January on Grounds means chilling winds, snow flurries and crowds of first and second years "rushing" to Rugby Road. Rush can be a taxing process -- trudging through biting winter gusts to get from house to house and making conversation with numerous strangers.
"The worst part of rush is making tedious small talk all night, and going over the same conversation topics again and again," first-year College student Kyle Hatten said.
Because rushees visit many houses in one night, making introductions can become redundant. First-year College student Katie Bisceglia said she grew tired of the overused conversation starter, "Tell me a little bit about yourself."
Amid the meet-and-greet monotony, some rushees still will walk away with their share of stand-out memories.
"One of the funniest moments of rush was walking down Rugby Road on Saturday morning, hearing a scream and turning around to see a naked guy streak by," first-year Engineering student Scottie Gambill said.
Khalil Andraos has a funny rush memory of his own. After encountering generic questions at many houses, he said "one frat brother came up to me and said, 'Let's cut the crap. I'm not going to ask you any stupid questions. What I want to know is, what's the craziest hookup you've had since you've been at U.Va.?'"
First-year College student Gillian Molera said she has a friend whose rush experience was more traumatic than humorous. Molera's friend fainted during round robins, the first round of sorority rush. "The sisters laid her down on the floor in the middle of the room and lifted her legs up," Molera said.
Andraos said the rush process has made him want to join a fraternity even more. His hallmate, first-year College student Alec Rothman, doesn't plan to get cold feet in the upcoming rounds. His advice: wear two pairs of socks.
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