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Originally Posted by MikeEllis
So being a pledge last's one semester, which means there must be two initiations per year, toward the end of each semester. That answers one question (thanks, BTW), but I'm back with more.
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CAN be two initiations per year. If a fraternity is as big as it feels it wants to be, or if it carries over the pledge class from the previous semester because it doesn't feel like they're ready for initiation, they may only have one initiation per year. They're not obligated to have a pledge class or initiation every semester.
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Originally Posted by MikeEllis;2053860
Right now, this is going to be very general stuff, which will no doubt reveal my utter ignorance of the subject. You guys talk about "driving out of your lane." Hear now questions from someone who doesn't even have a license.
[B
When does rush (or I believe "recruitment" is now the preferred term typically begin?[/B] In my memory, we had "formal rush" the week before classes began, followed by a couple of weeks of "casual rush." This gave every house three weeks to decide whom to give bids to, but from what I've read here, this is not typical.
Formal rush, by the way, was very organized, largely run by the IFC office, and the rules were very strict: the guys called it "dry rush" as well, if that tells you anything. "Wet rush" were more laid back event organized by the fraternities themselves; there was more drinking and mixers, and it was a great chance for the PMs who came out for formal rush to come back and bring their friends from the dorms.
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With Fraternities there really isn't a "typical". The campus pretty much makes its own rules. Even NPC sororities, which have a ton of rules they have to follow, can still vary quite a bit from campus to campus.
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Originally Posted by MikeEllis;2053860
Also, in building the environment for the story, I want this to be somewhat realistic, which means detailed background. Bear in mind that you're talking to someone who wrote a novel set in a farmhouse-turned-recording studio, and before I wrote anything I had to draw the floorplan of the house.
So I'm trying to work out some numbers regarding enrollment. [B
I've read repeatedly that only 5% of college students join a GLO. How realistic does that sound?[/B] I'm imagining our fictional college has eight fraternities of roughly 50 guys each. That means 400 fraternity members, plus a largely equal number in 8 sororities. If they are 5%, then total enrollment would be about 16,000. Does this sound believable to everybody?
I have other questions, but these will do for now, and -- once again -- I appreciate all this help. We're scheduled to start writing in earnest in July, and with your help I'll be more than ready to make this guy's pledging seem believable.
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5% could be a good number (maybe even a little low), but then you have oddities like colleges where 80% are Greek.
One thing that probably ISN'T realistic is 8 fraternities and 8 sororities. Generally (with few exceptions), there are more fraternities than sororities. Also, membership in fraternities don't tend to be even. If you have 8 fraternities and 400 men, you probably have a chapter or two at around 80 members, and then at least one chapter that has 10-12 members. I would think it was rare to have all fraternities roughly even.
If you're saying 8 fraternities with 400 men, you could have maybe 5-6 sororities with as many women. Even with all our fairness rules, though, you're probably going to have a couple groups around 80, a couple in the middle, and then two or so at 25-30 (while smaller colleges with smaller Greek systems SOMETIMES let sororities get smaller than this, I don't think that's typical). The lower groups are usually the ones with some sort of stigma attached (the nerd house, the fat house, etc) that probably earned the stigma years ago and haven't been able to shake it. Actually, a good plot line could be your guy asking one of the fraternity men about the girls of Beta Beta Beta, having either already spotted a ridiculously hot one, or about to spot a hot one as the guy tells him that the BBBs are the nerd house and he doesn't want one of them. Yes, this plays into the stereotypes, but if you don't (at least a little), it will make for a pretty boring part of your story.