RushTok: The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful World of Sorority Recruitment

How a week of sorority recruitment became TikTok’s astir addictive planetary world show

It starts with an outfit video. A student, hardly twenty, stands successful a brightly lit dorm country showing disconnected the day’s look: bow successful her hair, monogrammed necklace, pastel dress, perfectly rehearsed smile. Within hours, the clip has racked up hundreds of thousands of views. She is not an influencer – not yet astatine least. She is 1 of thousands of young women caught up successful the yearly spectacle of American sorority recruitment. On TikTok, this ritual has go thing other entirely. The satellite knows it arsenic RushTok.

RushTok archetypal went viral successful 2021 done the “Bama Rush” tag astatine the University of Alabama. What began arsenic a flood of videos from 1 field rapidly snowballed into a TikTok sensation, drafting hundreds of millions of views successful its archetypal season. Each August since then, the inclination has returned with adjacent greater force, becoming a highly anticipated yearly spectacle that present attracts a planetary audience.

At its core, it is simply a week-long process wherever hopeful students, known arsenic imaginable caller members, determination done a bid of rounds designed to present them to sorority life. The archetypal fewer days are called “open house” rounds, wherever they sojourn aggregate sorority houses and marque archetypal impressions. Next comes the “philanthropy” round, wherever sororities explicate their charitable work. This is followed by the “sisterhood” round, which is much idiosyncratic and emotional, and yet “preference night”, wherever lone a fewer sororities stay successful the running. The week ends with “Bid Day”, erstwhile students find retired if they person been offered a place. That invitation is called a “bid”.

For viewers, it feels similar world tv sliced into abbreviated videos. Each signifier brings caller cliff-hangers, tears, rivalries and affectional reveals, each playing retired successful existent clip crossed millions of screens. TikTok’s algorithm has turned it into compulsive viewing. The level rewards large emotions and polished aesthetics. Sorority recruitment provides some successful endless supply.

The fascination goes good beyond the United States. People who volition ne'er acceptable ft connected a field successful Alabama oregon Texas find themselves invested successful the travel of implicit strangers. They tune successful to spot who looks confident, who breaks down and who walks distant smiling. It is voyeurism mixed with empathy. Everyone remembers what it felt similar to privation to beryllium somewhere. RushTok amplifies that feeling and packages it for the net age.

The Cost and the Pressure

RushTok, however, is not each pastel dresses and blessed reveals. For galore of the students involved, it is precocious stakes, precocious unit and often precocious cost. Preparing for unreserved week has go an manufacture successful itself. Potential caller members prosecute consultants to manager them connected outfits, speech skills and etiquette. According to US media reports, families tin walk thousands of dollars earlier their girl adjacent steps wrong a sorority house. Wardrobes are curated with subject precision and often diagnostic sponsored pieces from brands keen to thrust the RushTok wave.

Some participants person managed to crook this vulnerability into genuine influence. In 2022, Kylan Darnell, a University of Alabama pupil crowned Miss Ohio Teen USA, became RushTok’s breakout star. Her upbeat outfit-of-the-day videos went viral, attracting marque partnerships and media attention. But the spotlight was double-edged. Darnell aboriginal admitted that the strength of the scrutiny, the comments dissecting her quality and behaviour, and the changeless anticipation to execute online took a toll. She stepped backmost from TikTok aft facing a question of online disapproval and trolling.

She is not alone. Other young women person described the intelligence strain of performing a idiosyncratic travel connected a planetary stage. When sororities began banning members from posting recruitment contented successful 2023, it was framed partially arsenic a effect to the backlash. Some houses disquieted astir the interaction connected their reputations, others wanted to support their members from abuse. The bans did small to halt the phenomenon, but they underlined however uneasy adjacent insiders were astir the exposure.

At the aforesaid time, brands and retailers person embraced RushTok. Fashion companies from Revolve to Walmart person pushed products done influencers who gained traction during unreserved week. Viral videos with hundreds of thousands of views tin rapidly construe into paid partnerships and affiliate deals. What began arsenic a idiosyncratic rite of transition has become, for a fistful of participants, a vocation opportunity.

The Joy and the Influence

Yet for galore students, RushTok is remembered little arsenic a unit cooker and much arsenic a clip of excitement. Sorority recruitment has ever been astir friendship, assurance and shared ritual. TikTok has simply magnified it. Viewers are drawn to the genuine highs arsenic overmuch arsenic the lows: the blessed tears connected Bid Day, the cheering lines of sisters welcoming caller members, the alleviation of uncovering a spot to belong.

Fashion has played a cardinal role. The sorority-core aesthetic, with its bows, pearls, co-ordinated sets and pastel shades, has spilled retired of US campuses into wider culture. Hashtags linked to RushTok person influenced buying trends successful Europe, Asia and Australia. Comedians and creators person besides joined in, posting playful parodies of the genre that item conscionable however recognisable the look and rituals person become.

The audience, too, finds joyousness successful the assemblage aspect. Strangers connected other sides of the satellite remark encouragement, stock memories of their ain archetypal days astatine schoolhouse oregon university, and statement which outfits they loved. It is impervious of however a precise section contented has sparked a planetary conversation.

The Debate Around RushTok

As RushTok has grown, truthful excessively has the speech astir it. Supporters spot it arsenic a mode of opening up what was erstwhile an exclusive system, making it accessible and relatable to outsiders. Critics reason that it highlights elitism, quality standards and the tremendous fiscal barriers to entry. Both perspectives person merit, and possibly the premix of fascination and unease is what has kept RushTok astatine the apical of people’s feeds twelvemonth aft year.

More Than Just Entertainment

Perhaps that is wherefore RushTok continues to bid attention. It is lighthearted and theatrical, but it besides reveals thing universal. At its bosom it is astir belonging, individuality and the tendency to beryllium chosen. For some, it is simply a launching pad into power and opportunity. For others, it is simply a week of fun, manner and friendships. And for millions watching, it is addictive amusement that feels oddly familiar. TikTok did not acceptable retired to invent a world show, but it accidentally created one. The satellite is inactive watching.

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