UFla rush from the PNM's view

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Going Greek
One recruit’s Rush story

By KYLIE CRAIG
Alligator Writer
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Kimberly Klement / Alligator
Derek Bloor is hurled into the air by future brothers in a tradition for pledges accepting bids for the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.

Matt Metz is a wanted man on campus.

The UF freshman has spent the past week being bombarded with phone calls from people he barely knows asking him to hang out and party with them.

They’ve been begging for his friendship, telling him what a great guy they think he is, and most importantly, offering him amazing free food.

Metz, 19, became this popular because he decided to participate in the Interfraternity Council’s Rush Week.

As he toured the fraternity houses during rush - with the Alligator in tow - he learned what each fraternity had to offer before making his final decision Thursday.

A change of heart

Metz said he “was almost staunchly against getting into a fraternity,” when he arrived at UF in the Fall, which gives him the ability to relate to the 86 percent of UF students who aren’t active in Greek life.

He also possesses quite a few notable characteristics. He’s good-looking and in-shape, outgoing, friendly and seems like he would be able to pull in some major chicks.

In Metz’s first few days experiencing rush, it became clear there are two distinct methods fraternities use to lure in the nervous crowd of rushees.

There’s the laid back hey-let’s-hang-out-and-be-buds approach, and the come-look-at-our-crazy-fight-nights-and-hot-chicks approach.

Some fraternities manage to fit in the hot chicks without hosting big events, but the two seemingly go hand-in-hand.

Metz started his week with an open mind about which fraternity he might want to join.

A walk along ‘Frat Row’

Each house on Fraternity Row, and even those located “off-row,” gave off a distinct vibe.

There was Lambda Chi Alpha, which hosted a jousting event Monday night and flaunted cute girls who signed in rushees.

Farther down the road was a more unstructured house, where a tiki torch had been broken in half and thrown into the bushes. Brothers in the front lawn started yelling “Eat it! Eat it!”

Then, there was a standout presentation at Pi Kappa Alpha. One attention-getter when entering the house was the black Hummer parked in front.

But the ride paled in comparison to the Hooters girls at the front doors.

Each house hosts lunch and dinner every day during rush. While most fraternities have their food catered, Pi Kappa Alpha was the only house Metz checked out that had restaurant employees mingling with fraternity hopefuls.

The ‘final cut’

Finally came the three fraternity houses that drew Metz in the most - Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Chi and Beta Theta Pi.

While most of the fraternities offered the same basics: an introduction to a few members, a tour of the house and a semi-scripted speech on what the fraternity has to offer, Metz said he narrowed it down to these three because of their laid-back approach to the rush process.

None of the three held big events.

Instead, they had a large, open room where the rushees and the fraternity members could eat, talk and get to know each other, without a cover band playing Van Morrison’s “Brown-Eyed Girl” or a guy being knocked around during a fight in the background.

“We purposely don’t do those things because we want a setting where people can get to know each other,” Sigma Chi rush chairman Jordan Wilder said.

At the Beta Theta Pi house, the members took it a step further and brought Metz up to one of the brother’s rooms, which was decorated with two large TV’s and some bright red, shag-like carpeting.

They talked about football, gambling and the pledge process.

Fraternities often are suspected of exposing their pledges to embarrassing and painful tasks possessing names like “elephant walk” and “gallon challenge.”

But Beta Theta Pi’s recruitment chairman, Andrew Walther, assured Metz he wouldn’t be involved in anything like that if he joined their fraternity.

He explained the fraternity won’t allow any type of hazing due to a new policy it has decided to follow called the “100 percent positive pledge program.”

Walther told Metz he thinks hazing during the pledge process causes a split in the fraternity, shattering their brotherhood.

“It’s like this guy that was an a--hole to you all semester is supposed to be your brother,” Walther said.

Metz said Sigma Alpha Epsilon, the third fraternity making his “final cut,” was one of the friendliest and appeared to be the most interested in having him as a member.

Upon walking up to the house Wednesday night, Metz interacted with the fraternity’s members as if they had been friends for years.

Nearly all of the brothers knew his name, and three or four of them already had his phone number - making plans with him to hang out.

It was clear Metz felt welcomed.

“I feel like these guys are my friends already,” he said.

Whittled down

Metz, a man who once thought he would never join a fraternity, said Wednesday night, “I think this is gonna be one of the toughest decisions of my life.”

He said he has “seen the light” and is dispelling rumors he’s often heard around campus.

“They say you’re paying for friends,” Metz said. “From what I’ve seen, it’s not like that. It’s hanging out with a bunch of guys with the same interests.”

He broke down the three fraternities into what each has to offer, saying that Sigma Chi “has their act together,” Beta Theta Pi is “more diverse,” and Sigma Alpha Epsilon “seems more like close friends.”

Metz said his final choice “just comes down to the feeling you get about people.”

While students rushing have until Friday night to make the decision on which fraternity to pledge, Metz made his decision late Thursday.

After a lot of thought and talking it over with his parents, he said he decided to go with Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

“For me, it’s just been the guys that I’ve met there I relate to the most.”

However, Metz said he wasn’t looking forward to turning down the other two fraternities who offered him bids.

“It’s just knowing that I could have had a great time with those guys,” Metz said.

Metz says he’s not too nervous about the pledge process.

As many fraternities are secretive about what goes on during the pledge process, there’s a good chance Metz has no idea what he’s about to get himself into.

“I hear all the time it’s one of the best times that I never want to do again,” he said.