Prohibiting 1st Semester Freshmen From Pledging

[RedRover]

Saturday night I was at anniversary party for an old employer of mine. I was talking to her son and two of her grandsons. The son said that he was taking his younger son back to college -- a small private liberal arts college -- early tomorrow so the young man could attend a series of fraternity open houses on campus.

I said wasn't it awfully late in the semester for rush parties. The young man explained that they weren't really rush events. He said that his college forbade first semester freshmen from pledging Greek letter organizations. He said formal rush will be held once the second semester starts.

He added the open houses were informal. He said that after nearly finishing his first semester at college, he knows which two fraternities he will be concentrating his attempts to receive a bid for membership. He said he already eliminated the rest of the other fraternities (one attracted athletes, another party animals, yet another Young Republican types). He said that he knew a number of members in the two fraternities that he is interested in, meeting the members in his classes.

His older brother chimed in that forbidding first semester freshmen from pledging might not be such a bad idea. He said he pledged as a first semester sophomore at a large public university. The older brother said that the first semester of college can be traumatic. He said he had a year to assess the various fraternities on campus, learn their reputations and was able to figure out which Greek letter organization would be the best fit for him. He added that a number of men who had pledged as freshmen "burned out" as members, going inactive before graduation. He said too often these men made poor choices in choosing their fraternity memberships, accelerated because there were numerous fraternities and too little time for make a proper assessment as a college freshman.

A former co-worker overheard this conversation. She belonged to a sorority at a large southern university known for its fraternity/sorority system. She agreed that many members "burned out" as actives, but she doubted the postponing rush would work on a campus in which almost 1,000 women participate in rush.

Two questions. The first part ... do many colleges forbid first semester freshmen from pledging. I know a few private colleges do, but I am not sure about public schools.

Secondly, I would like the GC participants weigh in the topic -- pledging as a first semester freshman as opposed to waiting for the second semester or later.

Any input would be appreciated. I want to thank you all in advance

[BigRedBeta]

Personally, I'm of the opinion that there's nothing to be gained by having students wait - as far as the GLO's are concerned...and I'm not even sure that freshmen are really gaining a whole lot either.

Why?

1) I don't have any data for this but I'm willing to bet that for all the kids who have no idea about Greek Life when they get to campus and then choose to rush, there are at least equal numbers who feel that "school is too much" and they "don't have the time" to devote to being a pledge.

2) A good pledge program should provide help in the transition to college. I ended up with better study habits due to being in my fraternity as a first semester frosh. I'm not naive enough to believe that's the case everywhere, but if the fraternities were smart, they'd be heading that direction and selling that view point. Having older members around should cut down the learning curve for a great many typical students - whether it's how to register for classes to where a certain building is, mentoring is huge.

3) Reputations become a much bigger part of the game. Froshes now have 4-5 months to hear about how XYZ is all the jocks, and ABC is the nerds. While some may actually get a better sense of how each house is, I again feel that at least an equal number, if not more, let the rumors impact their decision. This hurts everyone involved, as it's never a positive to see a kid end up in a house that's not really right for him.

4) For all the concern about 'dirty rushing' that crops up in certain places, this system doesn't seem like a good idea for avoiding that.

5) The NIC in the past has often argued the Constitutional issue of a Public University (ie state-funded) infringing on freedom of assembly. It's an interesting question and one of those things that might actually have some teeth.

6) 1st semester freshman year is a unique time where you can meet so many people, because everyone is new...I can't imagine how many fewer people I would have met had I not been in my chapter.

[icicle22]

Originally Posted by RedRover

His older brother chimed in that forbidding first semester freshmen from pledging might not be such a bad idea. He said he pledged as a first semester sophomore at a large public university. The older brother said that the first semester of college can be traumatic. He said he had a year to assess the various fraternities on campus, learn their reputations and was able to figure out which Greek letter organization would be the best fit for him. He added that a number of men who had pledged as freshmen "burned out" as members, going inactive before graduation. He said too often these men made poor choices in choosing their fraternity memberships, accelerated because there were numerous fraternities and too little time for make a proper assessment as a college freshman.

He has a point, but the first semester of college for anyone could be beneficial because you get to meet a whole of people.

[33girl]

I completely agree with prohibiting first semester freshmen from pledging. Here's why:

1. Joining other campus orgs (yearbook staff, football team etc) is not a lifetime commitment. Greek life should be. Will it really kill you to wait a semester if you're going to be a brother/sister your whole life?

2. Shortened pledge programs have been mandated by many universities and national GLOs. Often times people are initiated before they have their first semester's grades (and subsequently flunk out or leave the school) or know whether that college is truly the right fit for them. I know a lot of the propaganda says "going Greek your first semester helps you fit in at a big campus", but the fact is, going Greek won't prevent you from being in classes taught by TAs instead of real professors, or hating that the whole school culture revolves around football. You can't "hide" in your GLO. It's part of the campus, and you can't know what the campus is truly like until you actually live there and go to class there.

And once you're initiated - you're stuck (females anyway). Unless you transfer to another school with your sorority you can never join another one, and even if there is a chapter of your sorority there, they might be completely the opposite of the chapter you joined and you want nothing to do w/ them or vice versa.

3. Rushees know the stereotypes going in. I take this as a PLUS. Formal rush can be really phony and superficial, so if that's the only time you've had any contact w/ these people, it can be hard to make a decision - especially if you don't know anyone else on campus. Plus a lot of times, chapters are rushing in a way that isn't really "them" (especially if they're getting national help). We had deferred and never had anyone say after joining "I'm so disappointed, I thought you guys were the sorority that had all the homecoming queens" or something like that. I'd rather have a girl who's heard all the stereotypes, positive AND negative, and goes where she wants, not necessarily to where she would have thought was great her first week on campus.

4. "Dirty rushing" happens at every campus, no matter WHEN rush is. Some of the pre-freshman year schools supposedly have their whole class picked out from recs and resumes before the school year even starts. If that isn't "dirty" I don't know what is.

5. Less chance of burnout. If all you've ever known is your GLO, after 4 years I can't see how it WOULDN'T be on your nerves. If burnout isn't a problem, why are so many national groups implementing special programs to keep the seniors involved?

The NPHC groups do not allow first semester freshmen to pledge - and they seem to have much less of a problem instilling the fact that membership is a lifetime commitment. I'm not saying there aren't NPHC members that leave their GLO behind the minute they graduate, but for the most part, you hear from the 40 year olds "I am an AKA" not "I was an AKA."

And to the OP's question, it's not just private schools that do this.

[SmartBlondeGPhB]

Originally Posted by 33girl

And to the OP's question, it's not just private schools that do this.

Correct, it's referred to as deferred recruitment and it's more common than the OP thinks.

[DSTCHAOS]

I don't think that first semester freshmen and first semester transfer students should not be allowed to formally pursue organizations.

I know some who did because there were no university or chapter restrictions against it. These people often don't know much about college life, that particular campus, and Greekdom enough to pursue an organization.

[skylark]

I agree with a lot of 33girl's points.

I thought I'd throw this out there, though, as we're all weighing pros and cons: One drawback of later pledging is that you lose the benefit of having those long-term seniors who are very comfortable with the organization and with leadership within it. Those seniors that have been with the org since they came to college are often some of the chapter's best assets because (at least in smaller chapters) they have held a couple of lesser-important offices before taking on the big ones (Prez, Recruitment, Standards, etc.)

[33girl]

Originally Posted by skylark

I agree with a lot of 33girl's points. I thought I'd throw this out there as we're all weighing pros and cons. One drawback of later pledging is that you lose the benefit of having those very wise seniors that have been with the org since they came to college and (at least in smaller chapters) have held a couple of lesser-important offices before taking on the big ones (Prez, Recruitment, Standards, etc.)

I had to read this a few times before I understood what you were saying.

I think it can go both ways, though - you can have seniors who have "tunnel vision" to the point that all they've ever known is XYZ and XYZ is wonderful and never ever needs to change.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by 33girl

The NPHC groups do not allow first semester freshmen to pledge

If there are no chapter or university-established restrictions, people can pledge an NPHC org as a first semester freshman. They have to have the necessary credit hours and GPA for the Fall line. Some of us had that as first and second semester freshmen but thank God we had to wait.

Pursuing membership as a first semester freshman doesn't happen too often but 2nd semester freshmen initiates are common, particularly for certain organizations with different credit hour requirements.

[NutBrnHair]

I am against any school administration limiting the right of association. Do these universities allow 1st semester freshmen to join the ski club? the Baptist Student Union?

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by NutBrnHair

I am against any school administration limiting the right of association. Do these universities allow 1st semester freshmen to join the ski club? the Baptist Student Union?

Do you find your sorority to be comparable to "sign-up type" organizations like the ski club and BSU?

That may be an issue.

[NutBrnHair]

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

Do you find your sorority to be comparable to "sign-up type" organizations like the ski club and BSU?

That may be an issue.

In this discussion I do!

[skylark]

Originally Posted by 33girl

I had to read this a few times before I understood what you were saying.

I think it can go both ways, though - you can have seniors who have "tunnel vision" to the point that all they've ever known is XYZ and XYZ is wonderful and never ever needs to change.

I'll edit for clarity...

[33girl]

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

If there are no chapter or university-established restrictions, people can pledge an NPHC org as a first semester freshman. They have to have the necessary credit hours and GPA for the Fall line. Some of us had that as first and second semester freshmen but thank God we had to wait.

Do you mean if they tested out of courses and got the credits, took college courses while still in high school and got the credits, things like that?

That same thing can happen w/ NPC deferred rush too.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by NutBrnHair

In this discussion I do!

Some universities restrict the type and number of organizations freshmen join, period. They want freshmen to focus on getting acclimated and academics.

Beyond that, I don't want freshmen pursuing NPHC organizations as freshmen just because they can also go to the organizational fair and sign up for a bunch of clubs.

Come to us when you can understand and respect why NPHC organizations aren't like the ski club or the InterFaith Coalition. And are qualified to pursue membership.