Bama rush TikToks are large, however so are takedowns of sorority tradition

They are saying you already know a sorority lady while you see one, and boy, have I seen some these days.

Should you had been scrolling TikTok in any respect this previous week, it is doubtless that your For You Web page was in some unspecified time in the future taken over by school freshmen on the College of Alabama, most of them exhibiting off their outfits of the day (OOTDs). Whereas OOTD movies are usually not new, these had been all for a really particular occasion: sorority recruitment, higher often known as rush week.

One consumer’s OOTD for rush week.

Credit score: screenshot: TikTok/@ebbabyyy

One other typical OOTD instance, from a distinct consumer.

Credit score: Screenshot: TikTok/@reeseboo11

#BamaRush, because it’s aptly tagged on TikTok, has stolen the hearts of unassuming TikTok viewers in every single place. The movies themselves are easy: college-aged ladies getting dressed for his or her occasions, exhibiting off their outfits and naming the place every costume, shoe, and accent got here from. It is frilly and fabulous, and it is not possible to look away.

A number of components tie these movies collectively. Firstly, each named clothes merchandise appears to be from the identical (costly) shops and types. Kendra Scott, Steve Madden, and Pants Retailer (which, opposite to the identify, sells greater than pants) are the Alabama rush uniform. Secondly, all the women drop some very complicated lingo, together with Philanthropy Day, blacklisted, Outdated Row, Pref Day, and PNM.

And thirdly, virtually all the #RushTok fundamental characters are white ladies.

Sure, the pomp and circumstance of Alabama’s rush course of is undeniably enjoyable. And after virtually 18 months of cancelled occasions (together with rush at Alabama final 12 months, which was solely digital), it is thrilling to see school college students dress as much as have some harmless enjoyable whereas collaborating in class traditions. However TikTok’s obsession with Alabama’s sorority recruitment has paved the best way for the following development: explainer movies on the racist and elitist historical past of Alabama’s Greek life.

OK, what precisely is rush? And why will we care a lot about Alabama’s?

Sorority recruitment, aka rush, is meant to be a mutual choice course of the place women who’re involved in becoming a member of Greek life go to every chapter on their campus, at occasions typically known as “events.” At every of those events, the potential new members (PNMs) chat with the present members to find out about their organizations in a extremely orchestrated move of conversations.

After every day of events, the PNMs submit a ranked record of each sorority they visited, from those they’d most like to affix to the least. The sororities additionally rank each single lady their members talked to, from those they’d most like to affix to the least. A mysterious algorithm then analyzes these lists to finest match them up for the following day’s occasions. The record slowly dwindles over the times, till every lady is hopefully left along with her superb sorority match.

The College of Alabama’s rush course of is extraordinarily integral to not solely campus tradition, however American school tradition as a complete. In brief, Alabama does it finest. The college has 18 Panhellenic sororities, with 7,600 energetic members, in response to the Alabama Panhellenic Affiliation. Every of those organizations pulls out all of the stops each rush season, hoping to draw the most effective and brightest ladies to their organizations. And the bodily location of the college, in Tuscaloosa, AL, is house to a protracted line of Southern sorority traditions.

Principally, the world of Alabama Greek life is tremendous secretive, expansive, and unique, and the sheer thriller of such a glamorous course of can not help however be fascinating. Whether or not you participated in Greek life in school or had by no means even heard of it, the TikToks taking up FYPs in every single place let viewers in on a bit of little bit of the fantasy, instructed by way of the lenses of the ladies going by way of it themselves in what seems like a actuality TV present.

Meet Makayla, TikTok’s biracial rush queen and the impetus for anti-Alabama rush movies

Because the occasions of rush week occurred, a number of women saved reappearing on many customers’ feeds. Whereas most of them had been the aforementioned white ladies, consumer @whatwouldjimmybuffetdo, whose first identify is Makayla, shortly grew to become a fan favourite as one of many solely ladies of colour on #RushTok. She clearly recognized herself as biracial, after some commenters accused her of utilizing tanning beds to make her pores and skin darker.

Makayla posted the identical OOTD movies as everybody else, and gave the impression to be having fun with the frenzy course of. However after finishing most of rush, she up to date her followers to allow them to know that she had been dropped by each single sorority on campus. She wouldn’t be receiving a bid because of rumors of a video that confirmed her underage consuming, which broke the strict recruitment guidelines. Makayla went on to tackle the video in her TikToks, saying that she was not actually consuming in it and she or he was unfairly eradicated.

This cued the onslaught of criticism towards Alabama’s rush course of. Whereas it is true that many ladies do get reduce throughout the course of, the seemingly unfair dismissal of Makayla reminded a number of Greek life alumni of the customarily racist {qualifications} that sororities use to decide on PNMs.

“We’ve got to maintain the identical power throughout the board, We’ve got to use the foundations the identical to all people,” mentioned TikTok consumer and Alabama Phi Mu alum Marissa Lee. “We will not have this development the place, if you are going to be a lady of colour or if you are going to be a distinct individual in an surroundings, then it’s a must to be above reproach, then it’s a must to be distinctive.”

Whereas we will not know if Makayla’s racial identification had something to do along with her rush destiny, it is not possible to disregard the obviously racist tendencies of Alabama’s sororities. Based on NPR, Alabama’s sororities weren’t desegregated till 2013.

Learn that once more. Black ladies weren’t allowed to affix Panhellenic sororities on the College of Alabama till eight years in the past, doubtless below the antiquated guidelines of their nationwide organizations. And in much less documented realities, the social norms that dictate who makes it into the “finest” sororities at many universities typically leaves out anybody who is not white and rich.

“The highest homes know who they need earlier than anybody even walks of their doorways,” mentioned TikTok consumer Cedoni Francis, a Vanderbilt College alum talking extra broadly about Greek life. “As a result of these are the ladies who folks have gone to summer season camp with, these are the ladies that individuals have rode horses with their total life, these are the ladies you go to highschool with. Elitism breeds elitism.”

Francis additionally explains how the classist dues and fines buildings bar low-income college students from becoming a member of sororities and the statutes that forbid non-white members, resulting in a scarcity of financial, racial, and ethnic variety in Greek life in every single place.

The issue is not solely with Alabama’s sororities, and the TikTok craze ought to reignite an even bigger dialog about Greek life tradition.

This is not the primary time the problems of racism, classism, and sexism have surfaced within the Greek life scene. Round June 2020, a number of universities noticed the Abolish Greek Life motion acquire traction on social media because of members coming ahead with tales of blatant discrimination and sexual assault solely made potential by way of Greek life’s tradition.

“Folks of colour drop out of recruitment and out of their organizations at disproportionate charges because of the systemic oppression and racial violence that they expertise as a part of these organizations,” reads an Instagram submit from @abolishnugreeklife, the account main the motion at Northwestern College. “No variety of [diversity and inclusion] workshops is gonna repair that.”

Whereas a few of these universities did see sure Greek chapters shut their doorways because of the motion, many remained open and working with out a lot change — all of Alabama’s chapters amongst them. With this most up-to-date fascination in Alabama’s sorority scene and the examination into Greek life’s roots, it might be an opportunity to as soon as once more critically talk about the results of Greek life’s buildings.

“Greek life must be abolished for extra causes than excluding marginalized peoples,” reads an @abolishgreek_alabama submit. “Even should you had an incredible expertise with Greek life as a minority, you’re complicit in a system that endangers college students and perpetuates assault, sexism, alcoholism, elitism, and homophobia amongst different issues.”

Sure, the attire are fairly and the Southern drawls are enchanting, however when Alabama’s rush season concludes and the truth TV show-like haze has lifted, we cannot be remembering the white ladies who received bids to their dream sororities. We’ll be pondering of ladies like Makayla, who could be the newest sufferer of decades-long racism, and hoping that the TikToks that designate why this occurs can begin the trail in direction of change.