The Rush Book
 

Let me first say that i am a Freshmen at college this year, and don't have much experience with the Fraternity system. I come form a large family so both my uncles father and grandfather were in the same fraternity at the same college which i now am attending. I went to thier party on opening weekend and had a lot of fun. I have become friends with some of the brothers, but the topic of me rushing has not been asked directly. Later today i was on there website looking at events when there was a power glitch that lead me to a password protected part. I dont know how but it sent me to this thing call the rush book. It talked about the ways brothers must act and how to get people to rush. It covered everything from how to dress when you seek out the rushes and what they might say, how to anwser questions and even how to dodge them. After reading i thought about the past weekend and how much fun i had, but also how every little thing i did was following this book, even the non-related topics we talked about, common interests and stuff, was all outlined in this book.

I dont know if i feel stupid that i fell for the tricks or that I that i really enjoyed my self. I guess the guestion that i'm asking is, should i disregard what i read and pretend that i don't know or would me knowing ruin my chances at joining?

Ok, first, I don't really buy the "power glitch" story that "happened" to somehow flip you into the password protected part of their website, and second, I can guarantee if the brothers ever found out what you'd done you'd never set foot in their house again.

Some fraternities have "rush books" that serve as a common sense guide for the members (brothers) as to what they should to be doing when they rush (interview) rushees. I recall one fraternity had a rush guide published on their national website.

As to how you should regard this, first I would not bring up the password protected site/rush book at all. But more important, I would suggest that you be yourself. If you attempt to answer the way you *think* they might want, then you may come across as fake. And being fake can damage your chance at receiving a bid. Or worse yet, you could receive a bid and come to find out that you have little in common with the chapter and have a lousy time. All because you tried to be someone you were not.

Also, you mentioned that the topic of your rushing has not been asked directly. If you are interested in this chapter, I would suggest you let them know that you are interested. Especially since you are a legacy to chapter. Some chapters only look for men that express (show) an interest in the chapter. While you may not be indifferent, if you come across as such, then the brothers might not feel you are interested. And not extend you a bid.

Also, if you are comfortable doing so, you might want to discuss this with your family members. And while you are at it, you could even mention to them about the "rush book".

Best of luck.

Everything TSTeven said.

I'm dumb as a post when it comes to this stuff, and I've accidentally happened onto more than one private side of national websites. Sometimes people just don't write their code properly.

ok so i talked to one of the brothers and found out that the "rush book" is public information listed on their national website. The password part of it was to edit the manual not to see it. It was ok as long as i didn't see anything that said rights or ceremony because that stuff shouldn'r be on the internet

Yeah, I was about to say that almost everything in a fraternity is pretty common knowledge except rituals, ceremonies, etc.

One of the most common rules of Rush is to make a friend first... once that's established, talk of the fraternity and rushing comes into play... maybe you're just at step one. Persevere. Express interest but not too eagerly. Be yourself. It's much better to start out that way than for everyone to realize down the road that you don't even really know each other.