Bama Rush TikTok: Was it Romanticized?
Bama Rush TikTok. An online trend that seemed to take over social media platforms and For You pages overnight. But were viewers romanticizing the process that can sometimes be hurtful to some young women?
This new side of TikTok brought viewers through the intense process of first-years experiencing sorority recruitment at the University of Alabama in a lighthearted and entertaining way. The sensation began as potential new members or “PNMs” explained their outfits of the day (OOTDs) during each round of the week: philanthropy day, sisterhood day, pref day, and finally, bid day.
As the week continued, viewers only became more invested to see which sorority every girl was going to end up in. And some PNMs, such as Makayla Culpepper (@whatwouldjimmybuffetdo), even started to form a fanbase.
For those participating rather than living vicariously through those on the #bamarush hashtag, sorority rush is incredibly stressful and exhausting, especially at schools where Greek life often determines your status on campus. The unnecessary pressure to fit in or find friends for your entire college experience is widely felt by first-years during this week.
Recruitment at Alabama happens in early August every year. What’s new is that everyone is talking about it. Whether you are a 33-year-old graduate student in England or mom of two young children, everyone felt the same pain hearing that Mikayla was dropped from every house. But beneath the outfits and bid day celebrations, is there a bigger, more judgmental issue?
It’s not news that Greek life, particularly at large, southern schools has never had the best reputation. With traditions often rooted in elitist, sexist, and even racist ideals, there is significant room for improvement.
In the midst of this online craze, an article from Cosmopolitan resurfaced reminding viewers that sororities at Alabama were desegregated in just 2013. After a PNM who was class salutatorian and had a 4.3 GPA in high school was denied a bid during recruitment, and sorority sisters openly discussed the lack on diversity in the pledge classes, a series of protests broke out across the University of Alabama campus and a Continuous Open Bidding process was initiated to let women of color into these predominantly white organizations.
But exclusivity problems did not stop there, at Alabama or other schools. An article from The Cut states that prominent alumni have threatened to pull their financial support if a chapter accepted a Black student, and in 2014 a sister from Alabama’s Chi Omega sorority posted a Snapchat bragging that during recruitment her chapter did not extend a bid to any women of color.
These organizations were also founded on classist principles that can easily make the recruitment process even more exclusionary. The New York Times recently reported that semester dues at Alabama can cost nearly $5,000 per semester to be in a sorority, and to live in the house is an additional $7,000 on average. And, that does not include the endless stream of t-shirts, date party and formal dresses, and more. This was proven during the countless OOTD videos spread across TikTok that showed excessive amounts of Lululemon, Golden Goose, and LoveShackFancy—brands that aren’t affordable to most demographics.
Even worse, women that participate in Greek life are 74% more likely to experience sexual assault that those unaffiliated and members of fraternities are three times more likely to commit rape. Let’s be honest: a disgusting statistic.
And outdated “traditions,” such as hazing, are far too common. Even after a rise of cases resulting in death over the past year, binge-drinking and other harmful customs of the system don’t seem to end.
This is an issue across the country and throughout the Greek life system, as a number of fraternity and sorority incidents over the years demonstrate. But, to put it simply, it doesn’t need to be this way.
We should let this system, and its organizations be a place to grow and become the best versions of ourselves, not to regress to a historically problematic and exclusive way of thinking. As a member of Greek life on Elon’s campus, I’ve seen how sororities can be a positive outlet to meet new people and surround yourself with diverse ideas and beliefs.
Bama Rush Tok opened many of the world’s eyes to sorority life and recruitment. That is, only the best sides of it. But, let this be a reminder that these systems aren’t always what they seem to be. Changes needed to be made throughout all forms of Greek life, so let’s make this the turning point.