At a large university, Panhellenic Recruitment can be an extremely stressful and overwhelming event for a freshman girl. With that in mind, attending the Million Dollar Band camp can take an equal toll on a freshman Crimsonette’s body and mind.

Believe it or not, band camp and rush just so happen to be on the same week every year. Imagine the thought of combing a practice day that's from 7 a.m.-9 p.m. with rush where you visit 18 houses. This is a situation that is usually overlooked, and I would like to describe what rush week is like for a Crimsonette in the Million Dollar Band.

I am a Crimonsette and a member of Alpha Gamma Delta. I fortunately never had the issue of tackling the two events at the same time.  I went through rush my freshman year and became a Crimsonette my sophomore year. However, I did witness what the freshman girls went through during the process and spoke to older girls about their experience.     

Prepare yourselves to be stunned, because I'm now going to describe the typical experience for a Crimsonette going through Panehellenic Recruitment. The girls start their day by waking up and getting completely ready with hair and make up. They have to be at practice at 7 a.m. in their assigned work out clothes and a bag packed with their rush dress and shoes.  Also, they can’t forget to contact their Rho Chi leader and receive the schedule of houses they had for that day. 

Practice will be revolved around their house schedule. Once arriving at camp, the new Crimsonettes start their day completely terrified. They are thrown in with twenty-five majorettes that they don't know and are stressed to learn an entire pregame and halftime show in a few weeks. Learning band drills, running in the heat, and perfecting the performances is a huge part of band camp. The Crimsonettes have a tradition at the Capstone and in order to continue this; the girls use all the work-ethic possible to march on the field accordingly.   

The day continues on and is filled with working out three to four times a day, learning the Crimsonette technique, and learning an entire pregame show in just a few short days. Keep in mind all this happens in between visiting sorority houses.  During the camp lunch breaks, the girls would grab a quick snack and eat it on the way to rush.  Without a break, they leave during recruitment lunch to be at practice.  As the girls visit these houses, they are are sore, sweaty, and physically exhausted.  Everything seems like a blur at first and there is usually a lot of melt downs involved due to the craziness. 

Running back and forth between houses and Moody Music Hall, the girls rarely have time to sit and eat.   Normally, the girls are not able to successfully give 100% in both rush and band camp during the normal hours that these events take place.  As a result, they normally work extra hours.  The girls will miss a lot of camp during the tea days of rush but you can bet that they would make up the workouts and routines by working overtime!  Some would not get home until midnight and still had to work on routines on their own time. 

Not only did the girls miss practice, but they also sacrificed visiting houses so they would not fall behind in camp. The girls would attend as many houses as the could and cast their votes by writing it down and handing it to their Rho Chi leader so they could run back to camp. Thankfully, the Panhellenic started a program a few years ago that helped girls like the Crimsonettes. Girls that were involved in extra curricular activities could visit with the sororities they missed after hours. They had stands set up in the zone of the stadium with a sorority representative to allow the girls a chance to visit in an additional way.  These extra hours making up lost time in camp and rush make for very long days.   In the end, every girl that goes through both rush and band camp is glad they did it.  

Bid day is one of the most exciting days to a girl that just pledged the sorority of her dreams! To a Crimsonette, bid day means it's finally over and some how the girls made it through camp and rush alive! It is a cherished day where most sororities have huge lunches, goodies for the new girls, and a retreat to send the pledges. Unfortunately, the Crimsonettes are unable to stay long for the festivities and can not participate in the new member retreats. As soon as the new girls and active Crimsonettes are finished with the enjoyment of bid day, it is back to camp. The good news is that they get to focus more on catching up on what they missed and perfecting what they learned. 

Being a Crimsonette is a lot of hard work and dedication. Most of us have dreamed our whole lives of twirling for the University of Alabama and the three-a-day practices are well worth it in the end. We are perfectionists that strive to show passion in our performances. Being able to join a sorority and be a member of the Million Dollar Band is truly an honor and takes a lot of effort. Any sorority that has a Crimsonette is aware that we are very busy girls and do not get to spend as much as time as we want socializing in the fall. The sisters can see how much we love what we do on the field and encourage us every step we take. It is wonderful having sorority and Crimsonette sisters as our closest friends.  This makes our time at the University of Alabama incredible!