We did the "buddy" thing on Bid Day and for each week after up until bigs & littles were assigned. Each week after meeting, the NM got a present from that week's buddy and a little note with the buddy's phone number and a little message like, "I'm so glad you joined!" But then after initiation, the new members don't get as much attention. I have to admit that there are some cliques, and most tend to include members of the same pledge class, though. It's sort of weird--how do you get the new members and old ones to "mesh"?
And as far as telling potential members that a lot is expected of them, I think that's a great idea. How come no one ever thought of that?!?
If members join thinking they will be expected to do stuff, I guess it stands to reason that they will. The rush techniques taught to us have always been sort of along the lines of fudging when it comes to "required" things (in other words, we're supposed to imply that we don't require stuff--members do it 'cause they want to) and finances (we're supposed to emphasize that we're among the least-expensive groups on campus). That can be a little misleading, and to tell the truth I was upset after I joined and found out what the real deal was, but we've been sort of led to think that people won't want to join if we talk about the "negative" stuff. But hey, I think it's worth a shot!