The Running of the Pigs

One huge difference between the Universities in the UK and the Universities here in the States is that there are enormous Fraternities and Sororities which you can join and be a part of for life. The only way I can describe them are as popular cliques of perfect people who have different reputations, some bad some good, but once you’re in you’re in! Greek life at USC is taken to the extreme. Apparently 1 in every 5 students is ‘Greek’ (as in a part of a Sorority/Fraternity – they’re not actually from Greece!)

Yesterday was something called ‘bid day’ where more than 1300 girls were accepted into their new lives of sisterhood to one of the Sororities. I had heard this was a big deal but what I was greeted with was utter madness! Imagine hundreds of pristine Barbie-like girls dressed up in tutus, cowboy boots and luminous colours, jumping up and down whilst screaming at the top of their lungs. Talk about intimidating. I didn’t know where to look! Chanting ‘Kappa Kappa Gamma’ or ‘Zeta Phi Beta’ none of it really made any sense. Luckily, I’ve befriended an American girl who lives in my building and she explained the whole ‘rushing’ system. At the top of the horseshoe were a group of younger girls dressed in normal clothes (Freshmen) surrounded by the Barbie rainbow clan, on bid day the Freshmen find out which sorority they’ve got into (if any!) after a week of intense interviews and events called ‘rush week’. The new pledges get given a tshirt with particular colours on that represent a Sorority. Then they run, screaming may I add, down the horseshoe, past all the Fraternity boys trying to trip them up, to their designated area. Greeted with ‘welcome home’ signs, there were girls hysterically crying as they finally found out where they would be living for the next four years of their college life.

I’m not sure words can actually justify how mad that afternoon was. Whistles blowing in all directions, chanting, screaming, crying. Chaos! I don’t know why this event is called ‘The Running of the Pigs’ because although there was a lot of running, the girls I saw in their glad rags definitely cannot be associated with anything of the piggish nature!