Learning Lessons from the viral sensation that is Bama Rush

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

WB Darin A. Lahners

Every year for the past few years, in August, my wife Lisa has had her FYP (For You Page) in TikTok flooded with all of the young women participating in the rush at the University of Alabama. This past Rush was what followers were calling "Bama Rush Season Four".  Every Year Potential New Members or PNM's flood TikTok to document their Rush experiences.  A very important part of this is what they call their: OOTD or Outfit of the Day.  These young women showcase outfits and accessories that they are wearing for their Rush experiences. Their rush experiences lead up to Bid Day (the day when women find out if they are selected to join a Sorority). The schedule for Rush week at UA is: Convocation and Open House on the first day (this year it was August 10), Followed by Philanthropy and Sisterhood Days, leading up to Preference Day and Bid Day.  After each day, PNM's rank their houses, culminating with a final ranking on Preference day.  

Convocation is when members of the Alabama Panhellenic Executive Council give a description of the day-to-day schedule, PNM's are assigned to a Sigma Rho Chi group and they meet their leaders for the week.  They also receive two Philanthropy Day t-shirts.  Open House is where the PNM's watch short videos from each sorority which allows them to learn about each chapter, their values, history, signature events, and personality.  The PNM's also tour sorority row.  During the Philanthropy days, PNM's visit up to 12 chapters for 30 minutes each.  Because Service is an important part of the Greek Life at UA, this round gives each PNM a glimpse of the Philanthropic work each chapter does.  Financial information is also provided by each chapter that is visited during this time.  The PNM's are told to wear the shirts they were given at Convocation at these visits.

Sisterhood Days give the PNM's the opportunity to see the personalities of the sororities at UA. During this time, the PNM's may attend up to 7 parties, each of which are 40 minutes long.  This time allows more conversation between the PNM's and the members of the sorority. It allows PNM's to see firsthand the social culture and makeup of each chapter.  Preference Day is when PNM's need to really focus in on what they want to gain out of joining a sorority.  When a PNM is invited to a Preference event, it normally means that the sorority is very interested in that PNM becoming a member.  PNM's are only allowed to attend up to two Preference parties.  After participating in a short ceremony, the PNM's are able to talk privately with a member where they share with the PNM's how they made their decision and what their sorority means to them personally. After the last party, the PNM completes something called a MRABA (Membership Recruitment Acceptance Binding Agreement).  The MRABA includes six sections, one of which is where the PNM lists sororities in preferential rank order, along with signing their binding agreement.  

The last day of the Rush process is Bid Day.  At the UA on Bid Day, PNM's sit with their Sigma Rho Chi group in Bryant Denny Stadium.  A member of the Panhellenic Executive Board does a countdown for PNM's to open their bids.  Once bids are opened, each house is called one by one and the PNMs run with the other new members to their sorority house for a Bid Day celebration.  Bids are usually given to PNMs who have indicated a top preference for a sorority during Preference Day, and that sorority has indicated they want that PNM as a member.  Bid day may come with disappointment for the young women who don't receive a bid, however, they can still potentially join a sorority as long as that sorority hasn't reached its quota for new membership.  Some young women drop when they don't receive a bid from their preference houses as well, which makes space for those who are deadset on being a member of a sorority.  

Now, you're probably asking yourself at this point what the heck this process can teach Freemasonry.  So hear me out. 

There is a real cultural zeitgeist surrounding Bama Rush that we don't see in Freemasonry.  Maybe it's because our membership process is vastly different, but I think a lot of the popularity of Bama Rush (and then by proxy other Rush's) has been grown by social media, especially TikTok.  What I have observed is the following.  I want the reader to suspend their disbelief when I say some things which might be hard truths for them to swallow. 

1.  A large part of the draw that has thousands of young women rush sororities at Bama (more than 2500 signed up this past year) is ,as I mentioned above, the popularity of the experience, which has grown due to social media, especially Tik Tok.  If we want to make Freemasonry popular again, and I've said this before, we need to have all Masonic Bodies up their Social Media game, especially on TikTok.  When I just searched TikTok for "Grand Lodge", I found plenty of Illuminati and Grand Lodges from African countries, but no Regular Grand Lodges.  Now it's possible that due to the algorithm or other factors, they weren't at the top of the list, and I did not scroll through the entire search list.  However, to quench my curiosity, I decided to search for "Illinois Freemasonry".  Again, lots of anti-Masonic stuff but no "sanctioned" Grand Lodge of Illinois posts.   

Now I understand that many of the members of our Grand Line in the Grand Lodge of Illinois are hesitant regarding TikTok for various reasons.  However, it is like it or not, TikTok is Gen Alpha's preferred social media and is growing in popularity with other generations.  It would do us good to start a dedicated push to reach the younger generations (I'm Gen-X, stupid and contagious) by showing the best of Freemasonry.  In my mind, we should be sharing our public facing ceremonies with all their pomp and circumstance freely on social media, and showing the world what they are.  We should also grow an air of mystery regarding the ones we can't share, but ultimately, we need to have young men of gen-alpha walking the walk and talking the talk as to why Freemasonry is needed more than ever.  I emphasize the "young men" part of this.  

Freemasonry needs to be using every possible avenue to market itself to Gen Alpha.  Let's face it if a Masonic renaissance is going to happen, it isn't going to come from the generations that currently aren't joining Freemasonry, it is going to come from Gen Alpha and the generations behind it.  Yet, I would say that the demographic that Grand Lodges currently market themselves toward is the generations that aren't joining.  If we want Freemasonry to survive, we need to stop doing what isn't working for us.  We need to encourage our members, especially Gen-Alpha members to have a heavy social media presence, especially on TikTok.    

2. While the reality is that in 2023, 92% of PNM's received a bid, there is a sense of elitism that comes with Bama Rush.  In fact, the top three houses at Bama have a niche recruiting strategy.  They look for the smartest and most attractive young women who will contribute academically and socially to their state on Campus.  Yes, yes...some of you reading this might be clutching your pearls and saying something about the internal qualities of a man being what matters instead of the external qualities.  I am talking about the internal qualities.  I'm talking about recruiting men who are intelligent men, curious men, men who are not judgemental, men who believe in a higher power, and men who have strong moral character.   

Elitism means that we have a Fraternity that has a membership full of those who are living the lessons that we are taught by our progressive moral science. In those grand jurisdictions like Illinois which allow an Invitation to Petition program, each lodge should be identifying these men, men with strong moral character, and they should be inviting them to join.  For those who do not have this program, they should be holding open houses and inviting them to attend those.  We do need to guard the west gate, and we need to be holding the line against those who are "Good Enough", instead we should be only allowing the best and brightest.  Freemasonry needs to return to being an organization that was exclusive and inclusive, instead of allowing membership petitions to be handed out like candy on Halloween. 

3. Being in a Sorority is not cheap.  Freemasonry should not be cheap either.  I am convinced that we could easily separate the wheat from the chaff in Freemasonry by raising our dues to be on par with the cheapest sorority at the University of Alabama.  According to what I found from this year, that would be degree fees of $1400 and dues of $1100.  The average new member fee at UA is: $4287 (I would equate this with Degree Fees), and average membership fees (dues) are: $3736.29 for the young women who are not living in the sorority house. 

Now why are they paying this?  Because being in a sorority means something to them personally.  Now I would most definitely say that membership should mean as much to the members of the Masonic Fraternity.  Those who are balking at the above numbers do not understand that with such dues, the quality of their Freemasonry would need to be increased.  Lodges could no longer get away with rolling out the cold cuts or pizza, the expectation would be that the lodge would have a more formal dining experience.  Speakers would be able to be brought in for education,  and the worries about affording the next thing in our older lodge buildings would be a thing of the past.  Instead of fundraising to raise money for the lodge's needs, the lodge's needs would be taken care of, and fundraising would be a form of community engagement where the funds raised could be given back to the community organizations that benefit those in your communities. 

4. Sororities often have a strict dress code.  In researching this article, I ran across a guide published by the UA Panhellenic Council advising young women on what to wear to recruitment.  However, many sororities go above and beyond that. Why then do we as Freemasons not have a dress code in many jurisdictions?  I have always worn a suit to degrees.  It doesn't matter what the Masonic Body is, if there is a degree, and the body does not have or enforce a dress code, then the dress code is a dark suit and tie.  If it's a stated meeting and we do not have a guest speaker, then at the minimum business casual.  Official lodge functions and public-facing ceremonies, dark suit and tie.    

There is no reason why we shouldn't have our Gen Alpha members posting their OOTDs for lodge functions and other functions. While I am sure some of you again are giving me the stinkeye,  unless the member has a good reason for not dressing up (for example, my youngest son is autistic and has sensory issues when it comes to certain fabrics so if he were ever to join Freemasonry, I'd be throwing him a suit made of sweat suit material), then we should be dressing up for Masonic functions.  We need to return the sense of awe and reverence to our ceremonies and dressing up should be a part of this reverence.

In summation, we need Freemasonry to make rapid changes and soon.  We need to look to Freemasonry's future and engage the generations that will carry us forward in this century.  We need to make Freemasonry look mad-lit instead of Ohio.  We need to have young members engaged and empowered, at every front.  We need to market the aspects of Freemasonry that can improve a young man's life to quality young men.  Yes, I get that it can be scary, especially for the majority of our boomer membership, but there's no reason why Grand Lodges and other Masonic Bodies should not be demanding of their marketing firms content that is tailored towards men under 25, instead of men over the age of 60.  A problem I often see in Freemasonry at every level is a lack of imagination and cowardice when it comes to innovation.  Unless we change, we will die.  I love Freemasonry.  I can't imagine who I would have become without its impact on my life.  I want to give that gift to others.  I don't want Freemasonry to die.  We should look at other successful fraternal organizations like the sororities at the University of Alabama and emulate them. 

~DAL

WB Darin A. Lahners is our Managing Editor. He is a host and producer of the "Meet, Act and Part" podcast as well as a co-host of an all-things-paranormal podcast, "Beyond the 4th Veil." He is currently serving the Grand Lodge of Illinois Ancient Free and Accepted Masons as a member of the Committee on Masonic Education. He is a Past Master and current Secretary of St. Joseph Lodge No.970 in St. Joseph. He is also a plural member of Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL), where he is also a Past Master. He’s also a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Danville, a charter member of Illinois Royal Arch Chapter, Admiration Chapter No. 282, Salt Fork Shrine Club under the Ansar Shrine, and a grade one (Zelator) in the S.C.R.I.F. Prairieland College in Illinois. He is also a Fellow of the Illinois Lodge of Research. He is a Torok Award Winner from the Illinois Lodge of Research in 2021. You can reach him by email at editormidnightfreemasons@gmail.com.