Woman Reveals Alabama Sorority Fined Her $4,000 When Her Dad Got Cancer
Published June 20 2023, 1:13 p.m. ET
It’s no secret Bama Rush has taken the world by storm.
After premiering on Max, viewers got the inside scoop on the controversial inner workings of the sorority rush process at the University of Alabama, and the findings were telling, to say the least.
And with the documentary finally shedding light on the problematic nature of Greek life, more and more women are coming forward about their own experiences with it.
On TikTok, creator @itskateellis (Katherine Ellis) shared her story about her sorority fining her $4,000 when her dad was diagnosed with cancer.
Here’s what went down.
A woman opened up about the 'Bama Rush' process and receiving a $4,000 fine when her dad underwent surgery for cancer.
In her viral video, Katherine got candid about the brutal nature of the rush process at the University of Alabama and how her sorority fined her thousands of dollars when she left town to be with her dad during an emergency surgery following his cancer diagnosis.
At the beginning of her TikTok, the creator prefaced that preparing for sorority rush week takes multiple months and requires everything from letters of recommendation to photos and at least a 3.0 GPA.
Despite being overwhelmed by the process, Katherine decided to rush anyway and spent her first semester in a sorority at the school. While everything appeared all fine and dandy at first, she revealed her experience took a dark turn during Homecoming week.
Katherine shared that, for two weeks, sororities force their members to spend eight hours a day at the house decorating signs for homecoming using a method called “pomping.”
“Pomping is taking little 2x2 pieces of tissue paper, putting them into teeny tiny little balls, and gluing thousands of them to make portraits like this,” she explained while displaying massive murals in the background.
During the eight hours, her sorority would confiscate everyone’s phone and Bama ID card to prevent them from leaving. And it gets worse from there.
According to Katherine, anyone caught not actively pomping would have to repeat the hour. Also, members had to pay a $100 fine for every hour they missed.
During this time, Katherine unexpectedly learned that her father — who lived across the country — had been diagnosed with cancer and needed emergency surgery.
So, naturally, she flew home to support him. Her sorority’s response? A $4,000 fine for missing a week of pomping.
The creator shed light on how Bama sororities handle PNMs’ GPAs during rush week.
Katherine immediately dropped out after receiving a $4,000 fine from her sorority. However, that didn’t stop her from pointing out other questionable aspects of Greek life at the University of Alabama.
According to the creator, most houses required PNMs (potential new members) to have a 3.0 GPA or higher to complete the first round. However, she revealed that one of her friends had a 1.6 GPA in high school and the top sorority told her not to rush.
Instead, they encouraged her to show up on bid day and pretend that she participated in Bama rush week, and they’d give her a bid.
“Sisterhood! Am I right?” the creator joked in her caption.
