Hannah Burt, Contributing Writer
Annelise Matthiesen, Staff Writer
On Sept. 17th, Sewanee’s Greek life community celebrated Shake Day. Seven sororities and ten fraternities distributed their bids and welcomed new members with costumes, photo shoots, buzzing parties and other organization-specific rituals. Featured below are interviews conducted by The Sewanee Purple on Shake Day.
Two Sewanee sophomores are pictured sharing a moment together during Shake Day. Joi Horton (C ‘28) is a transfer student that went through the upperclassmen recruitment (“uprush”) process this Fall and she is now a member of Alpha Delta Theta. She said, “uprush was everything I hoped it would be and more! Outside of learning about the wonderful things each sorority had to offer, I also met some amazing people. I love to talk so getting to socialize for a guaranteed two hours meant everything to me!” Since Joi is a transfer student, she wanted to take advantage of everything Sewanee had to offer her, saying, “ I’m a firm believer in “you never know unless you try.” I’d heard endless stories about how inclusive Greek life is here so I decided to experience it for myself.” After she went through the rush process she believes that it changed her perspective on Greek life. She said, “Sewanee itself is such a unique and quirky place and that holds true for Greek life as well. Experiencing this inclusivity while feeling welcomed at every sorority I went to really helped minimize the stress of such a big week. Even after I got my bid I felt an overwhelming sense of support and love from all of the great friends I’d made at each house I went to. When anyone decides to rush at Sewanee, whether it is uprush, or Spring rush, they truly have to forget everything they’ve ever learned about Greek life. Don’t go into it expecting it to be anything like what you see at SEC or state schools. It’s even better, and there’s genuinely nothing else like it.”
Carly Polka (C ‘28) is a part of the Theta Pi chapter. Her overall experience being on the other side of rush was eye opening to her, with her saying that “As a PNM (Potential New Member), I was mostly focused on how I came across and whether I’d fit in. This time, it was about making sure others felt welcome and comfortable. The biggest difference is that instead of looking for a home for myself, I was helping others see if our chapter could be theirs.” The process for her was a mixture of being stressful and fun, she said, “ There’s definitely stress, long days, lots of talking and the responsibility of representing Theta Pi in the best way possible. But it was also really fun, especially bonding with sisters during prep, hyping each other up, and sharing real conversations with PNM’s. The balance made the experience meaningful.” Carly now understands the intentionality of the recruitment process and recognizes the hard work happening behind the scenes, including: “preparing conversations, discussing values and making sure we’re true to who we are as a chapter.” She now appreciates Greek Life as more than just events and socials, and says, “it’s about building a strong community.”
Santana Etchison (C ‘27) is a member of Phi Kappa Epsilon. When asked about her experience already having gone through rush, she said, “The process for me was fun because I went in with the mindset to be open to everyone and that made it a lot less stressful because you can get to know a lot of people and make new friends no matter how it turns out.” She now realizes that “Greek life is what you make of it,” and has a positive attitude toward Greek Life. She enjoyed rushing and loves her sorority. Santana’s advice to PNMs is “if I had to go through rush again I would go to every Greek rush event I could.”
The Purple interviewed a student that chose not to go through recruitment. Florence Korley (C’ 28) stated, “I have many friends who rushed but I knew since I came to Sewanee it was not something for me.” When asked about her perception of Sewanee Greek life, she responded by saying she feels indifferent to her choice in not participating in Greek life and that there were “no penalties to not rushing compared to an SEC school.” Although it is true that there are no apparent penalties to not rushing, she stated, “When I tell people I’m a GDI sometimes I feel like I always have to explain why I didn’t want to rush. People would always ask me why I didn’t and how much they wanted me to, but I don’t get why because it’s not like being in their sorority is going to make us closer in my opinion.” Florence enjoys finding other ways to build community She involves herself in clubs, finds friends in classes and radiates energy at parties on the weekends.
Below, the Kappa Omega (KO) chapter pose for a picture in their “KOnstruction” ensemble. “I’m having a great time,” Olivia Morris (C ‘28) said. “We’ve been dancing at KO, Chi Psi and now Theta Pi. We’ve not stopped dancing.” Chry White (C ’27) was similarly enthusiastic. “I have been friends with the KOs for a while now and I’ve been meaning to rush, but I never had the time. It’s just amazing to finally be with all my friends,” she said. After Shake Day, White and Morris are most excited for KO’s themed parties and crafting events.
London Lewis (C ‘26) is a current member of Gamma Sigma Phi. When he chose his Shake Day outfit, Lewis opted for function and form. “This is my running outfit. It’s very airy, very agile. But this, my jacket, this is what I got after I did all my hard work to join the fraternity,” he explained. On Shake Day, Lewis talked to new members of his organization and learned to grill for the first time and visited his Phi Sigma Theta sisters. He said, “It’s a fun day because there’s a lot of people out doing things, so maybe I’ll meet some new people. I’ll be looking forward to that.”
Libby Allen (C ‘28), an active member of Kappa Delta (KD), “shook” new member Ari Riggs (C ‘28). KD was Riggs’s top choice sorority. In her coming years as a KD, she looks forward to being paired with her “Big,” learning more about the sorority’s history and getting involved in philanthropy. Her favorite part of Shake Day was opening bid cards with her roommate. She said, “We both got KD. It was the cutest thing ever. It was like, we did it Joe. We did it,” she said. Allen’s favorite part was the day before Shake Day because it felt like “waiting for Christmas morning.” Allen stated, “It’s really fun to be on the other side of Shake Day, and it’s so exciting to see other people so excited about being in something that you love.”
McLean Broaddus (C ‘28), loved being a first-time Shaker and stated “It’s really fun because you get to get closer to new members, and you get to know them better.” Broaddus’s favorite part of Shake Day was when current members cheered and formed a human tunnel for the new members to run through. Maggie Trudell’s (C ‘27) favorite part was the support she received from the members of her new sorority because KD was the sorority that “really clicked with her” during the recruitment process. Trudell said “I just loved the people that I met. The first time I came to the formal house I just knew that was the place I wanted to be. No other organization gave me that exact feeling.”