Formal Rush
 

Well formal rush just ended for the fall semester at U. of Southern Mississippi. The number of rushees has fallen from 550 to 175 in just five years. I was wondering if this has been happening at campuses all around the country, or if it was just at USM? If it is just localized to USM, are there some things that the Greek system as a whole can do to try to improve on its numbers? Any advice that you could give would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Thomas Gardner
Tau Kappa Epsilon
Pi-Psi
187

I can't vouch for the rest of the nation, but here at IUP the same thing has been happening. The row went from 16 houses to 5 in 3 years.

Scott

That's terrible to hear. Greek Life is alive and well here at Washington University. My chapter had thirteen pledges two years ago, seventeen last year, and we're looking towards twenty-one this year, hopefully. As a piece of advice for campuses whose Rush enrollment is dropping, I'd assume it's an issue of a lack of cohesion among the Greeks. If you've got an IFC and a PanHel, then you should coordinate a dynamic Greek Week, with all of the Greeks on campus banding together to show the incoming class that fraternities and sororities are more than just drinking clubs. Plan events, like a Greek Forum -- an event where each organization gets a table, and they staff it with members and decorate it with house memorabilia. It's widely advertised -- ESPECIALLY in freshman dorms -- and the turnout is usually awesome. IFC/PanHel need to offer some sort of incentive, though, like free pizza or whatnot. Sorry if that didn't help, but I'd love to see Greek Life flourish everywhere.



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Joshua
http://artsci.wustl.edu/~jlgoldwa

--
"Round here we talk just like lions
but we sacrifice like lambs" -AD

Actually, the school has been actively getting rid of the row. They have a design for a "Greek Village" on campus where all the Universities greek population can be. They started buying out properties on the row and then re-selling them as apartments. They also accepted a whole slew of new fraternities, because they have incentive to go into the village because it'd be hard to get a house. It doesn't even bode well for us (we own our house and have been there since 1955) because the school has said that it will not recognize any fraternity that won't move into the village. This way, they get rent money, the power as landlords, and stricter abilities to restrict events. All in all, the entire situation stinks. We have the choice of losing out tradition and our house, or losing our charter.
If anything like this is brought up at your school try and stop it early.

Scott
PS: I know an AEPI from Towson University in Baltimore named Josh. Just thought that was funny.

It's funny that you mention it, Scott -- WU is also getting rid of the row and starting what they're actually calling "Fraternity Village". The AEPi and SigEp houses are below the row, and were built in 1985 as a first step towards the "Village". Last year, a large abandoned building below the row was demolished in order to pave way for the contruction of the "Village". In the next four years, all of the houses on the row will be demolished to make way for an expanded School of Law, and housing will be built below the row (next to the AEPi and SigEp houses) for the rest of the campus fraternities. Not only will AEPi be first on the row, but we'll have the oldest (and most structurally sound, considering the construction that goes on at WU these days) house on the row.

Oh, and there are a LOT of Joshes in AEPi -- I've got a popular Jewish name http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif



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Joshua
http://artsci.wustl.edu/~jlgoldwa

--
"Round here we talk just like lions
but we sacrifice like lambs" -AD

Here at the University of Arizona, they are trying to break apart Greek Life, but it's not going too well for them. You just have to perservere and find new ways to do things. Thankfully, the row at the U of A is not being demolished, and even more thankfully we actually own our property, so they can never kick us out. Our rush has declined as well in number in the last five years, but we managed to pull in 72 guys, you just have to try that much harder.

THOMAS, I THINK THAT THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING TO ALL OF THE GREEK SYSTEMS IN ALL OF THE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS. THIS IS BECAUSE THE IMAGE OF THE GREEKS IS NOT A GOOD ONE. HERE AT MY SCHOOL,(NORTHERN ARIZONA U) WE VOTED IN JUNE OF 1998 TO MAKE THE ALL GREEK DORM ALCOHOL FREE TO BETTER THE IMAGE OF THE GREEK SYSTEM AS A WHOLE AND WE DO A LOT OF PHILANTHROPIES THAT GET NON-GREEKS INVOLVED AND THIS SEEMS TO BE WORKING... CALLIE ALPHA DELTA PI EPSILON XI CHAPTER

I just started working as a Greek Advisor at VCU. Our numbers are quite low as well as there involvement and funding. WE are trying to gain support and popularity. We are also thinking of reorganizing sorority rush to be a lot less formal. Any suggestions??

If VCU's sororities are NPC, I believe you are required to have at least one 'formal' Recruitment period in keeping with NPC regulations. However, you can still keep to the rules and make the affair more relaxed and fun. Email me with more details about your campus: PnguinTrax@aol.com



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Fraternally,
Barbara

If you have to go around telling everyone you're in charge you're not
much of a leader.

Unfortunately, Rush numbers for fraternities and sororities can go all over the chart. Rush numbers were really strong at Ball State when I went through in 1987 (over 600 in fraternity rush), and dropped as low as 200 just a few years later. Now they seemed to have stabilized at about 300. I'm the Greek Adviser at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and this year sorority rush numbers were down about 60% while fraternity rush numbers were up 20%. Promotion of the positive benefits of greek life is crucial for recruitment success. It is also important to start thinking in terms of recruitment and going out and recruiting members when your organization needs them than sitting back and waiting for prospectives to come to you in rush.

In regards to the issue of universities forcing greeks into university housing and taking over fraternity and sorority houses, this is a common tactic at many small, private, liberal arts colleges. In many cases, it is not actual liability issues which have forced these actions, but it is actually a forcable land grab covered up by justification of "liability".

My university is one of those that moved GLO's into student housing, years ago. There were houses, but back in the 1970's, all of the GLO's were moved into one specific dorm, and each given a 'hall'. Apparently communal living was really big at the time, and that's what sparked the idea. After the GLO's moved back into student housing, the community (there's quite a bit of bad blood between the community and the school) passed zoning ordinances that make it near impossible to reinstill Greek housing. So we still have halls in the dorm.

I must say, that rush numbers definately go in cycles. Being a rush chair, I almost think that promoting the Greek System instead of each individual chapter is what worked best at my campus. Numbers were stronger than ever when fraternities had combined frat quad/row parties before their formal rush started. Even though sororities can not have these kinds of parties due to rush infractions, I think that the frat parties help the sorority numbers as well. I also think that mandating letter days at the start of school through rush help Greek awarenes. The more all letters are worn, the more you advertise. A strong chapter can only arise from a strong Greek System. If anyone has any questions, please let me know..

UCLA used to have about 20 sororities- in the 1990s, about 1 chapter per year has closed. Now there are 8 with chapter houses. There are 15 fraternities with chapter houses, and there used to be 20 of those too. Membership has definitely declined. There are 49 men in my chapter, which is down from 100 in 1989-1990- the peak of the Greek system at UCLA. But we're on the rebound, and we'll have 80 men by the time I graduate in 2002. The system has suffered as interest in greek life has declined. Delta Tau Delta had 12 members in 1997, when in shut down. It's a shame, really.

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andrew watters
Theta Chi

At my school, fall (formal) rush numbers grow every year and it seems spring (informal) rush numbers decrease every year. It seems odd to me, because I would have never attended a formal rush event even if I was paid a kazillion dollars. Overall though, Greek life is very alive at the University of North Dakota.
Liz
Delta Delta Delta
Theta Sigma

I have to disagree with most of the replies posted. I'm a student at Clemson University and have seen the number of rushess double in the last two years, we now have close to a thousand kids expected to come through rush next spring. With only 20 fraternities on campus the outlook for Greek Life at CU is bright and growing. Anyone needing suggestions for improving rush should contact our IFC Chairperson at http://people.clemson.edu/~ifc/