Let's hear it for summer rush

Betarulz! · #1 05-03-2003, 09:44 PM

Summer Rush starts in less than a week!!!

I'm excited to really be a part of rush this year, as last summer I was at a job that didn't allow me any time to get away to Nebraska for anything...

I can't wait for the chance to start sorting rush apps, calling guys, and all that awesome stuff.

Our rush chairs are really great guys (from my pledge class...the best ever) and they've been working their ass off already to get everything set up. I'm excited this year as we're probably going to use our chapter message board extensively to let the brothers know about rushees which should be awesome...

Who else is ready for rush to Start???

sthpolrd · #2 05-03-2003, 10:08 PM

Im looking forward to rushing at UNL this summer.

So we may see eachother.

Betarulz! · #3 05-04-2003, 03:23 AM

Hey, sthpolrd

Glad to hear youre rushing!

If you went to a red letter day and toured the fraternity house, there was a good chance that you met me already since I gave most of the tours.

I'm not sure what I can or can't do before rush actually starts, so I'll simply say good luck until next week when everything gets nice and official.

LeslieAGD · #4 05-04-2003, 11:28 AM

Good Luck, sthpolrd!

XOMichelle · #5 05-04-2003, 03:59 PM

You have Summer rush????

Angels&Arrows · #6 05-04-2003, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by XOMichelle
You have Summer rush????

I do not know a fraternity that does not have summer rush! At USM, the fraternities plan a rush party in N.O., Jackson, The Coast and Mobile. Sometimes at a brother's or an alum's home, sometimes at a club... just depends!

docetboy · #7 05-04-2003, 04:15 PM

Washburn University has no official rush...so most rushing is over the summer. We try to get guys rushed over the summer and move into the house from day 1 as students and pledges.

Betarulz! · #8 05-04-2003, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by XOMichelle
You have Summer rush????

Yes, in the midwest it is very prevalent, and in fact for the major universities it often serves as the only form of rush (unlike what I think Angels & Arrows was referring to). At Nebraska during the 90's there was no formal rush period at the beginning of the school year. Recent years have had it, but with limited success and/or interest from rushees and houses.

The way it works...About March all admitted students to the University get a mailing from greek affairs (it has varied over the past three years but this year it was a letter with a post card to return asking for more info). Either in this first mailing or subsequent ones is a rush application that asks for things like contact info, ACT score, HS GPA and HS accomplishments. On the Friday of our finals week here at the university, all the fraternities get copies of the rush apps that have been turned in so far, and may begin calling rushees.

After every New Student Enrollment day all the houses are open for tours and questions.

During the first three weeks or so, the rush chairs travel a lot to meet with rushees, but once all the HS seniors graduate rush shifts into having parties around the state, usually at lakes for boating and such. The first portion of rush ends at the same time University housing charges a fee for breaking the housing contract. Rushees may sign anytime after they have graduated, and can live in the fraternity house at the beginning of the school year.

The second portion of rush lasts until about two weeks before school starts, and it really isn't anything different than the first part, except that the new pledge adn the house must work out issues dealign with who will pay the cost to break the housing contract.

As I said, the pledges may move into the fraternity house at the beginning of the school year.

Sororities still have formal recruitment.

XOMichelle · #9 05-04-2003, 10:55 PM

that's crazy! Doesn't that interfere with summer jobs and stuff? Can you go abroad or do you haev to satay around? Do the Alumni do a lot of work? I'm from the midwest (Chicago-Milwaukee), and I've never heard of summer rush (my campus has deferred rush for both frats and sororities).
Also, then I guess you have to live near your university to join a fraternity, right? How do you attract the out of state men?
-Michelle

Betarulz! · #10 05-05-2003, 01:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by XOMichelle
that's crazy! Doesn't that interfere with summer jobs and stuff? Can you go abroad or do you haev to satay around? Do the Alumni do a lot of work? I'm from the midwest (Chicago-Milwaukee), and I've never heard of summer rush (my campus has deferred rush for both frats and sororities).
Also, then I guess you have to live near your university to join a fraternity, right? How do you attract the out of state men?
-Michelle

For the Rush Chairman (we have three, one exec and 2 assistants) they are pretty much forced to not have a job.

As for the other brothers, having a chapter of 60+ after graduation helps, and allows some people to be completely absent (like I was last year due to my job as a camp counselor) or for people to go abroad. A lot of guys typically stay around anyways to take class and not have to live with their parents for the summer.

As for attracting people from out-of-state, since most people are from the region (BTW Chicago/milwaukee is the great lakes region, not the midwest...perhaps I should have used the term High Plains to describe Nebraska, KS, SD, OK, and Missouri) it is not that big of deal. I'm from Kansas City and was able to sign. It simply means that you have to take a weekend to go find out about the houses which is what my pledge brother from Seattle did. We also have a large portion of our house from Sioux Falls so we've started rushing that area too. We also have rush parties throughout the state of Nebraska, some as far as 6 hours away from the University.

Also of benefit to out of state students is the New Student Enrollment days that every incoming student is required to attend. With all the houses open I used that as an opportunity to get information and then narrow down my preferences. Also a lot can be done over the phone in at least getting guys who can be put on an invite list.

In the end it all works out, and I actually think that it works better than a condensed rush would, as rushees can really find out which houses have the same goals as they do, which you can't do it a week or two.

KEPike · #11 05-05-2003, 01:27 PM

I'd also point out that some chapters pay their rush chairs to do the job, since it brings in xxx in revenue for the house, fraternity, etc.

Throughout the summer, groups contact men and take them out for a meal, pool, etc. Alot of times, this means that rush is based regionally (for Nebraska - it means Omaha, Sioux Falls, Des Moines, and lots of little points in between).

My big concern with this, and Betarulz, please respond and let me know if I am incorrect, is that many times the chapter's membership is based on regions (large majority comes from x for 5 years, then shifts to x for 5 years, etc.) and this causes these chapters to have difficulty recruiting in different areas.

Alot of this also stems from the fact that chapters have to maintain full occupancy and therefore recruit guys specifically to live in the house.

And even chapters with deferred recruitment (like mine) use the summer to recruit sophomores, as well as incoming freshmen that we know are coming in the fall. This is basically 9 months or so before they pledge!

docetboy · #12 05-05-2003, 01:30 PM

Also, one benefit of an open-ended rush is that the rushee is exposed to what a fraternity is really like - it's easy to be on good behavior and keep your house clean for a one-week rush period, but having no rush week means that rushees are always coming over meaning they see the house as it really is...no time for theatrics

XOMichelle · #13 05-05-2003, 03:28 PM

What do you mean Chicago is not the midwest? That what we call it! The midwest is big....

DGMarie · #14 05-05-2003, 03:30 PM

can't be more midwest than this!

Betarulz! · #15 05-05-2003, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by KEPike

My big concern with this, and Betarulz, please respond and let me know if I am incorrect, is that many times the chapter's membership is based on regions (large majority comes from x for 5 years, then shifts to x for 5 years, etc.) and this causes these chapters to have difficulty recruiting in different areas.

It definately depends on the house, and it is something that is brought up a lot. The thing about Nebraska is that approximately half of the state's population comes from either Lincoln or Omaha, and I'd say that of the instate kids, the % is even higher of incoming freshmen as a lot of the small town kids tend to go to the smaller state schools. So a lot of all houses come from those two places

Like I said though it totally depends on the chapter. Chapter X may get all the guys from Town Y, and there have been cases in which more than half of a chapter's pledge class (12 out of 23) came from one HS in Omaha. My house has a strong contingent from Sioux Falls, and South Dakota, but overall we're pretty diverse.

More than houses signing people to get at capacity, I think the biggest cause of getting a bunch of guys from one place is chapter weakness. The strong chapters are able to attract people from all over, b/c who doesn't want to be part of the best, but the chapters that aren't doing well, tend to have to rely more on who the brothers know.

As for Chicago...It's totally Great Lakes area...you may not be an eastern city but youre neither west nor mid enough to be mid west

Check out a thread in Chit Chat called Northerner Rules (do a search) and try to find the first post I made in that thread. If I remember correctly it defined the midwest unequivocally.