Quote:
Originally Posted by GammaDelt
I think they come in expecting a Greek experience of a huge university, and then decide it's not worth the time. So I really don't know how to communicate the close-knitedness (excuse my made up word), and I guess I'm just frusturated because I see girls who we genuinely like leaving us.
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This sounds like the crux of your problem. They think it's going to be like Cornell where they have intramurals and big houses and stuff like that. Explain that as different as Ithaca is from Cornell, that's how different the sororities/fraternities are.
Again, contact your alums. Have several of them come to speak at rush parties and talk about the friendships they made that still exist - even without national recognition.
Don't "water down" your pledge program, but take a long hard look and see if you can get everything done you need to get done in a shorter period of time. Don't keep it at 8 or 10 or how ever many weeks just because that's what it's always been at.
Make sure you have a myspace or facebook group (an open one, keep any private business off of it) and that everyone in it also joins the Ithaca groups for incoming freshmen - that way you'll show up in "related groups" and girls might click on it and check you out.