Sorority hopefuls are going viral for creating #BamaRush.
But there's a dark side to the internet's latest obsession …
But there's a dark side to the internet's latest obsession …
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Rush, day 5, OOTD. My earrings came from Ali Lens. My necklace is Michael Kors.
00:06Hi, I'm Ashley and my dress is from Lavish.
00:09Good morning!
00:11Okay, that was so fake. I'm sorry. Okay, good morning.
00:14🎵
00:20This is my Get a Rush pin.
00:22Hi, I'm Katie. My dress is from Hello Molly.
00:26My necklace is repurposed. My hoops are from TJ Maxx.
00:31I don't know how I got on Sorority Rush TikTok, but I never want to leave.
00:35Okay, I thought Olympics Tokyo 2020 was serious.
00:38No, Bama 2021 put them Olympic athletes to shame.
00:43I love the Alabama sorority girls.
00:46I know they're on everyone's TikTok, but every morning I wake up and it's just,
00:50Hey y'all, Rush, day 3.
00:52I mean, girls have been doing this for years.
00:55This is pretty normal for how everyone gets ready for Rush and how everyone conducts it.
01:00I think the only difference is that, you know, it happened to trend on TikTok.
01:05Honestly, the first thing that popped into my mind was,
01:08These girls look happy. It must be nice.
01:10🎵
01:20I just think it's easy overall to be captivated by the whole process.
01:24Rush in itself is also called sorority recruitment.
01:29The process in which potential new members called PNMs participate in,
01:35in order to join a sorority.
01:37It takes about a week and it usually consists of several rounds over that week.
01:42You know, it's a special week. It's an important week to a lot of people.
01:46Everyone's trying to make their best impression.
01:49And everyone is shopping months in advance for these outfits.
01:53My shoes are Steve Madden.
01:56My shoes are Steve Madden.
01:57My shoes are from Vince Camuto.
01:59🎵
02:07So my tiara is from my Miss Alabama pageant.
02:10In case they didn't read my rack letters, I just wanted to make sure they knew I won.
02:13We have to have the skirt from Pants Store, downtown Tuscaloosa, classic.
02:19Shirt, Amazon. Pants, just had to do it to them.
02:24Sheen, sheen, dead grandma jewelry.
02:27And well my attitude, Jesus. So God bless and see you for day two.
02:31I am not on Alabama Rush Talk.
02:34I am on people making fun of Alabama Rush Talk.
02:37I have no context for any of these jokes.
02:40I'm just laughing. Keep them coming.
02:43🎵
02:57For the most part, all of the sororities at Bama were, you know, flattered by the attention.
03:03And, you know, just as surprised that the rest of the world cared.
03:08As the rest of the world was surprised at what was going on, you know.
03:12At Bama recruitment.
03:13I'm not at all surprised that it's so popular.
03:15Rush, sorority recruitment in itself, is fascinating.
03:19It's a crazy competitive process, especially here in the South.
03:24And, you know, there's not a lot of information available out there about it.
03:29And how it works behind the scenes.
03:31🎵
03:39So everything was over Zoom.
03:40And it's not like you're going to show your Panhellenic shirt and your pajama pants at the bottom.
03:44That is my OOTD for Rush day two.
03:49Super comfy, cute. It's over Zoom again.
03:52So they're not going to be seeing the whole outfit.
03:56And I'm barefoot again.
03:58Even during a pandemic, most schools last year, which I was fascinated by,
04:04most schools had just as many or more potential new members signed up for the recruitment process.
04:11People don't understand the negatives of recluse.
04:15Because only the positives are portrayed.
04:17Because we don't really speak about how bad a good thing can be.
04:21🎵
04:30Organizations founded on being exclusionary can never be inclusive.
04:34There are organizations that do not desegregate until 2013.
04:38Greek class is inherently classless because it costs so much money to be a part of it.
04:42Frat members are 300% more likely to sexually assault someone.
04:45This is not isolated to below the Mason-Dixon line.
04:48And I really want people to acknowledge that privilege.
04:50Because I think we love to say that because of the South's history, these things exist only in those regions.
04:57But that is completely and objectively false.
05:00Once you're a member, I mean, they're very encouraging of you just being you.
05:04When you make something, when you put it out there and more people can learn about it and discover it's there,
05:09then more people are going to want to join.
05:11And then as a result, you know, get to be a part of it.
05:13To me, really, the question is not how do we integrate and make these places diverse?
05:17It's how do we break apart these structures at universities to make universities more welcoming?
05:25I mean, did they get enough? Do they want more?
05:35I guess we'll find out right now.
05:38You know, Ole Miss recruitment is happening right now.
05:40University of Texas recruitment is happening right now.
05:43Georgia recruitment is wrapping up.
05:46So I guess it just depends on what they're posting and what the viewers want.
05:51I'm tuning into all of it, obviously, but we'll see who joins me.
05:55And that's it today.