Why University of Alabama sorority rush content is all over TikTok right now
- Content about University of Alabama sorority recruitment - "Bama rush" - has taken over TikTok.
- The subculture's explosion follows in the footsteps of other niche phenomena exploding on the app.
- It's also sparked a broader discussion about Greek life on the app.
"Hi guys, rush day three, outfit of the day!" TikTok user @allylasaly says at the beginning of a video filmed in what appears to be a college dorm room. "This shirt is blue, it's from Alabama. Shorts are from Shein, earrings from Shein, necklace Kendra Scott, voice gone, shoes Target."
@allylasaly's video, which has nearly 90,000 likes on TikTok but has since been made private, is an "outfit of the day (OOTD) check" for sorority recruitment at the University of Alabama, and it's one of many that have flooded the platform over the past several days, leading For You Page viewers nationwide - many of whom are not involved in collegiate Greek life, nor attend the University of Alabama - to ask how the hell they ended up on what many are referring to as "Bama rush TikTok."
The hashtag #bamarush has over 80 million views on TikTok as of Friday and only seems to be growing.
'Bama Rush TikTok,' explained
Currently, some women at the University of Alabama are participating in the weeklong recruitment process (also referred to as "rush") with the goal of matching up with a sorority.
This year, recruitment at the University of Alabama lasts from Saturday, August 7, until Sunday, August 15. It encapsulates a series of events designated to introduce prospective new members (PNMs, for short) to sororities on campus. By the end of the week, PNMs and sororities ideally match through a mutual selection process, although PNMs are not guaranteed an invitation to join a sorority at the end of the process, according to the University of Alabama Panhellenic Association.
This particular recruitment process is limited to National Panhellenic Conference sororities on campus. It does not include the eight historically African-American fraternities and sororities of the National Pan-Hellenic Council that are represented at the University of Alabama.
TikTok is now filled with some PNMs going through the process at the university, inspiring parodies and a kind of fandom of their own on the platform. Many of the videos feature OOTD run-downs for the various days of the recruitment process, with women listing off the origins of their clothing and jewelry.
The videos themselves have inspired not only parodies but also a fandom, with people eagerly following recruitment day-by-day.
Other similar subcultures have blown up on TikTok before
As In The Know's Kelsey Weekman wrote, Bama rush's dominance of TikTok is likely tied both to both the fact that it's been two years since the last major rush season (due to COVID-19 restrictions) and because it provides a window into a specific subculture that's unfamiliar to many. Additionally, sorority rush content, as NBC News' Kalhan Rosenblatt reported, has also historically done well on social media on platforms like YouTube.
There's plenty of precedent for college-based subcultures like this exploding on TikTok. In August 2020, videos about New York University's pandemic-quarantine meals flooded the platform. TikTok phenomena like sorority rush, quarantine meals, or even sea shanties spread widely and can transcend the app's barriers to generate conversation on other platforms.
Bama rush content is also filling the void of another recent TikTok obsession - Olympians who had been flooding the platform with Tokyo Games content.
The phenomenon has also sparked a greater discussion about Greek life on TikTok
Bama rush content has led to a broader discussion about sorority culture at the University of Alabama and other universities.
The University of Alabama underwent a reckoning over segregation in its historically white sororities in 2013 after students spoke out about Black women being denied bids during the recruitment process, Time Magazine reported. Then-university President Judy Bonner addressed the segregation in the system in a 2013 video, saying the university did not "tolerate discrimination of any kind" and would open up a continuous open bidding process to admit students to sororities after the formal recruitment process.
Both the Alabama Panhellenic Association and the University of Alabama list nondiscrimination policies in reference to Greek life on their websites.
Still, calls to abolish Greek life have abounded in recent years in light of the racism, microaggressions, and exclusion faced by many students of color, Teen Vogue reported.
Alabama's particular history with segregation has come up in discussions on TikTok, with users commenting on the pervasive whiteness of Greek life and barriers to joining sororities.
Others on TikTok are discussing the emotional toll and strain of going through the recruitment process, with many sharing personal experiences that aren't exclusive to the University of Alabama.
The University of Alabama did not respond to Insider's request for comment.