Low Rush Numbers

[FAUNikki]

Ok, so my school normally has about 100-150 girls go through recruitment each fall. I wasnt around for sorority stuff last year, I was initiated this past spring. But it seems that my school is having a problem... Recruitment begins this coming Sunday, and as far as I have heard, there are 16 girls signed up from recruitment... Now there are 4 sororities, so that would set quota at 4, IF they all stay, thats not cool.
Is anyone else's school having these problems or has anyone every experienced this?!? It upsets me! I was so looking forward to recruitment and all the girls that walk down the main walkway of campus turn up their noses to us. We have girls from all 4 sororities standing together at the table with lots of memorbilia and all. I am feeling so frusterated right now! Any help out there????

[FAUNikki]

Fraternities are having their parties this week. But on our campus, during both of our recruitments we cannot associate with fraternity men and they cannot associate with us. Panhellenic, Rho Gammas, and Sorority members are all trying to get girls to rush. They blow us all off. We have had Greek Forum for anyone interested, we sit in the main walkway everyday, all sorority members have been wearing letters since the first day of school and nothing is helping.

[AchtungBaby80]

There's a big difference between 150 and 14!! I'm not familiar with you school so I don't really know what could be going on to cause that...maybe it's just "one of those" years. Sometimes there is just an abnormally high or low number of rushees.

[starrynight]

I'm at Marshall University in Huntington, WV, and we had low numbers this year too. I didn't go through formal rush last year, but my understanding was that we had about 100 go through last year, compared with about 45 this year. Quota was at 9, and 3 of the sororities got quota.
General opinion is that our low numbers were due to having rush the first weekend of school, while everyone was trying to get settled and sophomores, juniors, and seniors were still trying to move in.
In your case, though, it doesn't sound like your low numbers are from lack of trying....the only thing I can think of is stuffing the mailboxes in the girls' dorms with fliers and rush info.
Good luck with getting more girls!

[bethany1982]

Good luck. I hope things improve for you and for GL in general.

[33girl]

150 to 16???!?

Has there been any negative Greek publicity around the school or possibly from the orientation leaders?? I seem to remember hearing about a prof from one of the schools up here (shadokat - I think it was Bloom?) putting anti-Greek literature in his department's information packet!

The way you describe it sounds like they are not just apathetic but openly hostile...that doesn't just happen for no reason. Something has to be behind it.

[Firehouse]

I'm in Florida but I don't know your campus. However, I'm going to assume that the sorority system is not yet firmly established there, and that you do not yet have houses. I'm also going to assume that FAU is something of a commuter school where it's difficult to find large gatherings of students in the middle of the day.
Standing along a breezeway is not the way to get the kind of attention you want. In order to lure women to join you have to have interesting something to sell, something that can be deomnstrated easily and in a context that favors you. It sounds like your rush rules are geared to keeping the boys away, and yet I'd think in your case associating with the male students is exactly what you'd want to do to promote sororities. We all understand that Greek life is more than social, but to rushees social life is the most obvious and most visible pace to start. If I wanted to ensure a large number of women signing up for rush, I'd start by having Panhellenic set up a social - a mixer - with all the fraternities on campus, and invite all the freshmen women. Purely social, with a sign-up table.
The way you do it now sounds too...vanilla, like any miscellaneous club. Having all the sporority women and all the fraternity men in one place enjoynig themselves is a great way to interest people who wil be much more comfortable in that setting than standing on a breezeway. After the system is established and the product is established and it becomes a buyers' market, then you can re-institute all those rigid, stifling Panhellenic rush rules if you want. Trust me; this will work.

[White_Chocolate]

We are a small commuter campus with about 9 to 11,000 students and about half of them hate Greeks. . .the other half doesn't want to be around us. This year, our Campus Activities Director is a Tri-Delt. She's basically been pushing Greek in everyone's face.
We've had a table at every student orientation with a signup sheet with sororities/fraternities working the table. Our signup sheet was basically either signup right now or signup to be contacted at a later date. Choices rock!
Also, anytime the school is sponsoring stuff, she gets the Greeks in there and encourages us to wear our letters. We just had a Welcome Back Week with tons of free giveaways. . .and she placed a Greek at every table. . .PLUS there was a Greek signup table.
In the past, they have had 40 to 50 girls signup for recruitment. Last year, there was tons of rumors flying around about the sororities and the list went from 30 to 13 in less than a day. This year, most of the girls have actually seen and met all of us and don't have such a bad opinion of us.

Another question: the people who stand at these tables. . .do they actually talk to people walking by? We discovered that most people think Greeks are snobs(who knew) and if you just stand at a table not doing anything. . .they will pass by. At our tables, we had music going, we were dancing, and when a girl would walk pass. . .we would have girls walking about and bringing them to the table. And don't always go after the girls who have the 'sorority look'. . .yes, we have a reputation to keep up but we also need to learn that right now. . .rebellion is in and nobody wants to be friends with the cast of 'O.C.'

In fact, most of us are rooting that the outcast gets the girl over the fraternity type jock. . .RIGHT?!?!?

[adpiucf]

I grew up in Coral Springs, Florida, so I understand your location and I may understand the challenge--- FAU has many outstanding academic programs and great students, but is considered a commuter school. Of my HS graduating class, if you didn't go "away" for college, you would go to the local community college (BCC) and transfer to FAU, or go straight to FAU and have the benefit of a great degree and living at home-- A lot of students come from far away, a lot don't. You have many students living at home, and a good number of international students.

My recommendation would be to host open house events for the women who are freshman and sophomores at FAU and BCC-- a dinner or ice cream social. Something-- not necessarily-- here is pressure to join; just an introduction to the Greek System that is orchestrated by Panhellenic. Put up flyers in the dorms, be out at the orientation events, make sure your Greeks are visible on campus-- maybe once a week, Panhellenic can host a Greek Pride Day where every chapter wears their letters. There could also be a "Dress to Pin" day each week where all Greeks dress in pin attire and wear their pins to class. This will help promote Greek Life at FAU.

Get involved on campus-- the best way to recruit role models and leaders is to find people who are already involved on campus! Like attracts like.

You can also have an open house for high schoolers in the area to introduce them to the concept of Greek Life-- Spanish River High School, Ely, Taravella (Go Trojans! Hee hee), Douglas, etc. You can appoint Greek Ambassadors to host student assemblies and present a slide show, etc. These are your potential members.

I know its upsetting to have so few women enrolled so far in recruitment, but I assure you most schools see a huge jump in recruitment enrollment one day or so before Greek Forum/Orientation. Keep smiling and remember to paper the campus with the event times, dates, etc.-- the school paper, radio station, TV, fliers, posters, sidewalk chalk, banners, etc. Make buttons with "Ask me about Greek Life" written on them and have your Greeks wear them. Set up tables in student commons areas-- residence halls, student union, cafeteria, etc-- if your Panhellenic bands together and every sister makes an effort to promote, you will be successful. This isn't an overnight solution, but it is a start. Just remember that recruitment is a 365-day a year activity-- so keep promoting Greek Life!!!

Good luck from a former Floridian

[AZ-AlphaXi]

I wonder if sorority life on MTV is having an effect? I know I've been told that women have refused to sign up because "they've seen all about rush and pledging on MTV"

[FAUNikki]

We have done pretty much everything that everyone is suggesting! On Freshman move in day, ALL the Greeks on campus got shirts and helped the Freshman, (and anyone moving onto campus) move into their dorms. We told so many girls about recruitment. We stand in the Breezeway and hand out flyers, we try to talk to girls, we smile, we had many events hosted by the greeks in general, a Luau the weekend before school started etc. I mean I just dont get it!
One of my professors was real enthusiastic about it all and said that she would announce it in all her classes (Education majors would be in there, and thats mostly girls)
Three of the sororities have been around since The late 80s and all went national in 1991. We got DPhiE In 2001.
We dont go after the "sorority look" either, were very diverse, well at least Phi Sig is.
I have passed out papers in classes, posted things on the walls. Were right next to the Fraternities, so they see that everyone is recruiting right now! My big sis is an RA, but I dont know if she has even said anything to the girls on her floor. I asked her to though. I asked one of my friends who is a freshman to mention it to anyone she sees.
Tonight, tommorow and friday, all the sorority girls are getting together and invading the dinning hall and writting with chalk everywhere on campus. They dont know what else to do!

[kdonline]

As a native Miamian (and now a Broward Countian ; ), I think your school should look to see how your numbers are comparing w/ South Florida's other public commuter school, FIU.

I know there's a GCer on here from FIU, but I don't know if she's still around.

Anyway, I think both schools are similar in makeup (though not ethnicity) - greek systemwise, at least. It would be interesting to compare how many girls have signed up for rush @ both FIU & FAU.

As for Sorority Life being a cause - well, i know UF has had more girls sign up for rush than in recent years...so I don't think that's the reason.

[FAUNikki]

I think I found the answer to my question. There is a "club" on campus calling themselves Beta Chi Omega. NOw the rumor, and I say rumor... is that they eventually they want to become Chi Omega. Problem with that is, there are currently 4 sororities on campus, Theta Phi Alpha, Phi Sig, AXiD, and DPhiE. Nobody is near total. Total is 40 on our campus. In order to have another sorority come to campus, we all need to be at total for 3 years. That wont be for a while!
The other rumor is that they wanted to be Beta Theta Pi's little sisters, but since our school doesnt allow that nonsense, they had to start a "club". I am thinking that this may be one cause of our low recruitment #s. Girls think that they are a real sorority and dont sign up for formal recruitment.
I also didnt know that girls could choose ahead of time which sorority they eventually want to become...? Like, what is Chi O doesnt wanna come to FAU? How do they know that Chi O is the group that best fits their ideals? I dunno!!

[AchtungBaby80]

Originally posted by FAUNikki
I also didnt know that girls could choose ahead of time which sorority they eventually want to become...? Like, what is Chi O doesnt wanna come to FAU? How do they know that Chi O is the group that best fits their ideals? I dunno!!

They can model their group with a specific sorority in mind, but that doesn't mean they'll eventually get to affiliate with that particular one. Especially if the existing sororities on campus are not at total.

[Firehouse]

If no one can make total, why not bring in some more sororities with new ideas and aggressive recruiting and see who is successful? If there are ten national sororities, it's reasonable that five will be successful and pull the system up. Those unable to attract members can close up shop.