You're not from here, are you?

My oldest daughter has finished her second year at the Univ of Alabama. Growing up in Dallas, she knew there would be some cultural differences moving to Tuscaloosa. The conviction of Edgar Ray Killen reminded me of a story she told after being there a few days.
Living in a dorm, it seemed to her that everyone was "rushing" with a sorority. Sororities are not her style, so she felt a bit ostracized. But she could sense how central this was to most female's collegiate experience (or so it seemed).
She attempted to strike up a conversation with a young woman sitting next to her on the first day of classes. She moved to the school knowing no one.
"So, did you rush?" she asked.
She told us the girl looked aghast and sort of irritated.
"What?"
"I was wondering if you rushed. It seems everyone else in my dorm has."
Now the girl was a getting angry and told my daughter, "We're not allowed to rush."
Hannah was very confused, and a little panicked.
"This is freshman history (or whatever class it was), isn't it?" She thought maybe she wass in the wrong room.
"Yes, it is that class. But we're not allowed to rush our freshman year."
"Who's not allowed to rush? What do mean 'we'?"
Now the girl was starting to see that my daughter didn't mean anything negative and really didn't understand. She softened a bit and asked, "You're not from here, are you?"
"No. I'm from Dallas."
"Oh. Well, blacks are not allowed to rush in their freshman year. I'm black."
Hannah was shocked and thought she had made a really BIG mistake. She apologized profusely and it turned out to be no big deal. It was something Hannah had never considered as an issue.
As it turns out, that fall (2003) was the first time a black woman rushed with a "white" sorority at the University. She was accepted for membership.