Quote:
Originally Posted by thetygerlily
Let's help him figure out how to get from 17 to 30 before we tackle completely changing campus culture to get up to your preferred amount.
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Thank you! I just read this entire thread and thought, "Why is Firehouse calling for such drastic measures?" This is a chapter of 17 looking to gain 13 members (at the least)... not a chapter of 7, up against chapters of 50, ready to die out. Baby steps.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Firehouse
Yes. Linfield has always been a pretty good chapter. I'm sorry that you're down, but good genes should win in the end. There was an old guy with a crew-cut - the mayor I think - who took care of the chapter; he may have died.
You should have at least 50 members. Dominate your competition. Grow fast and aggressive so there's a dynamic of excitement and so you can compete.
Here are some practical ideas. Ditch the "slag" idea - no one responds to promotions like that; they respond to men rushing men. Personal contact.
1. Pick one Brother who is in a position to drop out or take a lighter load for a semester and make rush his full-time job. Pay him by adding to the pledge fee or get alumni to make him an employee. The chapter has been good so you should have alumni suppport. He should concentrate on pledging numbers of good underclassmen and getting them initiated.
2. Make getting a good house a priority. Make ther alumni do this; the undergrads don't have the ability to get that done. Inspire the alumni with the promise that the chapter will be on top again. Define that by being the biggest and best.
3. Consider having two pledge classes per semester until you get your numbers back. Remember - and make sure the Brothers understand - against competition twice your size you cannot afford to 'get good' slowly. You'll never recover if you try to do it slowly. Do it quickly. Double your chapter size in one year and enjoy the effect of the increased optimism and excitement.
4. Make sure all the Brothers know that they must follow the leader, the rush chairman. Thier reward is a much better fraternity experience. Be prepared to lose a few. You may get down to 10 or 12 members. Some will leave becasuse they lose interest. Siome becasue they're embarrassed to be in what they view as a loser fraternity. But know: ON a campus where the top houses have 30 me, you can dominate and very quickly.
5. Don't fall into the psycho-babble crap about "every brother is responsible for bringing one new member in to replace himself'. That doesn't work. When everyone is responsible, then no one is responsible.
6. Pick a theme, an identity, and pursue that. Were you the jock house? The syudent government house? The smart, good-lookin guys? Did you have all the guys from a particular high school? At a small scholol with small fraternities, each fraternity usually has a specialized theme that distinguishes itself.
7. Great idea: find a sports club, like lacrosse or wrestling, or rugby, and pledge the entire team. They like to thikn of themselves as a fraternity enyway. This way they can be members of an important national fraternity.
Remember: Put someone in charge and make everyone follow him. Move quickly; no such thing as getting better slowly. Make alumni get you a house - you have to have a house if everyone else does. Don't be depressed when you lose some members; expect it. That actually makes it easier for the new guys to be accepted. Move now. Do it now. determine to have 40 brothers by the end of the 2010-11 school year.
Are you coming to the Convention?
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I don't want to sound mean here, Firehouse... but I wouldn't agree with 95% of this.
1. They "shouldn't" have 50 members. If they want to plan out acceptable goals for themselves, that's fine. But as a chapter, you shouldn't be hard on yourself for not having 20+ members more than any other chapter on campus. "Domination" isn't necessary at this point. Evaluate where you are, where you're going, and where you want to be... and establish goals based on that.
2. Getting a good house should not be a priority right now. Getting good members should be. Without brothers, you won't be able to support a super duper fantastic house!
3. Having two pledge classes can work... and sometimes it doesn't. I've seen it go both ways. If you're going to do this, map out a solid plan to make this work. And don't overwhelm yourself! If you think it will be too much work right now, just focus on one class.
4. Greek life isn't about "following the leader". It's about collectively coming up with the best solutions to your problems. Don't just rely on the rush chairman to do everything for you. THAT's how you guarantee that no one else will step up to the plate.
5. Replacing each graduating member with a new member isn't "psycho-babble"... it just makes good sense. Hell, it makes sense to try and recruit two people for every guy who leaves. How else are you going to get above a chapter of 17? I'm not saying that EVERYONE should be recruiting hardcore (some people just aren't good at it), but use your best members to get more good members.
6. PLEASE don't pick a "theme" for your house! This is the worst possible thing that you could do! If you do this, only a fraction of the campus will be interested in looking at your chapter at all. Be as well-rounded as possible!
7. Don't pledge an entire sports team. If it happens, it happens. But don't make this your goal. Because the guys who pledge who aren't on the team will feel left out. Or again, you could be limiting who is looking at your chapter. We had it happen at my school. When I was active, a chapter was down to only 7 members (basically all soccer players) and closed. It was opened again a couple of years later, but at the time they had inadvertently "excluded" most of the campus, and then even the newer soccer players didn't want to join.
"Follow one person?".. "There's no such thing as getting better slowly?".. MAKE your alumni get you a house? Um... Really?
Quote:
Originally Posted by PikesOnce
There is a lot of work to do to help rebuild for Linfield College.
I am the current President and we are facing a rush semester without a house and minimal members (Our house just recently became condemned and we are trying to get the money for a remodel).
For the best 3 years I have been here I have seen over 70% of our new initiates leaving along with the normal numbers of seniors graduating.
Our chapter now rests on 17 members and we are up against three other fraternities exceeding 30 members all with working houses.
Getting out and have a solid rush class is a must but its hard to get all the guys motivated and getting out to meet new potential brothers.
I am planning on launching a "What's S.L.A.G.?" campaign but I am afraid that won't be enough.
Any good ideas?
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I will tell you to start by looking at Phiredup.com. Order the book "Good Guys" from the site. And PM me with any questions that you might have (because I don't feel like typing too much more right now). Good luck!