Every year since 2021, TikTok users have been transfixed by young college students posting about their experiences with sorority rush at the University of Alabama. The process of joining Greek life, known as rush or recruitment, has been around for many decades. went viral in the year following the COVID-19 lockdown, giving the world more insight into the process, the unique fashion of Greek life in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
, and the hopeful cast of young college students hoping to get into the sororities of their dreams. Here’s what you need to know about Bama Rush and its lasting appeal. Potential new members (PNMs) at the University of Alabama post on TikTok about the outfits they wear to each event, sometimes divulging how they think it went and what sorority they hope to end up in.
The rush process sees PNMs going to multiple events, meeting scores of other hopeful recruits and trying to connect with the existing members of several different sororities. There are a few they go through over the course of a week: PNMs meet for a casual introduction to the day-by-day rush process. PNMs watch a series of five-minute-long videos from each sorority to determine what their top priorities are, and they’re encouraged to take notes.
Sorority chapters do the same with videos of PNMs. PNMs are given matching T-shirts, which they pair with shorts or a skirt, and visit up to 12 sorority chapters for about 30 minutes each to learn about how they contribute to the community. This begins the .