Monthly Archives: May 2020

“babes”, “sprouts”, “babies”

Title: “babes”, “sprouts”, “babies”

Information about Item:

  • Form of customary and verbal folklore
  • Informant: M.N.
  • Date Collected: 5/10/2020

Informant Data:

  • M.N. is a female member of the Class of 2022 at Dartmouth. She is affiliated with Greek Life, and she is from Boston.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural: These terms are used for every incoming new member of the sorority. They are used to help make incoming members easily identifiable and to also help them feel more connected with each other.
  • Social: This information was collected through a video chat interview.

Item:

  • Terms that refer to the incoming new members of the sorority.

Collector’s Name: Gia Kim

Tags/Keywords:

  • Verbal folklore
  • Customary folklore
  • Saying
  • Sorority rush

Pre-rush events

Title: Pre-rush events

Information about Item:

  • Form of customary folklore
  • Informant: S.I.
  • Date Collected: 5/8/2020

Informant Data:

  • S.I. is a female member of the Class of 2021 at Dartmouth. She is affiliated with Greek Life, and she is from California.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural: Events where sororities invite potential new members to the house. This allows the potential new members to meet sisters and check out the house before the official rush process begins.
  • Social: This information was collected through a video chat interview.

Item:

  • An event associated with sorority rush that happens before the official rush process begins.

Collector’s Name: Gia Kim

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary folklore
  • events
  • Sorority rush

Invitation Letter/Card

Title: Invitation Letter/Card

Information about Item:

  • Form of material and customary folklore
  • Informant: S.I.
  • Date Collected: 5/8/2020

Informant Data:

  • S.I. is a female member of the Class of 2021 at Dartmouth. She is affiliated with Greek Life, and she is from California.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural: A letter or card is given to you that invites you to be part of the house. The letter is usually signed by the president and the recruitment chair of the house.
  • Social: This information was collected through a video chat interview.

Item:

  • A letter or card that is sent to the individual as an official invitation to be part of the house

Collector’s Name: Gia Kim

Tags/Keywords:

  • Material folklore
  • Customary folklore
  • Letter
  • card
  • rush

Rush Lunches

Title: Rush Lunches

Information about Item:

  • Customary folklore
  • Informant: S.B.
  • Collected 5/17/2020

Informant Data:

S.B. is a member of the Class of 2020 at Dartmouth from New Jersey. He is affiliated with Greek Life and is studying Mathematics.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural: Rush lunches may be a part of the Interfraternity Council rush process.
  • Social: This item was collected through a video chat interview. According to the informant, rush lunches add a new component to the rush process by allowing more personal connections to be formed. The potential new members are able to get to know current members of the specific organization.

Item:

Rush Lunches are organized events where members of a specific fraternity may go to lunch with a potential new member.

Collector’s Comments:

I found this item to be informative of fraternity rush, as it displays an aspect of the rush process that occurs in smaller groups and allows for more conversation. It seems as though this would help potential new members decide if they are interested in a specific fraternity.

Collector: Meredith Srour

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary folklore
  • Fraternity rush

Rho gamma

Title: Rho gamma

Information about Item:

  • Form of verbal folklore
  • Informant: M.N.
  • Date Collected: 5/10/2020

Informant Data:

  • M.N. is a female member of the Class of 2022 at Dartmouth. She is affiliated with Greek Life, and she is from Boston.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural: Every potential new member participating in sorority rush is assigned to a rho gamma, who guides them through the rush process. Rho gammas are affiliated but their affiliations are kept secret from the potential new members throughout the whole rush process. They are serve as a resource for potential new members to ask questions or make reports with confidentiality.
  • Social: This information was collected through a video chat interview.

Item:

  • A word that refers to a confidential resource that helps and leads potential new members throughout the rush process for sororities.

Collector’s Name: Gia Kim

Tags/Keywords:

  • Verbal folklore
  • Customary folklore
  • Saying
  • Sorority rush

Rush Round Themes

Title: Rush Round Themes

Information about Item: 

  • Material folklore
  • Customary folklore
  • Informant: H.W.
  • Collected 5/13/2020

Informant Data:

H.W. is a member of the Class of 2020 at Dartmouth from Portland, OR. She is affiliated with Greek Life at Dartmouth.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural: Rush rounds are the three steps of the Inter-sorority Council (ISC) sorority rush process taking place over 1.5 weeks.
  • Social: The item was collected through a video chat interview. Only current members of the organization dress according to the theme. According to the informant, the social significance of this item is that it is a way to “be memorable” to potential new members and ultimately tells something about the specific organization.

Item:

Current members of sororities may dress according to different themes for the three rounds of the rush process. Some examples given by the informant are Outer Space theme and Rock and Roll theme.

Collector’s Comments:

This item made clear the importance of how the Greek organization presents itself to potential new members during the rush process.

Collector: Meredith Srour

Tags/Keywords:

  • Material folklore
  • Customary folklore
  • Sorority Rush
  • Themes

 

 

House Gear

Title: House Gear

Information about Item:

  • Form of material and customary folklore
  • Informant: L.G.
  • Date Collected: 5/8/2020

Informant Data:

  • L.G. is a female member of the Class of 2022 at Dartmouth. She is affiliated with Greek Life, and she is from New York.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural: The clothing represents their membership within the house. Individuals are also able to tell what term the person has joined the house depending on the house gear they are wearing because a house usually makes 2-3 new house gears every 2 terms.
  • Social: This information was collected through a video chat interview.

Item:

  • Members wear “house gear” to show that there are a member of that house.

Collector’s Name: Gia Kim

Tags/Keywords:

  • Material folklore
  • Customary folklore
  • Clothing
  • Sorority rush

Fraternity Shake Out

Title: Fraternity Shake Out

Information about Item:

  • Customary folklore
  • Verbal folklore
  • Informant: K.I.
  • Collected 5/18/2020

Informant Data:

The informant, K.I., is a member of the Class of 2020 at Dartmouth. He is from Massachusetts. At Dartmouth, he is affiliated with Greek Life and is studying Engineering.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural: Shake Out is a part of the Interfraternity Council rush process.
  • Social: The information was collected through a video chat interview. Participants in Shake Out are potential new members of the Greek organizations, and the event indicates possible intent to join a specific house.

Item:

Shake Out is a two-night event that occurs during fraternity rush. For this event, potential members must shake the hands of current members. Additionally, during Shake Out, potential members communicate their interest in a Greek organization by signing their name in a book.

Collector’s Comments: 

I found this item to be interesting, as it indicates a unique component of the fraternity rush process. I was not aware of the details of this process prior to the interview.

Collector’s Name: Meredith Srour

Tags/Keywords: 

  • Customary folklore
  • Verbal folklore
  • Fraternity rush

Fraternity Shake Out Clothing

Title: Fraternity Shake Out Clothing

Information about Item:

  • Material folklore
  • Customary folklore
  • Informant: R.B.
  • Collected 5/13/2020

Informant Data:

R.B. is a member of the Class of 2020 at Dartmouth and is affiliated with Greek Life. He is from California and studying Engineering.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural: Shake Out is a step of the Interfraternity Council rush process.
  • Social: This item was collected through a video chat interview. Not all fraternities request that potential new members wear formal attire. It may be “out of respect” to dress formally, and this is only done by potential new members.

Item: Potential new members of fraternity organizations wear formal attire for the Shake Out event.

Collector’s Comments:

This item is similar to a different item collected- Sorority Pref Night clothing. Formal attire may be required for both processes, potentially indicating the significance and formality of certain events.

Collector’s Name: Meredith Srour

Tags/Keywords:

  • Material folklore
  • Customary folklore
  • Clothing
  • Fraternity rush

Disinfecting After Work

Ritual
Disinfecting After Work

Ross Johnson
Chicago, Illinois
2020

Informant Data:
Ross Johnson is a Caucasian, middle-aged father of one who lives in Chicago, Illinois. He is the manager of a meat packing plant where he works Monday through Friday every week. Even when many businesses closed, his meat packing plant stayed open with social distancing measures in place. Having to go out five out of seven days a week, even in lieu of stay-at-home orders, there were concerns that he could become infected, or have the virus on his clothes and bring it home to his family. To prevent this to the best of his ability, he did his best to make sure that he was disinfected when he got home, before ever actually stepping foot into his house.

Contextual Data:
The global pandemic that has been plaguing our world since the beginning of the year has led to stay-at-home orders in almost every state, and social distancing restrictions across the globe. Many businesses were forced to close their doors for the time being, unless they were deemed essential. Ross Johnson’s meat packing plant was allowed to stay open as long as they took the appropriate measures such as wearing masks the entirety of the time and staying socially distanced.

Item:
Being able to continue working through the pandemic has been a real blessing, but also means that I have an increased risk of exposure to coronavirus. The last thing I want to do is accidentally bring it home with me and infect my wife or daughter, so whenever I get home I follow the same routine to make sure I’m completely clean and disinfected before going into my house. As soon as I get home from work, I stand in the garage while my wife sprays me down with industrial strength disinfectant. Then I leave my work clothes in the garage and go hop in the shower. After all of that I feel much more comfortable being around my family so I make sure that I follow this routine every single time I come home from work.

Isaac Hanover, 20
533 Homestead Drive
Lima, Ohio, 45807
Dartmouth College
RUSS 13
Spring 2020