With formal season right around the perennial corner, many of you sorority girls are wondering, “What does Steve Greco think makes a girl a good formal date?” 

Congrats ladies, because I scraped to the bottom of my creative barrel and now present to you the dos and don’ts of being a good date to a fraternity formal.

DO paint a cooler. This is a time honored tradition of formals. The guy pays a lot of money for hotel and transportation and you reimburse him by getting crafty and creating an artistic masterpiece on a bulky piece of plastic.

DON'T cling to your sisters the whole night. I understand that the bond formed in the long, arduous battle that is sorority pledgeship is very tight, but if you are at a guy’s formal, learn to divvy up time between your date and your friends. He shelled out for you to go, so the last thing he wants is to take pictures of you throwing what you know.

DO help him set his friends up. If a guy is in a bind and needs a quick date, be a helping hand and survey your sisters to see who wants to go to the formal with said dateless guy. It will go a long way in making you a very popular person amongst the brothers of the fraternity.

DON’T be dramatic. It is usually only a one night affair. So for that one night, throw away your ex-boyfriend drama, get out any crying-in-the-bathroom you might have in you or any unsolicited anger, and just have fun because that’s what it’s all about, kids.

DO look good, like, really good. It shouldn’t matter which house’s formal it is, or if you got set up with someone you don’t know. Pull out all stops for these events as far as appearance goes because that, once again, goes a long way to showing that you truly want to be there with your date.

DON’T be weird about the hotel thing. Lower key issue here, but still important. If you are going to another city for a night, and getting a hotel room, it is probably assumed you will be sharing a bed, which doesn’t have to be weird. If it is uncomfortable for the situation, lay it out in advance so proper accommodations can be made and the poor guy doesn’t end up sleeping on the floor using his suit jacket as a blanket.

Obviously, these are just a few suggestions, but good places to start if you are new to the formal scene or have been a not so great date, in the past. The big, overarching key is to just have fun and let it all hang out for one night. Don’t try and force anything, because that is what makes formals truly fun.

If you need more advice, reach out to me on twitter @newcheddarwolf.