#BamaRush insanity: Alabama sorority wannabes bag 1 billion TikTok views

nypost.com:

last year — with the hashtags #bamarush and #rushtok having amassed more than one billion views combined on TikTok currently.So get your Kendra Scott jewelry and tote bag ready because it’s time to watch higher ed’s most grueling popularity contest yet.Associated clips on the social media platform offer a peak into the life of a University of Alabama Greek life hopeful as they share their outfits of the day (#OOTD, for short), show off their their on-trend — and often monogramed — tote bags and discuss recruitment essentials and advice on getting into the right sorority.According to the Alabama Panhellenic Association, this year’s recruitment officially begins on August 6 for potential new members — dubbed “PNMs” — who have been preparing for weeks (if not their whole lives), all the while documenting the process online.PNMs are competing to join one of the 18 National Panhellenic Conference chapters at Bama.

In July, the panhellenic association announced that 2,575 students had signed up to rush, as reported by AL.comPNMs must be ready for anything during rush “week,” which usually spans about 9 days.

In spite of academic coursework, the women must attend a battery of mandatory events, each of which requires a different dress code — hence the #OOTD ritual posts and totes bag filled with on-the-go essentials. #bamarush #bamarushtok #bamarushweekTikToker Gracyn Edmonson, who is rushing this week, showed off what she’s carrying n her pink Longchamp bag during the demanding process, including a portable fan, a toiletry bag, sewing kit, compact mirror, flip-flops, moleskins for blisters, hairspray, two types of deodorant, ponchos and a bag of mints.“There’s literally so much stuff in this bag, my shoulder’s going to break.