Have you found yourself on the Alabama sorority rush side of Tik Tok? If your answer is no, that’s surprising. The madness of southern recruitment has taken everyone’s Tik Tok by storm. With colorful and flashy OOTDs and accents, these hopeful sorority girls have also turned into a satirical meme.
Like most big public schools, sorority recruitment is a major part of many student’s social life, and the south is no exception. As you read this very article, Bama potential new members (PNMs) are studied and watched by their elders for recruitment. To put themselves out there, show off their southern outfits and flare, the PNMs began posting outfit and introduction videos to the internet via TikTok.
The videos exploded under hashtags such as #AlabamaRushWeek #RushWeek #RollTide #OOTD. The mysterious TikTok algorithm has once again worked its magic, spreading these videos to middle-aged women on the West Coast to Northerners still in high school.
The user @angela_mayhew quoted in her own TikTok, “Me, 35 working 9-5pm in California while invested in my FYP dominated by Alabama Rush week.”
Many users have taken it upon themselves to create their own parody videos of these TikToks, mimicking the girls’ acute southern accents, colorful attire, youthful energy, and of course, the noticeable trend of giant statement earrings.
As the PNMs joyously identify the brands of each clothing item they wear, there has been a pattern of many girls mentioning “The Pants Store.” Audiences were quick to mock this particular aspect in their parody videos. Some viewers even began to suspect that the repeated mention of the “Pants Store” ties into a greater conspiracy schemed by the store itself.
But all of the fanatics over #BamaRush still begs the question, why has it gone viral? The first answer to this question probably has to do with the “TikTok algorithm,” that many social media platforms have begun to use. Watching through even one or two of these recruitment videos in full lets TikTok know you’re interested, even if you may not be.
There’s also something to say about the flashy nature and southern charm of the recruitment videos. Maybe you interpret these OOTDs and the recruitment culture as privileged; perhaps you are reminiscing on your own recruitment days or watch the videos in aspiration, or maybe you simply get a kick out of this obscure viral moment.
Whatever it may be, the Bama girls have taken over our “for you pages” or “fyps.” And until the recruitment is over, it seems as if they’re here to stay. All there is to do now is sit back and hope these viral PNMs get their top sorority.
Roll Tide!
