 23:32
  Speaker 3: So I still live in my chapter house.
• 23:34
  Speaker 5: So they could essentially just follow you like from class,
• 23:37
  Speaker 5: put you on life 360 and be like, cause you know,
• 23:39
  Speaker 5: we're doing, I don't know if this is a thing
• 23:42
  Speaker 5: like anywhere else around the country. I think it is,
• 23:43
  Speaker 5: but we're doing senior assassin. My daughter's a senior.
• 23:46
  Speaker 3: Totally.
• 23:46
  Speaker 5: And it's like, you know, you wear the goggles to
• 23:49
  Speaker 5: keep safe. And like everyone is on the same light
• 23:52
  Speaker 5: that like 360. So do people like actually try to
• 23:55
  Speaker 5: figure out which sorority you're in?
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: Yeah, they do.
• 23:58
  Speaker 7: Our recruitment happens before school starts for the year. So
• 24:01
  Speaker 7: all of the PNMs move into their chapter on bid day.
• 24:04
  Speaker 7: And they live in.
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: The chapter freshman year before they move in before school starts.
• 24:12
  Speaker 7: So there's less movement for us to get caught. They
• 24:17
  Speaker 7: can follow us home at the end of the day.
• 24:20
  Speaker 7: But a lot of them live in the dorms during recruitment.
• 24:25
  Speaker 3: And then they.
• 24:26
  Speaker 7: um, move into their chapter facilities. So they're kind of
• 24:30
  Speaker 7: watched in the dorms. And when we checked out at
• 24:32
  Speaker 7: the end of the night, the people staying with them
• 24:35
  Speaker 7: in the dorms kind of make sure that they're not
• 24:38
  Speaker 7: like following us.
• 24:39
  Speaker 5: That makes sense.
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: That's crazy. So they don't, so they move into a dorm,
• 24:44
  Speaker 2: like really temporarily, like their mom comes and mom and
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: dad come and like fix up their dorm room. But
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: really it's just for like a week or so.
• 24:54
  Speaker 3: Yeah, they live in the dorm just for seven days.
• 24:56
  Speaker 7: They pay a flat rate for that dorm and a
• 24:59
  Speaker 7: meal plan.
• 25:00
  Speaker 3: And then they move into their chapter facility on bid day.
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: So if they don't get into the house they want
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: or if they just don't get into a house at all,
• 25:08
  Speaker 2: then they stay in that dorm?
• 25:10
  Speaker 7: No, they unfortunately is a problem with our system here
• 25:14
  Speaker 7: at UW. They go into temporary housing in the UW dorms.
• 25:20
  Speaker 7: And then within a few weeks, they're placed into a
• 25:22
  Speaker 7: permanent dorm somewhere on campus.
• 25:24
  Speaker 3: But they're guaranteed a place to live and housing.
• 25:30
  Speaker 5: They don't get to prioritize that or anything.
• 25:32
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 25:33
  Speaker 7: So unfortunately, there are not a lot of spots in
• 25:37
  Speaker 7: chapters here.
• 25:38
  Speaker 3: It is super competitive.
• 25:40
  Speaker 7: We are seeing record numbers of girls dropping from recruitment
• 25:43
  Speaker 7: this year.
• 25:43
  Speaker 3: Oh, wow.
• 25:45
  Speaker 7: It's so sad to watch because so many girls deserve
• 25:50
  Speaker 7: a spot in a chapter and would be great additions
• 25:54
  Speaker 7: to sisterhoods, but there just isn't space for them. I
• 25:57
  Speaker 7: think Coda this year will be at 15 per chapter.
• 26:01
  Speaker 2: Only 15?
• 26:02
  Speaker 3: Only 15 girls get a spot on bed day.
• 26:04
  Speaker 5: Wow. How big are your houses? How many girls live
• 26:08
  Speaker 5: in the house?
• 26:10
  Speaker 3: In the house, about 80, but chapter total is like... 100, 120. Yeah.
• 26:16
  Speaker 2: That's what mine was.
• 26:17
  Speaker 6: Wow.
• 26:17
  Speaker 5: That's really sad. Speaking of sad, like how do you
• 26:22
  Speaker 5: navigate those conversations with the girls who don't, who are
• 26:25
  Speaker 5: part of your Rogam group and don't get a bit.
• 26:29
  Speaker 7: We tell them that it's not personal. It's not a
• 26:32
  Speaker 7: reflection of them as a person. It's truly a numbers
• 26:35
  Speaker 7: game and that they are so incredible and their community
• 26:40
  Speaker 7: here at college is, If they COB, if they live
• 26:44
  Speaker 7: in the dorms, and just because they didn't find a
• 26:49
  Speaker 7: chapter where they felt at home doesn't mean that their
• 26:53
  Speaker 7: self-worth should be diminished or that they are any less
• 26:57
  Speaker 7: worthy of friendship and of love and of support.
• 27:01
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 27:01
  Speaker 3: And it is really hard to watch.
• 27:02
  Speaker 7: Because— getting dropped by chapter truly does make girls feel
• 27:06
  Speaker 7: that way.
• 27:07
  Speaker 3: And it makes them feel like they have no self-worth. Right.
• 27:11
  Speaker 5: And that's so hard. I mean, I love that they're
• 27:14
  Speaker 5: doing this even more because then they have you guys
• 27:17
  Speaker 5: to walk them through it. I mean, hopefully they have
• 27:20
  Speaker 5: the support of their family and friends, but also, you know,
• 27:23
  Speaker 5: having someone in the Greek system to, to give them
• 27:27
  Speaker 5: support after that has it, that, that is really, really valuable.
• 27:32
  Speaker 5: And I, I hope, I mean, I haven't, this is
• 27:35
  Speaker 5: the first time I've heard of it. I mean, I
• 27:36
  Speaker 5: haven't had a kid go through a rush yet, but
• 27:41
  Speaker 5: I hope that all Greek life, all sororities and fraternities
• 27:45
  Speaker 5: do this. Actually, is it a fraternity thing too?
• 27:48
  Speaker 7: We don't really have formal recruitment here at UW for fraternities. Well,
• 27:54
  Speaker 7: they started it this year, but there's only 90 guys
• 27:57
  Speaker 7: who registered.
• 27:58
  Speaker 3: So they had about 11 students.
• 28:01
  Speaker 7: Are programs from fraternities who signed up, but it's like
• 28:05
  Speaker 7: a very small kind of.
• 28:09
  Speaker 3: New program that they're trying.
• 28:11
  Speaker 7: We really kind of rely on informal rush here at
• 28:14
  Speaker 7: UW for fraternity recruitment.
• 28:16
  Speaker 3: So it's just a different system.
• 28:33
  Speaker 5: You mentioned something that is also on our rundown, a COB.
• 28:37
  Speaker 5: What is a COB?
• 28:38
  Speaker 3: Continuous open bidding.
• 28:40
  Speaker 7: Girls at my school can join sororities at any point
• 28:44
  Speaker 7: during the year through continuous open bidding. Most chapters at
• 28:47
  Speaker 7: my school participate in it. And if even they COB
• 28:53
  Speaker 7: within the first few days, sometimes they they can move
• 28:56
  Speaker 7: into the chapter, but it is quite rare for that
• 28:58
  Speaker 7: to happen. And we really tell girls to go through
• 29:01
  Speaker 7: with the chapters that they have on press because there
• 29:03
  Speaker 7: is no guarantee.
• 29:04
  Speaker 5: Is there something that happens after bid day? If you
• 29:07
  Speaker 5: don't get a bid from the places that you want,
• 29:11
  Speaker 5: then they don't like fill their, their pledge class. Absolutely.
• 29:16
  Speaker 3: Thank you.
• 29:18
  Speaker 5: Yeah. Thank you.
• 29:19
  Speaker 3: So there's no guarantee, but, It's an option.
• 29:22
  Speaker 2: And how does that work? So like, OK, so let's
• 29:23
  Speaker 2: say you don't get in the house you want. So
• 29:26
  Speaker 2: a couple of days go by and you go, oh, gosh,
• 29:28
  Speaker 2: I still really want to be in a sorority. How
• 29:30
  Speaker 2: do you become a COB?
• 29:32
  Speaker 3: Like, how do you approach? Like, here I am.
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: Do you want me?
• 29:35
  Speaker 7: I joined my chapter through COB. I dropped out of
• 29:38
  Speaker 7: recruitment on the morning of March. because I didn't see
• 29:41
  Speaker 7: myself as a fit in the chapter that I received back.
• 29:45
  Speaker 3: And I got a COB bid from my current chapter
• 29:50
  Speaker 3: the day after bid day. They reached out to me over.
• 29:54
  Speaker 7: The phone because they knew I had withdrawn from recruitment.
• 29:57
  Speaker 7: And they offered me a spot.
• 29:59
  Speaker 5: Oh, amazing.
• 30:01
  Speaker 7: But girls can also sign up more in a formal process.
• 30:04
  Speaker 7: They go get coffee dates with girls in the chapter
• 30:07
  Speaker 7: or get dinner, come over to the house and play cards.
• 30:12
  Speaker 7: It's more of like an informal process. way to get
• 30:14
  Speaker 7: to know girls. And they go on two, three dates
• 30:18
  Speaker 7: before they're offered a bid and then they can accept
• 30:21
  Speaker 7: it and still continue to live in the dorms for
• 30:23
  Speaker 7: their freshman year.
• 30:24
  Speaker 2: Good for you. It was so nice talking to you.
• 30:29
  Speaker 2: I love the perspective since. Tristan and I didn't experience
• 30:32
  Speaker 2: having a RhoGAM when we were there. And I think, gosh,
• 30:35
  Speaker 2: I'm so glad that they came up with that system.
• 30:37
  Speaker 2: I have no idea when it happened, when it occurred,
• 30:38
  Speaker 2: but it happened sometime over the last like 30 years.
• 30:41
  Speaker 2: And girls are so lucky to have you. You sound
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: like such a kind person.
• 30:45
  Speaker 3: Thank you. Have a great day, guys.
• 30:47
  Speaker 4: That is so good.
• 30:48
  Speaker 5: I learned so much today. The whole Rogam thing.
• 30:50
  Speaker 4: I know.
• 30:52
  Speaker 5: Right?
• 30:52
  Speaker 3: That is so amazing.
• 30:53
  Speaker 2: I looked it up before this episode. I was like,
• 30:55
  Speaker 2: I don't know what that is. Like, I knew it
• 30:58
  Speaker 2: was not a sorority. I knew that it was a thing.
• 31:00
  Speaker 2: I just didn't know what the thing was. So I
• 31:02
  Speaker 2: looked it up. I was like, wow, what a great idea.
• 31:04
  Speaker 2: How much I would have loved to have had somebody
• 31:07
  Speaker 2: like helping me through that process. Because I had no
• 31:09
  Speaker 2: idea what I was doing. I was the first, like,
• 31:11
  Speaker 2: nobody in my family has been in a sorority. Like
• 31:13
  Speaker 2: my mom grew up in an orphanage and my dad
• 31:14
  Speaker 2: grew up in Holland during the war. Like a sorority
• 31:18
  Speaker 2: was like a totally foreign thing to my family.
• 31:20
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 31:21
  Speaker 5: Well, and what I love is that, and not to
• 31:24
  Speaker 5: take away like business, like I have a friend who's
• 31:27
  Speaker 5: a Rush consultant, but like, I feel like it's such
• 31:31
  Speaker 5: a well-needed position for girls who are going through Rush
• 31:38
  Speaker 5: to have these opportunities upperclassmen to talk to about the
• 31:43
  Speaker 5: process when they maybe don't know anybody you know and
• 31:47
  Speaker 5: to like lift them up if they have hard days
• 31:50
  Speaker 5: and to hopefully welcome them into their house and just
• 31:55
  Speaker 5: into the Greek system in general. So I think it's
• 31:58
  Speaker 5: a really great idea.
• 32:00
  Speaker 2: That's it for this episode of Dirty Rush. Thank you
• 32:02
  Speaker 2: so much for joining us this week. Make sure you
• 32:05
  Speaker 2: follow us on Instagram and TikTok at Dirty Rush Podcast
• 32:09
  Speaker 2: so you don't miss new episodes, exclusive clips, and more.
• 32:13
  Speaker 5: Bye. Bye.