By Katie Hicks
Once a high school senior has accepted the scholarships that were offered, strategically picked the dorm room with the best stadium view, and being the naïve young soul that they are, selected the “residence hall overnight stay” option for orientation, the next step is researching what kind of shenanigans can be expected for the upcoming year.Once I selected the University of Arkansas, I can remember being intrigued by stories of Old Main, frantically asking for letters of recommendation for rush week, and texting basically every girl in Reid Hall in order to find the dimensions for frivolous things such as bed skirts or area rugs. However, I can also remember avidly searching through Facebook pictures and Instagram posts from the previous year to see what kind of fun the university had to offer.  Once I came to school in the fall, I was all caught up on my knowledge of Homecoming, Tacky Christmas, SAE Jungle, Sigma Chi Ski Lodge, and of course Row Week. Little did I know, there are just some things that you will not find captured on camera. As everyone knows, this past week was Row. As only the people that experienced it know, there is not really a simple way of describing what the experience is like. So for those of you that sat it out, or for those of you that find excitement in reliving it, let me outline what it is like to be a Greek student at the U of A on Row Week. As I found myself amidst the frenzy this weekend, I found that it can be categorized by a few simple things. 
1. The Bands: In elementary school I remember bringing my new, metallic, multicolored “Gelly Roll” pens with the sparkles in the ink to class. Book fairs were always exciting, but when my mom would splurge on a Lisa Frank folder and these gel pens with ink of an ideal milky consistency, I knew I had hit the jackpot. What does this have to do with anything, you ask? Well if you are a kid from the 90s, as I believe that we all are, then you can also recall what happened when you brought the Gelly Roll pens to your desk with the perfectly laminated name-tag. It created a frenzy! Bringing those pens meant that you had your choice at the best trades on the playground. This week, I found that Row wristbands are much like these pens with the easily-smeared glittery ink. I was eyed in the elevator with my Kappa Sig bands in-hand and told, “Those are like GOLD!” My phone’s inbox was significantly fuller this week from text messages from pledge sisters and friends looking to see if I had any spare wristbands hanging around from my Sigma Chi boyfriend and when I attended Sigma Nu last week, their social chair’s room was full with anxious, wristband-seeking girls. One friend sold his band for $200. Row week bands were this year’s gel-ink pens. 
2. The Outfits: Since I had done my fair share of pre-college creeping, I thought that I was well informed on what to wear to these row week events. However, I was terribly wrong. On Friday, I attended Sigma Chi’s “EX on the Beach” themed event, so naturally, I went in my best Hawaiian-printed shirt. I seemingly fit right in with my high-waisted shorts and of course, every sorority girl’s favorite, Converse high-tops. However, many aspects of the outfits I saw this weekend could not have been anticipated. For one, flower garlands apparently correspond to every theme that was offered this week. Wear a Hawaiian shirt? You need to wear a flower garland. Wear a crop top? Which, might I add, seemed to be smaller and tighter on Row Week than on any other occasion. You need to wear a flower garland. 
Wear an over-sized jersey? Which, might I add, is apparently a Row Week trend that I was not previously informed of. You need to wear a flower garland. You get the point. A common trend amongst outfits for boys was, well, plain shameless-ness. American flag tank tops, PFGs with the sleeves cut off, necks adorned with chains, visors on upside down and backwards, Walmart’s finest bald-eagle shirts, wind-suits from Fayetteville’s finest thrift shops. You name it, I saw it. Part of the fun is the overlying “let loose, be yourself” theme. Unfortunately, many believe that the  “let loose” mindset extends to many different kinds of body parts as well. 
3. The Crawfish: A reoccurring theme at the many Row Week events I attended was the crawfish. Look for simple things like paper towels, a clean bathroom, or just a bottle of water and you are sure to never find them. Look for hundreds of pounds of crawfish worth a small fortune and you are sure to find it everywhere you go. I’m not a girl that minds jumping in with the boys and getting my hands a little dirty, so I felt as though I fit right in. Heads, tails, and knawed-on corns littered the ground and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the unfortunate spring pledges who would, without a doubt, be the souls responsible for trash duty the next day. As everyone crowded the stages anxious to see the day’s most likely shirtless performer, I could be found at the tables surrounded by my newest friends: the crawfish. 
4. Security: I found myself sympathizing with the men donning the black shirts that simply read “SECURITY”. Even the biggest, baddest, meanest, most intimidating men that had been hired by each fraternity did not stand a chance against Arkansas’s Greek students this week. In the front row of the Kid Ink concert, I made friends with the 9 foot tall and 10 foot wide muscly security guard. By the end of the concert, he was dripping with sweat and was also, without a doubt, sore from working to push the hundreds of eager, newly found Kid Ink fans away from the stage. At Kappa Sig, I saw security gaurds chasing down the brave and wristband-less soul who decided to rip away the newly constructed fence in order to climb in. All in all, they had their work cut out for them. 
5. Snap Chat: If you didn’t attend this week’s events, I am quite sure that you already are familiar with all that I am telling you thanks to Snapchat. If you aren’t familiar with what Snapchat is, well, quite frankly you ought to put away your Facebook and catch yourself up with the times. If you aren’t familiar with My Story, well, quite frankly you ought to head on over to the app store and update your Snapchat app. Every person that attended the Row festivities suddenly became, in their minds, the campus’s newest talent in the videography industry. Every move made at these parties was documented via My Story. I saw close-ups of Kid Ink, the Ying Yang Twins, and Waka Flocka time and time again. I repeatedly saw videos of the mass crowds time and time again. So, no need to fret if you couldn’t find a wrist band to a party that you were dying to get into. You can most likely get the full experience from your Snapchat app.  
All in all, Row Week is a blast. Even for people who don’t get easily excited by the party scene, between the food, music, outfits, and friends, there was probably something for you. My first experience “rowing” was phenomenal and it is understandable why, yet again, the Greek community at this university is legendary. So, you can tell your much lamer friends that attend other schools to check out nypndaily.com to see the top 10 SEC parties. You can then proudly point out that we are located at the top of the list beside #3. And maybe next time, if they are lucky, you can bring them along so they can experience the mass chaos that we call Row.