Nephew's IFC Recruitment
 

After several years on GC, I get to write a recruitment story.

My nephew moved to campus this week and already began the rush process to join a fraternity. I'm going to call him Clark Kent, because his nickname in school was "Superboy". Yes, I am biased, but he's a great kid. Class president for junior and senior years, football team (got bumped to varsity when he was a sophomore), a really good wrestler (went to state several times & offered a couple of wrestling scholarships, but didn't want to continue), and high school choir.

Clark is from a large metropolitan area in his state and is attending a regional state school. Several of his friends and others from his high school go to this university.

Since he's Clark Kent, and I loved comics growing up, the code will be superhero teams:

Justice League
Justice Society
Legion of Super Heroes
Titans
Outsiders
X-Men
Avengers
Defenders

There is another fraternity on campus that colonized last year. Knowing Clark and knowing the national rep of this fraternity, I think he would be a great fit. But, for reasons given later, he has already decided not to consider them.

He had his pre-Rush meeting this week. This is a campus with informal IFC recruitment. Rushees can go to as many or as few groups as they choose.

Clark did do some summer rush activities with two of the chapters, Legion of Super Heroes and Titans. He enjoyed both, but leaned closer to one than the other.

I can't remember when parties officially begin, so I will update as soon as he checks in with me.

I'm already biased against the DC fraternities.

I was always a DC fan, not Marvel. But, I didn't want to use Doom Patrol or Secret Seven, so I had to go with some Marvel groups.

Woo-hoo for a fraternity story! Good luck to your nephew!

Like

I'm pulling for the Avengers

Just make sure that his parents don't accidentally cut off his phone service like we did last year, lol.

I've been a huge DC fan for the longest time. it's awesome you're using comic book lingo for this story, Lang. :D

I'm pulling for the Justice League :cool:

Clark's perceptions of the chapters so far from a Meet the Greeks event:

Justice League - membership in the mid 40s; guys Clark met were friendly and he said that they seemed "ok".

Justice Society - membership in the 60s; He didn't see any members from his school, but a couple of guys recognized him from wrestling tournaments. Clark felt that this chapter was the "preppy" guys.

Legion of Super Heroes - membership in the 60s; One of Clark's coaches was a LSH member and had alerted the chapter about Clark last year. Clark went to a couple of summer parties. This group is heavy into intramurals, which would be a plus for Clark.

Titans - membership in the 60s; Two of Clark's best friends are Titans. Clark went to a couple of summer rush parties for Titans and said the guys were "awesome". There are a couple of other members from Clark's hs that are Titans.

Outsiders - membership in the 50s; Clark said the guys he met were easy going, laid back. A couple of friends from hs are Outsiders. Clark liked this group and said they are a strong possibility.

X-Men - membership in the 80s; Clark met several members of X-Men from his hometown (both his hs and the crosstown rival hs). A guy who he wrestled fairly regulary in the past recognized Clark and talked quite a bit to him.

Avengers - membership in the 40s; This is a chapter that had struggled a bit with members in the last couple of years, but is on an upswing. The guys Clark talked to were really pouring it on a bit thick, but Clark said they were "cool" and he would be interested in visiting them during Rush.

Defenders - membership in the 30s; Clark said the guys he met were "ok", but that the vibe just didn't feel right and they are probably not for him.

Clark and I have had several talks about doing what's right for him. He is a very social person, but is comfortable enough to do his own thing and not just join a group because of any pressure from friends.

Right now, the favorites for visiting during Rush are Legion of Super Heroes, Titans, Outsiders, and Avengers. He hasn't completely ruled any group out (even Defenders, where he didn't click with the guys he met). I have a feeling that LSH and the Titans are still the front runners. I will update as soon as Rush goes into full force.

Any updates yet?

Love reading this thread, can't wait for an update!

Thanks. Clark's school has informal rush for IFC. Basically, after move-in day, fraternities can start having parties. However, they cannot give out bids until a specific day. A couple of groups have had small parties this week (it's the 1st week of classes), but parties will begin in full-force next week. PNMs can choose to visit/attend as many group's parties as they want. Warning: the Rush period for IFC lasts for 2 weeks, so it's going to be a little while longer to find out if and where Clark gets a bid.

Clark has already went to a couple of parties, and has decided which fraternities he's going to focus on. He has decided to focus on:
Legion of Super Heroes
Titans
Outsiders
Avengers

Clark is not going to pursue memberhips for (not in order of my original list):
Theta Xi
Delta Chi
Sigma Phi Epsilon
Lambda Chi Alpha

Co-sign.

Pulling for the Titans. (I so wanted to be Kid Flash when I was a kid.)

Kid Flash was the bomb. :cool:

I'm pulling for Legion of Super-Heroes

Finally some updates.

This past weekend, Clark went to lunch and hung out with some members of the Outsiders on Saturday. A few guys took Clark and a couple other PNMs to lunch and then back to their chapter house to just hang out and play video games. Clark said he enjoyed the afternoon and that the Outsiders seemed "real". He did talk to the guys about their chapter and some of their activities throughout the year.

Saturday night, Clark went to a party held by the Legion of Super Heroes. He said the guys were very friendly and asked him a lot of questions about himself. Clark thought that the members of LSH got along with each other well and seemed to enjoy being around each other.

A couple of Avengers ran into him Sunday night while he was eating dinner. They invited him to join them and just talked about the campus and the football team. Clark did ask some questions about the Avengers that the guys answered, but didn't push themselves on him.

Clark is going to a party with the Titans tonight. He was also invited to a party by the Justice Society, but as I reported earlier, he has decided not to pursue them.

Thanks for posting..have a son going through rush and it is pretty confusing as to the process...hopefully I will have an update for you as well..not as involved in student gov but also an athlete :)

Clark went to the party with the Titans. Mostly eating pizza, sitting and talking about their chapter. Clark said that the Titans really love their fraternity. He met a bunch of members and really enjoyed himself.

Tonight there are several scheduled parties. Clark is trying to decide if he should go to a couple for a long time, or hit several parties for short times. He'll let me know tomorrow.

go clark!

son had three he was really interested in, crossed one off list, nice guys, nice house, but didn't click...didn't even get to one...one just as nice as they were at pre rush party, and actually added one. Problem is this, the one he added just got charter back and lost a lot of brothers in the process...(this is not at uf by the way)..but he really likes them, says they were very friendly and serious about building up the fraternity to be great again..at one time the biggest fraternity on campus and one of the biggest in the nation. His friend got a bid right away at another fraternity, but not one my son clicked with either. He will concentrate on these three tonight though..and we shall see. :)

good luck to your son, ufgrad86.

Thanks FSU...nerve racking right now :/

so..I am pretty proud of this kid...he had a top 3 based on opinions of others..probably could have gotten bids to these houses...but he really clicked with the group that is rebuilding their chapter, he liked the guys and felt welcomed...I think his other top choice was just rushing so many, so hard..that it may have become overwhelming and he just didn't make the connections he wanted to make.
So the winner is KAPPA SIGMA :) and he seems really happy..he got a bid on the second night and is already planning to get involved in their activities tonight, despite having to change other plans.
I have read a lot of these forums, for girls and guys..I am thinking about writing about his experience since I could not find much for the guys..but I do want to say this..if a girl's priorities are girls who dress nice, have a nice house, or are pretty..it may be superficial...but that's HER priorities..so why bash her when she is just trying to relate her experience.
If a guys priorities are athletics and maybe not community service, or partying then those are HIS priorities...they need not be yours..there are plenty of other stories to read on here that people can relate to.
So, I would like to write about his experience but am afraid of the people who feel the need to make snarky comments.....OK BRING EM ON...REALLY LET ME HAVE IT HAHAHA!

hooray for your son, ufgrad!!

Thanks again FSU! waiting to hear what happened to Clark..they say fraternity rushing is less formal...but, for that reason it is also kind of confusing..glad he's done.

Last night's parties:

All 4 groups were having parties last night. Clark originally decided to try and hit all 4 for about 30-45 minutes, but ended up only visiting 2 because he was having such a good time.

Outsiders - Clark went to this party first. He was enjoying talking with the members, but the focus/theme of the party was a sport that he doesn't really get into. After a while, he started getting bored, so he left and went to his next party.

Titans - Clark made it to this house about 45 minutes into the party. He said that he felt immediately welcomed. Several members of Titans came up to him and told him that they had been watching for him since the party started. Clark said that he was having so much fun, he lost track of time, looked up and realized that he wasn't going to make it to the Legion of Super Heroes or Avengers.

He had wanted to drop by the Avengers because he said the members have been very friendly with him and don't make him feel like they "just want him to join", but want to be friends. Clark also has been talking with several members of the Legion and didn't want them to think he intentionally blew them off. This morning he sent e-mails to the rush leaders of both groups and apologized, but honestly told them he lost track of time because of having so much fun at a chapter (without naming the chapter).

FYI - It's still going to be another week before bids go out.

clark sounds like a very considerate young man.

yes..quite a guy!

Direct quote from my sister/Clark's mother: "I don't care if my kids are doctors or ditch diggers, but either way they will have manners. It only takes a second to be polite or be a jerk. Choose the former."

No parties this weekend due to the holidays. Parties began again on Monday night.

Monday night Clark went to a party at the Legion of Super Heroes. He said he gets along pretty well with the Legion's members and could see himself joining LSH. However, two members of the Legion began making remarks about the Titans (the Titans were the group that Clark stayed at last week and missed a Legion party). It did bother Clark that these members seemed to be targeting the Titans in front of him.

Tuesday afternoon, a member of the Outsiders invited Clark to lunch. Clark and 2 other rushees met a small group of Outsiders and ate lunch. The members talked about their chapter and their national organization. Clark enjoyed the talk.

Tuesday evening, Clark went first to a party at the Avengers (another group whose party he missed last week). This is the group that Clark says is acting pretty low-key; that they are nice, seem interested in Clark, but are not shoving their fraternity down his throat. After the Avengers, Clark went to a party at the Titans. Again, Clark said this group always seems happy to see him and he is really clicking with the brothers.

I asked Clark how he would rank the groups if he had to. His preferences so far are:

1 - Titans
2- Legion of Super Heroes
3 - Outsiders
4 - Avengers

There are more open parties tonight. Thursday night are the big "Invitation Only" parties. Bids go out on Friday. Unfortunately, Uncle LaneSig is going out of town on Friday to go to the Florida-South Florida game (best friend is a Florida alumn with season tix). I will not be able to announce where (and if) Clark gets a bid until Sunday.

Looking forward to hearing where Clark ends up! Thanks for the update!

Can't wait to hear the outcome!

This story is such a refreshing blast of testosterone in the rush forum. :) Thanks for the Clark update!!

I agree! LaneSig, I'm enjoying this thread, thanks!

.....Kelly :)

Wednesday night - Final Informal Parties

Clark decided to go to all four groups that he's been visiting.

Legion of Super Heroes - He enjoyed the party and felt like he could fit in with this group. This is the group that takes intramurals very seriously, something that appeals to Clark.

Titans - Again, this is the group that he is feeling the strongest connection to. Clark had a great time at this party. One thing he really liked is that a couple of the members showed him their organization's creed and a few other public mottos and memorabilia. He thought that their creed was something he felt a connection with.

Outsiders - Clark liked the guys and liked hanging out with them, but didn't quite feel the connection that he felt at LSH or the Titans.

Avengers - This is the group that Clark feels he could be good friends with, but maybe not fraternity brothers. But, he isn't totally opposed to them either.


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Thursday - Formal Invitational Parties

For fraternities with Informal/Semi-informal rush, this is the last big party. The night before, chapters vote on who to extend Formal Invitational Party bids to. The pnms go to these dinners to hear from chapter members (and usually alumns) about more of the Inter/National organizations (creeds, philanthropies, etc.).

Clark received invitations to all 4 of the groups he's been visiting, and to Justice League. He had not visited Justice League, but has met a member of JL in classes who had talked to Clark about JL.

After a lot of thought (and a couple of texts with Uncle LaneSig), Clark decided to attend the formal parties of the Legion of Super Heroes and the Titans. He said he feels the strongest connection with those two groups. He also felt bad about turning down the Outsiders and the Avengers, but feels that he really wants to join the LSH or Titans.

He attended both dinners tonight. Clark said he was impressed by both groups, but one group really impressed him and made him want to be a brother.

Bids go out tomorrow (Friday). As most of you know, with most IFCs, Clark could get anywhere from 0 - 4 or more bids. He has said he will call me and let me know tomorrow what happens. And, I will let you know on Sunday when I get back in town and have access to my computer.

I'm looking forward to hearing where he ends up, thanks for the update!

Refreshing story. I sure wish Sorority Recruitment was more laid back. Way too much stress?!

At Clark's school, IFC has the pnms come at a certain time, check and decide on their bids, then all run out together to the waiting fraternities.


Clark went to check on his bids. He had bids from 3 groups:
Legion of Super Heroes
Titans
Outsiders

Clark knew which group he had really felt comfortable with, enjoyed being around, and definately wanted to be a brother with.

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You know, it always kind of bugged me when people did this. I am always, "Just tell us!" But this is kind of fun.
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Titans!!

Clark ran out with his pledge class to the members. He had a blast Friday night and all this weekend. He is very excited and cannot wait until initiation.

YESSSSSSS

Woo hoo! Congratulations to Clark and the Titans! He had such a classy way of handling the whole thing. They definitely stood out the entire time, so it's nice to see a story where the frontrunner stays the frontrunner the whole time. Although that may be more typical in fraternities than sororities regardless due to the style of recruitment.

So... who are the Titans? :D

Oh, wow, did I forget to say who the Titans were?

My nephew is now a pledge for............................................... .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ........


SIGMA CHI!!!!

You have no idea how happy and proud I am. I promise that I did not push him to join. He did send me this message: "When it came down to it, I really liked the members, I liked the organization, and I knew that if they were good enough for my uncle, they're good enough for me."

So I am seriously 1 proud, happy uncle and member of Sigma Chi.

Yayyyy!!!!!:):):)