THE SECOND season of Alabama Rush is underway on TikTok, focusing on behind-the-scenes videos from the University of Alabama’s sorority rush week.
Videos of the women showing off their outfits of the day and providing updates on their sorority journey.
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What is Alabama Rush on TikTok?
Rush week officially kicked off on August 6, 2022, and students of the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa have posted clips on TikTok from sorority recruitment week, ranging from outfits of the day to song and dance numbers.
Users are using the #BamaRush and #AlabamaRush hashtags to form a cohesive landing page for the phenomenon.
According to AL.com, more than 2,200 women participate in the rush week every year.
During the recruitment week, sisters from the different chapters on campus gather to meet potential new members to learn more about them and determine who is the best fit for their sorority.
PNMs (potential new members) often attend events for multiple sororities and in some cases describe what the new “It” girls are like.
One person posted a video titled Bama Rush IT Girls, breaking down the top girls of the second season of Bama Rush.
Her videos have received positive affirmations from other users and 50k likes on the platform.
Girls are showcasing their outfits, to the delight of retail companies who are utilizing these videos as marketing tools.
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Kendra Scott, a jewelry company based in Austin, Texas, quickly jumped on the TikTok trend when its accessories were featured by women rushing at Alabama.
How is Bama Rush on TikTok similar to reality TV?
The responses to Bama Rush haven’t all been positive, with reality TV-type comments being displayed.
Sarah Coon, a nanny from Ohio, received backlash after posting a spreadsheet of the girls involved in the sorority based on Bama Rush.
She shared the spreadsheet in a video and said: “As a 34-year-old who didn’t have sororities at her university I hope everyone has a great experience and know it wasn’t all great for everyone last year but share what you want and know I’ll be cheering you on.”
Parents responded with criticism, saying their teenagers were being exposed in the spreadsheet, but Coon argued she only shared information the sorority candidates had already made publicly available.
She was accused of doxxing the PNMs, and “You’re going to get these girls blacklisted,” one comment read. Another told Coon to “get a job.”
Doxxing is the act of sharing another person’s personal contact information online.
Coon responded to the accusations, telling Mashable: “I wasn’t trying to create drama for the girls.
“I am not the only person talking about Bama Rush, and every single girl listed on the spreadsheet I found from looking through the Bama Rush hashtag.”
She said one of the girls listed asked to be removed from the spreadsheet, and Coon obliged, also making the video she was in private.
“Then I saw someone else with hundreds of thousands of followers post about that same girl and didn’t see any comments asking for it to be taken down,” Coon said.
Katlin Marisol Sweeney-Romero told the outlet: “There is a similar dialogue that happens in the comment sections of people talking about reality TV characters and of Bama RushTok.”
Sweeney-Romero is the author of a chapter on Bama Rush in TikTok Cultures in the United States and is a PhD candidate at Ohio State University.
She continued: “Fans of reality TV expand on the storylines we get on the show by talking about their behavior or persona on their social media profiles, and a similar mythos and narrativizing has been happening in the comments section of Bama RushTok faves like Kylan Darnell.”
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How does the sorority recruitment process work?
Recruitment can vary by university. However, fundamentally, PNMs must express interest in a sorority that also expressed interest in them by the end of the rush week.
It requires members to flaunt their charm and style on both sides until the groups mutually agree to accept them into the sorority.
“Sorority rush is flashy, expensive, over-the-top and enthusiastic on purpose,” writes Yahoo! Life.
This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
