[whtwudusay]

If your pledge program is structured correctly, you can really make two pledge classes a semester work (as long as the school allows for year round recruitment). The first thing you need to focus on is length of the pledgeship though. For this to work, a pledge program should only really be five to six weeks in length. Then, one of the first lessons you can teach the new members is "how to recruit" and the "right way to rush". This can start with having them list everyone they know at the school that isn't greek that they would like to introduce to the chapter. This creates a "gene pool" that you can use as a start for your efforts for a second pledge class. Two pledge classes also alows you to work on prospective members that weren't entirely sure at the beginning of the semester or needed more time to think.

Having two pledge classes can also lighten the load on the chapter and new member educators. Having two pledge classes of 10 people each are easier to focus on and give individual attention to than having one pledge class of 20 people. Also, if you are having more than one pledge class it constantly reaffirms to the chapter the idea of year round recruitment, instead of getting your big class in the fall (or spring for those with deferred recruitment) and then not recruiting the rest of the year.

This is just my take on the issue. I don't want anyone to think I'm against just having one class a semester, I just want to show benefits of having two classes.