[Firehouse]

You say the freshmen girls judge sororities based on which fraternities they hang out with, "and that's not what they should be looking at." I'm sorry, I just don't understand the mindset. You're trying to tell them what they SHOULD be looking at instead of basing a solid sales appeal on what they ARE looking at. They're telling you they're not interested in what you're offering, but you insist on offering the thing they're not buying and you wonder what's wrong.
Young women, especially on a commuter campus where the atmosphere is not the same as a traditional residential campus, want to have fun. Often, the opportunities for fun are different on a communter campus.
Look, this can be turned around and fairly easily, if you will just shape your appeal to the market instead of being bound by sets of rules more geared to traditional campuses and already established structures. Greeks may have taken a downturn in the 1990s, but they are making a stong comeback today. There is no reason why your sorority system can't flourish there. In my opinion, you don't need to run off a fine, prosperous local sorority who might be able to teach you something about rush. Sororities are wonderful organizations with a powerful appeal. There's no reason to think that the young women on your campus would not want to join.