Fall Rush help

[hustler-149-]

Hey Brothers,

This is my first semester as rush chair and as a brother, and I need some ideas for shirts, brother shirts, and event ideas!!! Any ideas will help, so contact me at arebar@mac.com

Yours In,

-kai-

[EE-BO]

Posting here in the hopes it is helpful for other rush chairs in addition to you,

1. My first suggestion is that you determine your rush goals. How many men do you want to pledge and initiate in the fall? To get started, take a look at your chapter roster and see who is graduating next year. How many new initiates do you need to keep the chapter the same size next year after older guys graduate? How big do you want the chapter next year? Ask yourself these kinds of questions- and ask the rest of the brothers too- and you will then have a firm number of how many pledges you need to achieve a specific goal instead of just picking a nice round number. Having that specific goal will help you and the entire chapter to move forward.

2. As for shirts and similar items- my advice is be careful about spending a lot of money on those kinds of things. Rushees are interested in the chapter- not in the stuff you hand out. And if you hand out too much stuff, it will make rushees think you are trying to use that stuff to cover up other reasons they might not want to take a bid. I am not saying you have things to cover up, but just be careful about going too far with anything that is not about giving the rushees an idea what the chapter is about because it will appear bad.

3. Next step is to think about why you went Beta, and also ask some other actives why they chose Beta. These are your selling points.

4. Beta chapters vary in character based on what is important to their membership, size, social standing within the Greek community, the school and why people go Greek at that school.

I advise you think carefully on these factors. This is especially important because in my experience (as an active at two very strong Beta chapters during undergrad and an advisor to one of those chapters today), the biggest mistake a rush chair can make is to select and target rushees based on one or two criteria that he personally thinks are most important- without thinking about what the chapter needs as a whole. It is a normal and natural thing to do- but please resist the urge.

Fraternities are like any group of people you will encounter in life- be it social, professional or family. Most people will be on the sidelines helping little, if any. If their views are important and regarded to the leader of a given project, they will get more involved. If they feel like they are being ignored- they will do nothing and blame any shortcomings in the outcome of the task at hand on the leader.

A successful rush relies on a successful rush chair.

A successful rush relies on a chapter that is engaged with at least half the members putting in some effort.

A successful rush chair is one who takes the chapter's views and wishes into account and works not to target rushees for pledgeship- but rather to create an environment in which all chapter members take part in targeting rushees for pledgeship. This is a big job that secures the future of the chapter. You cannot do it alone, but you can create an environment in which you organize and lead the effort- giving all members the chance to participate.

5. Use RTS. That is a great tool offered by General Fraternity and every Beta chapter, regardless of our general nature and aim, can benefit from this. It takes a lot of effort, but it is worth it.

6. Get every active to give you at least 5 names of potential rushees. Force them to do it. Bug them every day until they give it over. Check with your IFC office for a list of incoming freshman who have expressed an interest in rushing. These are your two starting resources for calling/sending invitations to rushees.

7. Keep track of calls and RSVPs you receive from rushees and keep in touch with them! This takes work, but it is key. Drop the ball on this and rushees will think you do not care or are sloppy.

8. Forgive minor mistakes. Rushees are in high school. They make social errors and mistakes that college students would not make. At my age, I see the same in college graduates. If a guy is a douche, drop him and don't waste money rushing him- but if a guy shows some promise, give him a chance and bring him around more.

9. Get your alumni to participate. During rush, have 1-2 dinners where your top rushees, active chapter members and recent alumni go out to dinner. Make it a dry event- no booze for anyone. Parties are fact of life for fraternities, but for these alumni events show the rushees something more. Show the rushees alumni who have gone out and succeeded in the world and who can hang out for dinner, answer questions about Beta in general and give them a glimpse at life beyond college. This is how you will recruit well rounded men who work as hard as they play.

I hope this helps and please PM me or post if I can answer any more questions.

Personally, I think Rush and Philanthropy are the two most important- and also underrated/underappreciated offices in any chapter. You hold the key to your chapter's future, and I wish you well in fulfilling that obligation.

[hustler-149-]

That is sumthing to think about...so thank you much!
One other question is does anyone know a good shirt design site???

[furmanbeta]

We always used two different ones when I was an undergrad. The first was Graphic Cow (www.grafcow.com). They always did great work, and had a first-rate artistry team for pretty much everything we needed. Prices are definitely reasonable. The other one, which we only used twice, but was probably the most successful shirt we ever did was Design-a-shirt (www.designashirt.com). The difference with this one is that you've got a ton more input into the design process. This can be good if you're somewhat graphically oriented. However, if you're looking for a really sharp, high-end design for the shirt, it's probably not the best website.

[a.e.B.O.T.]

god you are so pretentious! he just asked for t-shirt and event ideas! You probably either apart of the AO or a Chapter Advisor!

Originally Posted by EE-BO

Posting here in the hopes it is helpful for other rush chairs in addition to you,

1. My first suggestion is that you determine your rush goals. How many men do you want to pledge and initiate in the fall? To get started, take a look at your chapter roster and see who is graduating next year. How many new initiates do you need to keep the chapter the same size next year after older guys graduate? How big do you want the chapter next year? Ask yourself these kinds of questions- and ask the rest of the brothers too- and you will then have a firm number of how many pledges you need to achieve a specific goal instead of just picking a nice round number. Having that specific goal will help you and the entire chapter to move forward.

2. As for shirts and similar items- my advice is be careful about spending a lot of money on those kinds of things. Rushees are interested in the chapter- not in the stuff you hand out. And if you hand out too much stuff, it will make rushees think you are trying to use that stuff to cover up other reasons they might not want to take a bid. I am not saying you have things to cover up, but just be careful about going too far with anything that is not about giving the rushees an idea what the chapter is about because it will appear bad.

3. Next step is to think about why you went Beta, and also ask some other actives why they chose Beta. These are your selling points.

4. Beta chapters vary in character based on what is important to their membership, size, social standing within the Greek community, the school and why people go Greek at that school.

I advise you think carefully on these factors. This is especially important because in my experience (as an active at two very strong Beta chapters during undergrad and an advisor to one of those chapters today), the biggest mistake a rush chair can make is to select and target rushees based on one or two criteria that he personally thinks are most important- without thinking about what the chapter needs as a whole. It is a normal and natural thing to do- but please resist the urge.

Fraternities are like any group of people you will encounter in life- be it social, professional or family. Most people will be on the sidelines helping little, if any. If their views are important and regarded to the leader of a given project, they will get more involved. If they feel like they are being ignored- they will do nothing and blame any shortcomings in the outcome of the task at hand on the leader.

A successful rush relies on a successful rush chair.

A successful rush relies on a chapter that is engaged with at least half the members putting in some effort.

A successful rush chair is one who takes the chapter's views and wishes into account and works not to target rushees for pledgeship- but rather to create an environment in which all chapter members take part in targeting rushees for pledgeship. This is a big job that secures the future of the chapter. You cannot do it alone, but you can create an environment in which you organize and lead the effort- giving all members the chance to participate.

5. Use RTS. That is a great tool offered by General Fraternity and every Beta chapter, regardless of our general nature and aim, can benefit from this. It takes a lot of effort, but it is worth it.

6. Get every active to give you at least 5 names of potential rushees. Force them to do it. Bug them every day until they give it over. Check with your IFC office for a list of incoming freshman who have expressed an interest in rushing. These are your two starting resources for calling/sending invitations to rushees.

7. Keep track of calls and RSVPs you receive from rushees and keep in touch with them! This takes work, but it is key. Drop the ball on this and rushees will think you do not care or are sloppy.

8. Forgive minor mistakes. Rushees are in high school. They make social errors and mistakes that college students would not make. At my age, I see the same in college graduates. If a guy is a douche, drop him and don't waste money rushing him- but if a guy shows some promise, give him a chance and bring him around more.

9. Get your alumni to participate. During rush, have 1-2 dinners where your top rushees, active chapter members and recent alumni go out to dinner. Make it a dry event- no booze for anyone. Parties are fact of life for fraternities, but for these alumni events show the rushees something more. Show the rushees alumni who have gone out and succeeded in the world and who can hang out for dinner, answer questions about Beta in general and give them a glimpse at life beyond college. This is how you will recruit well rounded men who work as hard as they play.

I hope this helps and please PM me or post if I can answer any more questions.

Personally, I think Rush and Philanthropy are the two most important- and also underrated/underappreciated offices in any chapter. You hold the key to your chapter's future, and I wish you well in fulfilling that obligation.

[EE-BO]

Originally Posted by a.e.B.O.T.

god you are so pretentious! he just asked for t-shirt and event ideas! You probably either apart of the AO or a Chapter Advisor!

I am a chapter advisor- but I have not forgotten what it is like to be an undergrad member.

I did offer suggestions for event ideas- and ways to get the entire chapter engaged to make them work.

Alumni dinners are an event. RTS is a structured series of events.

And find me someone with experience who disagrees with the idea that spending a lot on shirts and other freebies is an expensive rush tool that is not a guaranteed success.

I also offered some general thoughts for an approach to rush since this young man indicated he is newly initiated and rush chair. I salute his eagerness to take on such a key role so early in his time as an active brother.

My thoughts are there for anyone to read or dismiss- but I fail to see how they are pretentious or unnecessary. The question was somewhat open-ended and so I offered everything I had on the subject in the hopes it would help.

Some advisors are pricks. When I was an undergrad I once told an advisor to get the f&^@%# out of our house. Some of them have forgotten what it was like to be a student and they try to force their views or play the bad guy.

But many of us are not like that- and we give this kind of advice all the time.

The advice comes from years of experience. How it is delivered is what makes the difference between offering guidance and trying to run the show.

Unfortunately, tone is difficult to read on the internet. But I am hardly in a position to do more than offer my suggestions and hope they help him in formulating his own course.

Also, if you check his user name and location- you can go in the alumni directory pretty fast and see which chapter it is, and also see it is one of our smaller chapters that is probably not getting much help in the huge task of building the chapter to a good size.

And thus my advice- in the sincere hope it helps.

[a.e.B.O.T.]

I am not disagreeing with anything you said: advice is helpful... but he didnt ask for a lecture, and part of the undergrad experience is working something out for yourself and figuring what works best for your chapter. If he wanted in depth details about all the knooks and crannies... he'd ask! Point him in the right direction, but let him do the rest, thats the point! That is what builds character.

[Coramoor]

Beyond what has already been said...I have one addition. I think it is probably the most obvious and successful attribute you can have during rush.

Girls.

Girls bring guys. Hands down, if you are social with good looking girls and have them as friends and party with them-Guys will show up.

[EE-BO]

Originally Posted by a.e.B.O.T.

I am not disagreeing with anything you said: advice is helpful... but he didnt ask for a lecture, and part of the undergrad experience is working something out for yourself and figuring what works best for your chapter. If he wanted in depth details about all the knooks and crannies... he'd ask! Point him in the right direction, but let him do the rest, thats the point! That is what builds character.

I agree with what you are saying. I did not think I was offering too much detail- just pointing out a great many courses and some high level points to think about.

However, working late and coming here for a break and typing some massive post I have to concede reading it again that it did come off as a lecture and that is my bad.

How the message is delivered is just as important as the content, and I did not mean to be preachy.

[a.e.B.O.T.]

yes, like Coramoor said, girls are good, they are fun, and make things a lot more sociable. Having social parties, (ones without alcohol I mean) like in your house, invite a sorority or a group of girls, and recuits. They will love it, they will think you are popular, and it would be a good chance for you to sit down and get to know them on a 'hanging out' basis, which is different then the typical brother with his "we want to get you" attitude and the rushee with the "I want in" attitude that blogs what you say. Dont talk Beta, have events where you do that, but also have events where you can just hang out with out those stipulation in ya'lls head! Thats would be my suggestion.

[a.e.B.O.T.]

as far as t-shirt ideas... I like these, they are classics, if no one else at your school has done them then they are great.

All men were created equal until 1839
They set the standard, we set the tradition
Before you go greek, know who the Gods are.
On the road of life, there are friends, and there are brothers

You might consider not putting "Rush 2007" on them, so that you can wear them again and again and they always apply

[Coramoor]

Be careful about inviting sororities to your house during rush. I can help or hurt you depending on the the relations you have. I've been to other frats rush parties where the girls and guys didn't know/like each other or something. It was like a middle school dance. Girls in once corner and guys in the other.

Not cool.

Bringing around girls (independant or sorority chicks) on a regular basis and doing fun things with them and included rushees works.

We took guys out boating, BBQ, to local swimming holes, volleyball in our back yard, etc. Having the girls in bathing suits 99% of the time helps also.

[hustler-149-]

thanx guys that all sounds good, ill be bringing it up at the next chapter we have. ya'll were very helpful...and if ya'll think of anything else just post it.

[rastaone]

i think our rush events are going to be as follows:
first night: typical bbq
second night: since we have to stay in the house, casino night? (this may change)
third night: strippers
fourth night: paintball or something else cool
fifth night: blue chip dinner
sixth night: bid night

[rastaone]

oh and this is one of the ideas we had for our fall rush tshirts