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Rudey, As To Your Question
Your question about whether some fraternities continue to do well under restrictions other than rush, the answer is yes, and several other respondants here have already indicated that. Your instincts are right: loss of rush is the killer. Any good fraternity that continues to rush quality and numbers - whether officially recognized or not - can prosper. The top women will always gravitate toward the top men, and vice versa. The key seems to be whether or not the fraternity itself is strong, has quality membership and adequate internal discipline. One of the eternal truths about fraternity success is that you can survive nearly any loss - housing, intramurals, social calendar - except the quality of your membership. Quality of membership depends entirely on rush. If you understand and can control your rush, then you can achieve anything, defeat anyone. I know rush; I understand its mechanics. Let me cite you an example that you have seen, I'm sure. Versions of this same story are often played out all over the country. A top tier fraternity loses recognition and has to close operations for a year, two years or more. When they come back to campus, even if there are no original members left in the group, they almost immediately regain their top tier status and soon it is as if they never left. SAE at Alabama, Kappa Sig at LSU, Pikes at Florida State, Sigma Chi at Southern Cal (and now likely Sigma Chi at UCLA), Delts at Florida, and SAE at Kentucky (the alumni took advantage of a two-year suspension to build a $7 million house to welcome their return) are a few of the most obvious samples.
The key, always, is rush and rush menas a combination of mechanical knowledge and a solid VISION of who they are and are supposed to be. The great fraternities have that.
So...the answer to your question is: yes, a suspended or de-recognized chapter can flourish and prosper, providing it's already a decent fraternity and not a bunch of idiots who are going to continue to cause the sort of trouble that got them suspended in the first place.
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