The highly competitive and often secretive process of sorority recruitment at American colleges is under scrutiny as insiders shed light on its demanding nature. For prospective new members, known as PNMs, navigating "rush week" can involve extensive preparation and facing intense evaluation by sorority chapters.
A burgeoning industry of consultants has emerged to guide students through this process, with services like The Rush Guide Co charging thousands of dollars for advice on acing selection meetings. Consultants, who claim to have observed numerous recruitment cycles, highlight the role of "basement girls" – a group of current members and alumni advisors who operate from a backroom or basement. This group meticulously tracks PNMs, reviews their social media, and maintains a "keep-or-release list" that determines progression through each stage of recruitment.
"We are the puppeteers of rush week," one consultant, who identified herself only as C and owns The Rush Guide Co, told the New York Post. Former "basement girls" describe their role as akin to intelligence gathering, knowing details about applicants' backgrounds and interactions during rush events. "You can say that 'basement girls are like the CIA of sororities,'" Bella Lee, a former sorority member, told the outlet.
Beyond the selection process, even gaining entry into a sorority can lead to further arduous activities. One such tradition, known as "pomping," involves sorority and fraternity members spending extensive hours creating elaborate floats for homecoming parades. This process requires rolling thousands of pieces of tissue paper, using spit to adhere them, and then gluing them onto a float base. Sources describe it as a labor-intensive activity that can consume a significant amount of a student's time, sometimes interfering with academic responsibilities.
One former student from Zeta Tau Alpha at the University of Missouri described the pomping process as spending hours "spitting onto pieces of tissue paper to create a gigantic float." She also noted the existence of "Pomp Nazis" who would allegedly critique and sometimes destroy unsatisfactory work. Another student reported weekly hours for pomping increasing from around six to 23 hours as homecoming approached, expressing concern about the time commitment detracting from studying.
This tradition is said to foster bonding between sorority and fraternity members through shared, laborious effort. However, for many students, the intensity of both rush week and subsequent initiation rituals can be a source of stress during the early days of their college careers.