?? about fraternity summer rush parties
 

my daughter has two friends who are incoming freshman at a southern college. both have received letters from a fraternity inviting them to attend a couple of rush parties over the summer.

my question is this: if they like the members, and are offered a bid, but would prefer to meet all the fraternities(waiting until the fall) before making their decision, what is the best way for them to handle this?

Re: ?? about fraternity summer rush parties
 

I'm not sure if there is a "best way" to handle. Frankly, a lot depends on the IFC's rules regarding rush - official and unwritten. If possible, the rushees (friends) should find out as much about the rules (official and unofficial) regarding rush. For both summer, fall/formal etc. Check with any friends attending the campus that may know about rush.

Some general observations.

Between now and formal rush (start of school) they may receive additional invitations to other chapters' rush parties and events. And depending on the IFC rules, they may be extend more than one invitation (bid). Most bids usually have an acceptance date associated with it and the timelines may vary with each chapter. i.e. ABC may give you 48 hours to accept or decline, while XYZ might give you until the start of school. As such, the rushees should be sure they are aware of these dates or deadlines.

With respect to 'on-the-spot' offers and acceptance, in most situations (again check with the IFC), from the point they accept a bid they are considered bid to that chapter and should not (perhaps can not) attend any other chapter's rush events. If they feel that they really like this chapter, but prefer to wait, I would suggest that the rushees let the rush chairman know of their interest (use buzz words like "strong interest" but only if applicable) and that they need to think about it. But by all means, they should not add they are waiting so they can check out the other chapters. While good rush chairs should know this, hearing it may not set well. As such, the rush chair and or chapter members may wonder about the rushee's commitment and decide to resend the bid. This may be possible depending on the IFC's rules. (Again, know the IFC's rules.)

On other campuses, it may be that a rushee can not accept a bid until a certain date - usually around the start of the semester. As such, they would be 'free' to visit other chapters and attend their rush parties/events. However, as with the previous scenario, discretion is key.

Check the Recruitment rules as TSteven suggested.

Also beware Of Greeks offering Associate Pins early in reagad to School rules.

Suggest they take a look at all Greek Organizations to see where they feel most comfortable.

Checking Web Sites is easy so suggest that they do it.

Get a feel before they join and not become dissapointed and be lost.

thank you t. stevens and tom for your great replies. i will certainly share this information with the young men, and urge them to continue to check out their campus ifc site.

(incidently, two of the fraternities on campus are sigma chi and lambda chi!)

A former student of mine is also going through this experience. He came by and asked me what I knew about the fraternity system at this college. I told him to check out the college fraternity websites as well as the nationals to get a good idea of the ideals of the organizations. He also asked me about recs, and if he needed them b/c he knows that I know of several alumni of different groups and that my uncle is an ATO. I told him best thing to do was to call the Student Affairs/Student Life office and to speak to the Greek Advisor about what to do?

So..this is another question for you gents out there. Does the fraternity system rely on recs as heavily as the sorority system does?

The fraternity (IFC) "system" (not really sure there is a system) does not *rely* on recommendations as sororities may. Now while recommendations for a chapter are not the norm (rare even) they are not unheard of. What is more common are letters of introduction.

From what I can tell, the difference between IFC and NPC recommendations is that IFC recommendations seem to be more personal. The member writing it personally knows the rushee and feels strongly that he should be considered for membership. In some cases, an alumnus may even call or come by the chapter during or before rush to give a personal pitch as well. This is more likely when the rushee is a legacy.

~~Quick side note here: Remember IFC rush is different than NPC recruitment or NPHC intake. The rules are different and depending on the campus, alumni may be allowed to be directly involved on some level.

Again, what is more common are letters of introduction. The alumnus might know the rushee but not on such a personal level as noted before. So the letter lets the chapter know about the guy and that they - the chapter - might/should take a look at this rushee cause he *might* be worthy of membership.

One other thing. Many inter/national (HQ) and local chapter websites, may have a page dedicated to their recruitment. On this page, the rushee is able to provide their own introduction. This way, the chapter learns of the rushee's interest and may follow up accordingly.

Thanks for the information...much appreciated.

very true.