Title: Shaking Out

Information about Item:

• Verbal and customary folklore
• Informant: J.S.
• Collected 05/26/2020

Informant Data:

J.S. is a member of the Class of 2020 at Dartmouth and is affiliated with Greek Life. He is from New Jersey and studies Economics.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural context: This refers to deciding and letting a fraternity know that they are your first option during rush. It typically occurs on a Friday night and in some cases on Saturday night.
  
• Social context: This item was collected through video chat. This cultural artifact is  part of the start of the rush process.

Item: Shaking out is a custom through which potential new members let a fraternity know that they are very interested in that fraternity and that it is their first choice. It refers to a ritual that is common across all fraternities.

Collector’s Comments:

What makes this item important is that is often the very first step in the rush process and is a ritual that all fraternity members can relate to.

Collector’s Name: Sanjit Deepalam

Tags/Keywords:

• Saying
• Customary folklore
• Fraternity rush

Title: Bump Groups

Information about Item:

• Verbal and customary folklore
• Informant: K.P.
• Collected 05/20/2020

Informant Data:

K.P. is a member of the Class of 2020 at Dartmouth and is affiliated with Greek Life. She is from Vermont and studies Chemistry.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural: Bump groups are groups of members in sororities that rotate potential new members through a house. A potential new member will talk to each member in a bump group, usually without knowing that they are being rotated between people in this group.
• Social: This item was collected through video chat. This cultural artifact is only relevant to members that are already a part of the sorority in question. Potential new members are usually unaware of these groups during the rush process.

Item: Bump groups are a part of each sorority’s culture and exist as a way to have greater interaction with potential new members to see if they are a good fit for their organization.

Collector’s Comments:

What makes this item distinct is that it is a part of the rush process that potential new members are unaware of. It exists as a way for a sorority to do a better job of evaluating potential new members.

Collector’s Name: Sanjit Deepalam

Tags/Keywords:

• Saying
• Customary folklore
• Sorority rush

Title: Rush Chair

Information about Item:

• Verbal and customary folklore
• Informant: R.M.
• Collected 05/23/2020

Informant Data:

R.M. is a female member of the Class of 2020 at Dartmouth and is affiliated with Greek Life. She is from New York and studies philosophy.

Contextual Data:

• Verbal: “Rush Chair” is a title given to a member of a sorority that is in charge of organizing the rush process at her house.
• Custom: The Rush Chair inputs information into the computer system about which girls will be called back for each round of the rush process

Item: One member of an existing Greek house is appointed the Rush Chair and organizes the rush process.

Collector’s Comments:

This item is actually a position of power within the sorority. The Rush Chair has a variety of responsibilities and has a great deal of control over the overall rush process and is a key part of making  rush a success.

Collector’s Name: Sanjit Deepalam

Tags/Keywords:

• Verbal folklore
• Customary folklore
• Rush process
• Sorority rush