Greek Life Gone Viral

Engagement Party

CNN

News, Society & Culture, Entertainment News, Arts

4.6 • 986 Ratings

🗓️ 14 September 2023

⏱️ 28 minutes

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Summary

In recent years, Greek life faced a crisis as the pandemic cast a shadow on recruitment, and the “abolish Greek life” movement grew across campuses. But then came #RushTok — a flurry of TikToks documenting the sorority recruitment process among university campuses, especially in the South. One tag, in particular, soared to remarkable heights: #BamaRush. It chronicled the rush process at the University of Alabama and has garnered an astonishing 3 billion TikTok views (and counting). This week we speak to writer, journalist, and former sorority sister Anne Helen Petersen, who has been documenting the phenomenon. Why are the videos dominating our feeds? And what does RushTok’s popularity say about its stars... and its biggest stans? Anne Helen Petersen is a writer and journalist whose writing has appeared in BuzzFeed News, The New York Times, Vox, The Atlantic, and more. Her books include Out of the Office: The Big Problem and Bigger Promise of Working From Home and Can’t Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation. She writes a Substack newsletter called Culture Study. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Okay, real talk. Certain cultural phenomena kind of, I don't know, I just can't dig into them.
0:07.1	I mean, it's not out of malice. I just don't really get around to reading about it.
0:12.0	And honestly, fraternities and sororities are in that category.
0:16.3	I went to a big state university that didn't really need Greek life to maintain its hard partying reputation.
0:22.8	But like Barbie, Beyonce and Taylor, Rush Talk is yet another feel-good femme hit of the summer.
0:31.1	It's here. It's here. My favorite time of year. It's Alabama Rush Week next week. The OOTDs are back. I'm so excited.
0:39.8	There's a documentary on Max. It's called Bama Rush.
0:44.5	Sorority recommends a game. You have to know how to play it. Because Greek life is
0:52.6	everything at Alabama.
0:55.2	And that barely holds a candle to the drama and sheer volume of content generated by the sorority pledges themselves,
1:03.2	with their daily updates of the process at the University of Alabama and other schools.
1:08.5	Never mind the meta-commentary by those who are obsessed with them.
1:13.3	My name is Brandis.
1:14.4	I'm your self-appointed Bama Rush Senior Correspondent.
1:17.4	Morgan didn't know the prices of brands.
1:19.2	Bella Grace was wearing Lily Pulitzer and knew what she was wearing.
1:22.5	Hashtag Bamber Rush has nearly 4 billion views to date on TikTok alone.
1:27.9	I'm totally asking for a friend, but is there any way a 25-year-old can go to Alabama and
1:34.3	Rush sorority there?
1:38.0	I'm literally just wondering.
1:39.7	Thank the TikTok guides because after much concern and deliberation, the Bama sorority girls are back for another rush season.
1:47.7	Seasons. They talk about this like it's reality television. Although, in a way, I think it is, maybe.
	...

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