With the beginning of the semester come new classes, calendars packed with reunions after a three-week separation, preparations for basketball season and of course rush. The Chronicle's Sasha Zients and Raisa Chowdhury spoke to students about how the process has been so far.
“I just want to sleep.”
—freshman Jake Grusd
“It’s been really a nice, pleasant experience. I felt really prepared going in, so it’s going well so far.”
—freshman Chidinma Nnoromele
“Rush is a lot of work but in the end it pays of because you make a lot of friends.”
—sophomore Alex Schwob, SLG member
“It’s been a lot, but honestly fun and worth it just to meet upperclassmen girls and share the experience with fellow freshmen.”
—freshman Jailene Vazquez
“I was involved in rush last year. When I was in it, it was pretty cool and it keeps you busy and your life exciting. Since I’m not doing it right now, I feel like it’s crowded and noisy everywhere.”
—sophomore Cindy Deng, SLG member
“Rush is honestly such a great time to meet an incredibly diverse selection of people. I truly think that it's a great opportunity to really see what Duke students are like. Just make sure you know how to prioritize your time and effort.”
—freshman Katherine Zhou
“I know absolutely nothing about rush except I can’t wait until it’s over. People at my apartment are very loud.”
—senior Beth Blackwood
“I mean it's tiring but it's really actually cool because I get to meet new people who I otherwise wouldn't know. And it was really hard today because I didn't want to drop anyone.”
—freshman Devon Case
“Rush is hilarious.”
—junior Imani Ifedi, SLG member
“Time to get weird.”
—junior Tera Kashgarian, SLG member
“I really don’t have an opinion on rush because I’m not rushing”
—freshman Farhan Khan
“I feel like the theory behind rush and how rush is supposed to work and stuff, it’s an interesting concept, but in practice I’m not sure if it actually works.”
—junior Zohair Zaidi
“SLG rush kind of feels like o-week all over again, tons of awkward small talk and a lot of events to choose from. But it's exciting. I'd been looking forward to SLGs starting up all year.”
—freshman Christina Burt
“It’s hard to sum up rush in one word. SLG rush is really fun. You get to really meet people and I think it’s an opportunity as an underclassmen to ask all your questions about upperclassmen’s lives.”
—sophomore Will Victor, SLG member
"Rush sucks unless you take risks and break some rules. Start a dance party, talk about bad haircuts, and don't be afraid to snort when you laugh. You don't want a group of girls to like you only at your best, because then they hate you 99 percent of the time."
—freshman Emily Woska
“I actually liked it because you get to talk to a lot of upperclassmen. If you treat it like you’re doing it to get to know people, rather than trying to get into a specific sorority, it’s a much better experience.”
—freshman Brigitte von Oppenfeld
“Hopefully the system has been enhanced so that hazing has been taken more into account this year because I have heard a lot of stories about people being hazed without consenting, and that can be harmful to what fraternities and sororities actually stand for.”
—senior Sebastian Cifuentes
“I enjoyed knowing the distinct personalities and qualities of each sorority through my own observations and see the distance between the perceptions I’ve heard from other people before rush and the real images of them. I find the weekend to be well organized and supportive, knowing that there are different people I could turn to with questions and concerns is reassuring.”
—freshman Leo Lou
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