A Tough Fall Ahead

[PikesOnce]

There is a lot of work to do to help rebuild for Linfield College.
I am the current President and we are facing a rush semester without a house and minimal members (Our house just recently became condemned and we are trying to get the money for a remodel).
For the best 3 years I have been here I have seen over 70% of our new initiates leaving along with the normal numbers of seniors graduating.
Our chapter now rests on 17 members and we are up against three other fraternities exceeding 30 members all with working houses.
Getting out and have a solid rush class is a must but its hard to get all the guys motivated and getting out to meet new potential brothers.
I am planning on launching a "What's S.L.A.G.?" campaign but I am afraid that won't be enough.
Any good ideas?

[Firehouse]

Yes. Linfield has always been a pretty good chapter. I'm sorry that you're down, but good genes should win in the end. There was an old guy with a crew-cut - the mayor I think - who took care of the chapter; he may have died.
You should have at least 50 members. Dominate your competition. Grow fast and aggressive so there's a dynamic of excitement and so you can compete.
Here are some practical ideas. Ditch the "slag" idea - no one responds to promotions like that; they respond to men rushing men. Personal contact.

1. Pick one Brother who is in a position to drop out or take a lighter load for a semester and make rush his full-time job. Pay him by adding to the pledge fee or get alumni to make him an employee. The chapter has been good so you should have alumni suppport. He should concentrate on pledging numbers of good underclassmen and getting them initiated.

2. Make getting a good house a priority. Make ther alumni do this; the undergrads don't have the ability to get that done. Inspire the alumni with the promise that the chapter will be on top again. Define that by being the biggest and best.

3. Consider having two pledge classes per semester until you get your numbers back. Remember - and make sure the Brothers understand - against competition twice your size you cannot afford to 'get good' slowly. You'll never recover if you try to do it slowly. Do it quickly. Double your chapter size in one year and enjoy the effect of the increased optimism and excitement.

4. Make sure all the Brothers know that they must follow the leader, the rush chairman. Thier reward is a much better fraternity experience. Be prepared to lose a few. You may get down to 10 or 12 members. Some will leave becasuse they lose interest. Siome becasue they're embarrassed to be in what they view as a loser fraternity. But know: ON a campus where the top houses have 30 me, you can dominate and very quickly.

5. Don't fall into the psycho-babble crap about "every brother is responsible for bringing one new member in to replace himself'. That doesn't work. When everyone is responsible, then no one is responsible.

6. Pick a theme, an identity, and pursue that. Were you the jock house? The syudent government house? The smart, good-lookin guys? Did you have all the guys from a particular high school? At a small scholol with small fraternities, each fraternity usually has a specialized theme that distinguishes itself.

7. Great idea: find a sports club, like lacrosse or wrestling, or rugby, and pledge the entire team. They like to thikn of themselves as a fraternity enyway. This way they can be members of an important national fraternity.

Remember: Put someone in charge and make everyone follow him. Move quickly; no such thing as getting better slowly. Make alumni get you a house - you have to have a house if everyone else does. Don't be depressed when you lose some members; expect it. That actually makes it easier for the new guys to be accepted. Move now. Do it now. determine to have 40 brothers by the end of the 2010-11 school year.

Are you coming to the Convention?

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Firehouse

1. Pick one Brother who is in a position to drop out or take a lighter load for a semester and make rush his full-time job. Pay him by adding to the pledge fee or get alumni to make him an employee. The chapter has been good so you should have alumni suppport. He should concentrate on pledging numbers of good underclassmen and getting them initiated.

Pardon my crash, but isn't there a possibility that his parents might have a slight problem with that??

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Pardon my crash, but isn't there a possibility that his parents might have a slight problem with that??

I'm glad you said something, because I was shocked by that suggestion. Aren't we all in this to support our members academic development? I don't think it's responsible to suggest someone put their education on hold to recruit for the fraternity.

[AXOmom]

Particularly since Linfield is private and not cheap.

Greek life can be a great thing, but if I thought for one minute it was interfering with my child's ability to get her degree in a reasonable amount of time - I'd be torked, and she'd be done. You go to college to get an education and a degree - everything else is icing.

Also, and someone please correct me if I'm totally off base, but on my kid's campus, you have to be a full time student in order to be active. Am I misinformed or does that vary by chapter, campus, and organization?

[Firehouse]

With respect, I believe this is an excellent idea or I would not have suggested it. It's been done before, and successfully.
Certainly, if a man's parents are paying the bills and they object to him taking the job then he is not a candidate. Neither is any man a candidate who feels that this would "put his education on hold" as you say. On the other hand, it's not unusual for a man to take a semester off and work, or to take a lighter load and have a part time job.
As far as being considered "active" is concerned, this is a job taken by a fraternity Brother as a recruiter. Whether the chapter counts him as "active" at the moment is beside the point. He is in fact there, doing his job. It could be an alumnus just as easily as it could be an undergraduate.
On some campuses, a man is given the job of full-time summer rush chairman, with a car, a clothing allowance and a budget. This is his paid job for those months. He leads the chapter in rushing and assembling a pledge class, often moving them directly into the house before fall term begins. This is common fraternity practice at some big schools in Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Iowa, Missouri - I'm sure there are others.

In this case - Linfield - the individual has reached out for help with ideas. If they don't re-build their numbers the chapter will die. It sounds as if fraternity sizes are small, so they can become competitive again quickly.

The three responders are all sorority women, and I understand this solution may sound odd to you because sororities tend to have lots of rules and restrictions on rush, including fall formal rush, and a limitation on summer contact. I believe this idea will also work with a weak sorority chapter that wnats to improve, and I have suggested it before.

Yes, we're here to get an education, and a first class education offers many advantages. What also offers considerable advantages are the lifelong relationships with quality men we forge in college. Pike at Linfield is an old and distinguished chapter. I'd like to see them survive and prosper.

I'm surprised at your reactions to a creative and effective solution with an entrepreneurial flair. The right man, who sees advantages for himself in this endeavor, will make a success.

[33girl]

It's not so much the rush rules or the part time student issue, it's more the idea of any parent being OK with this. I'm quite familiar with the concept of taking a semester off to work, but that's usually to make money at a full-time adult job to pay for your education - not to be a rush chair.

Paying the guy who does summer rush is completely different. It's SUMMER. School is not in session. He's probably turned down far more lucrative summer jobs to do all this for the chapter and he should be paid in return.

You know I usually agree with you man, but I just can't get on board with this one.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Firehouse

With respect, I believe this is an excellent idea or I would not have suggested it.

Your suggestion is ridiculous and goes against almost everything that Greekdom is about. ETA: I don't even care about parents' opinions and whether the parents are paying for it. Students shouldn't be taking time off in the interest of the GLO regardless of whether it is disguised as a job.

I'm accustomed to hearing about NPHCers staying in school longer so that they can "make new members," or become a member, "save a chapter," and enjoy "being out" as a collegiate. And I knew some IFCers when I was in college who stayed in school a little longer to stay involved as an active and "save the chapter." All of those people FAIL at life and those chapters FAIL their national headquarters with zero exceptions.

/this isn't a lane swerve because this is a Greekdom issue

[Firehouse]

My goodness. I certainly did not expect women to post in response to a Pike discussion, and I am surprised at the intensity of the responses (Dr Phil, I assume from your language that you are also female). But it's fine; if we didn't have passion for this stuff there wouldn't be any discussions at all and no website. Thank you for your responses; I enjoy the discussion.

With respect, I have a lot of experience with fraternities over a long time and I have seen this done successfully. It's not a bad thing that sorority women view their organizations differently than fraternity men. My focus is on ressurecting, saving or improving existing fraternity chapters. If you want a weak chapter to get better, someone must step forward and take command - it doesn't happen all by itself. That man must come from somewhere, either from outside (a transfer or a consultant from national), or from the inside. If the inside man is a full time college student, he has limited capacity to get the job done.

Dr Phil, I'm not certain we share the same concept of 'Greekdom' and I'm pretty sure I don't know what you mean by it. I do understand biology and the mechanics of fraternity competition. You made a pretty bold statement: "All of those people FAIL at life and those chapters FAIL their national headquarters with zero exceptions." That has not been my experience.

Linfield is a small school. If our chapter is to survive (National requires 25 members to sustain a chapter) then the members must take immediate action, be creative and find success to motivate the group. Chapters thrive on momentum and morale. Both can be generated by strong, bold leadership.

Fraternities do not operate on the same dynamic as sororities. Women do not fit well into the male model and vice versa.

[Senusret I]

I am a fraternity member and also find this to be a bad idea, HOWEVER,

Originally Posted by Firehouse

(National requires 25 members to sustain a chapter)

THAT right there is the real problem. I suspect it may have been part of the multi-faceted problem which was the colony at Howard.

I do not support national minimums that are above the minimum number that the college requires.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Firehouse

My goodness. I certainly did not expect women to post in response to a Pike discussion, and I am surprised at the intensity of the responses (Dr Phil, I assume from your language that you are also female). But it's fine; if we didn't have passion for this stuff there wouldn't be any discussions at all and no website. Thank you for your responses; I enjoy the discussion.

With respect, I have a lot of experience with fraternities over a long time and I have seen this done successfully. It's not a bad thing that sorority women view their organizations differently than fraternity men. My focus is on ressurecting, saving or improving existing fraternity chapters. If you want a weak chapter to get better, someone must step forward and take command - it doesn't happen all by itself. That man must come from somewhere, either from outside (a transfer or a consultant from national), or from the inside. If the inside man is a full time college student, he has limited capacity to get the job done.

Dr Phil, I'm not certain we share the same concept of 'Greekdom' and I'm pretty sure I don't know what you mean by it. I do understand biology and the mechanics of fraternity competition. You made a pretty bold statement: "All of those people FAIL at life and those chapters FAIL their national headquarters with zero exceptions." That has not been my experience.

Linfield is a small school. If our chapter is to survive (National requires 25 members to sustain a chapter) then the members must take immediate action, be creative and find success to motivate the group. Chapters thrive on momentum and morale. Both can be generated by strong, bold leadership.

Fraternities do not operate on the same dynamic as sororities. Women do not fit well into the male model and vice versa.

These are all opinions. I doubt you would attempt to hone in on the perceived emotion if we were not women typing. This is a Greekdom issue and not a gender issue or a fraternity-vs-sorority issue. Certainly you do not assume that you are typing to people who are unfamiliar with keeping chapters afloat or that what it takes is so different for fraternities and sororities across councils and conferences.

The interesting thing about posting such threads on a publically viewable PiKA forum is that anyone can read and respond to it. I notice that NPC and NIC sometimes discuss struggling colonies and chapters on Greekchat and there's a reason why the NPHC orgs tend not to.

Originally Posted by Senusret I

I am a fraternity member and also find this to be a bad idea....

Imagine that.

A chapter that is struggling to survive is always a difficult thing. That doesn't mean that every suggestion is a good one even if it worked for a chapter(s) in the past. Afterall, a brother could take off from school to "work for the fraternity" and the chapter could still lose its charter. That would be fail all around.

[thetygerlily]

I'll ignore some of the insanity as others have got it covered, but here's an idea- if you don't have a house, why not considering playing it up as a positive? My college was very similar to Linfield- small, private, liberal arts school with 3-5 fraternities and sororities. The fraternities had houses, the sororities didn't. Sounds pretty similar to Linfield.

One of the challenges that several of our fraternities faced was getting enough people to live in. Some people, including my husband, either didn't join or disassociated when they found out they would have to live in the house. With such a small student body and not a ton of interest in Greek life, the fraternities often struggled to fill all of their beds. I'm sure it is really hard on you guys to have had your house condemned (ouch ) and you guys want it back, but until you do- it's all about how you spin it. "We have a fantastic, close-knit brotherhood and we do a lot together, but we also live in the dorms/apts/whatever and are able to be really involved in other aspects of college life".

Yes, the spin may not work, especially if you guys don't embrace it & believe in it- but find a way to put a positive spin on the situation and showcase what you have to offer. In this case, not having a house can be a huge perk to some people. Just a thought...

Also, since you don't have a central house to congregate in- be visible. Wear letters, have lunch together on campus, host activities. Show that brotherhood goes beyond the house. Any group should do this regardless, but for you especially this is important.

Good luck!

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by thetygerlily

Let's help him figure out how to get from 17 to 30 before we tackle completely changing campus culture to get up to your preferred amount.

Thank you! I just read this entire thread and thought, "Why is Firehouse calling for such drastic measures?" This is a chapter of 17 looking to gain 13 members (at the least)... not a chapter of 7, up against chapters of 50, ready to die out. Baby steps.

Originally Posted by Firehouse

Yes. Linfield has always been a pretty good chapter. I'm sorry that you're down, but good genes should win in the end. There was an old guy with a crew-cut - the mayor I think - who took care of the chapter; he may have died.
You should have at least 50 members. Dominate your competition. Grow fast and aggressive so there's a dynamic of excitement and so you can compete.
Here are some practical ideas. Ditch the "slag" idea - no one responds to promotions like that; they respond to men rushing men. Personal contact.

1. Pick one Brother who is in a position to drop out or take a lighter load for a semester and make rush his full-time job. Pay him by adding to the pledge fee or get alumni to make him an employee. The chapter has been good so you should have alumni suppport. He should concentrate on pledging numbers of good underclassmen and getting them initiated.

2. Make getting a good house a priority. Make ther alumni do this; the undergrads don't have the ability to get that done. Inspire the alumni with the promise that the chapter will be on top again. Define that by being the biggest and best.

3. Consider having two pledge classes per semester until you get your numbers back. Remember - and make sure the Brothers understand - against competition twice your size you cannot afford to 'get good' slowly. You'll never recover if you try to do it slowly. Do it quickly. Double your chapter size in one year and enjoy the effect of the increased optimism and excitement.

4. Make sure all the Brothers know that they must follow the leader, the rush chairman. Thier reward is a much better fraternity experience. Be prepared to lose a few. You may get down to 10 or 12 members. Some will leave becasuse they lose interest. Siome becasue they're embarrassed to be in what they view as a loser fraternity. But know: ON a campus where the top houses have 30 me, you can dominate and very quickly.

5. Don't fall into the psycho-babble crap about "every brother is responsible for bringing one new member in to replace himself'. That doesn't work. When everyone is responsible, then no one is responsible.

6. Pick a theme, an identity, and pursue that. Were you the jock house? The syudent government house? The smart, good-lookin guys? Did you have all the guys from a particular high school? At a small scholol with small fraternities, each fraternity usually has a specialized theme that distinguishes itself.

7. Great idea: find a sports club, like lacrosse or wrestling, or rugby, and pledge the entire team. They like to thikn of themselves as a fraternity enyway. This way they can be members of an important national fraternity.

Remember: Put someone in charge and make everyone follow him. Move quickly; no such thing as getting better slowly. Make alumni get you a house - you have to have a house if everyone else does. Don't be depressed when you lose some members; expect it. That actually makes it easier for the new guys to be accepted. Move now. Do it now. determine to have 40 brothers by the end of the 2010-11 school year.

Are you coming to the Convention?

I don't want to sound mean here, Firehouse... but I wouldn't agree with 95% of this.

1. They "shouldn't" have 50 members. If they want to plan out acceptable goals for themselves, that's fine. But as a chapter, you shouldn't be hard on yourself for not having 20+ members more than any other chapter on campus. "Domination" isn't necessary at this point. Evaluate where you are, where you're going, and where you want to be... and establish goals based on that.

2. Getting a good house should not be a priority right now. Getting good members should be. Without brothers, you won't be able to support a super duper fantastic house!

3. Having two pledge classes can work... and sometimes it doesn't. I've seen it go both ways. If you're going to do this, map out a solid plan to make this work. And don't overwhelm yourself! If you think it will be too much work right now, just focus on one class.

4. Greek life isn't about "following the leader". It's about collectively coming up with the best solutions to your problems. Don't just rely on the rush chairman to do everything for you. THAT's how you guarantee that no one else will step up to the plate.

5. Replacing each graduating member with a new member isn't "psycho-babble"... it just makes good sense. Hell, it makes sense to try and recruit two people for every guy who leaves. How else are you going to get above a chapter of 17? I'm not saying that EVERYONE should be recruiting hardcore (some people just aren't good at it), but use your best members to get more good members.

6. PLEASE don't pick a "theme" for your house! This is the worst possible thing that you could do! If you do this, only a fraction of the campus will be interested in looking at your chapter at all. Be as well-rounded as possible!

7. Don't pledge an entire sports team. If it happens, it happens. But don't make this your goal. Because the guys who pledge who aren't on the team will feel left out. Or again, you could be limiting who is looking at your chapter. We had it happen at my school. When I was active, a chapter was down to only 7 members (basically all soccer players) and closed. It was opened again a couple of years later, but at the time they had inadvertently "excluded" most of the campus, and then even the newer soccer players didn't want to join.

"Follow one person?".. "There's no such thing as getting better slowly?".. MAKE your alumni get you a house? Um... Really?

Originally Posted by PikesOnce

There is a lot of work to do to help rebuild for Linfield College.
I am the current President and we are facing a rush semester without a house and minimal members (Our house just recently became condemned and we are trying to get the money for a remodel).
For the best 3 years I have been here I have seen over 70% of our new initiates leaving along with the normal numbers of seniors graduating.
Our chapter now rests on 17 members and we are up against three other fraternities exceeding 30 members all with working houses.
Getting out and have a solid rush class is a must but its hard to get all the guys motivated and getting out to meet new potential brothers.
I am planning on launching a "What's S.L.A.G.?" campaign but I am afraid that won't be enough.
Any good ideas?

I will tell you to start by looking at Phiredup.com. Order the book "Good Guys" from the site. And PM me with any questions that you might have (because I don't feel like typing too much more right now). Good luck!

[Firehouse]

""Follow one person?".. "There's no such thing as getting better slowly?".. MAKE your alumni get you a house? Um... Really?"

Yes. Really. No disrespect intended. You're correct that there's no one-size-fits-all solution. But, yes: Give one man the authority and let him lead the chapter to success in rush. If they're down to 17 men and it's not the result of a large graduating class, then it is the result of poor leadership in rush. And yes, fraternities that don't get competitive quickly generally don't get much better. And yes, there are some tasks that the alumni must do; undergrads generally don't know how to secure housing.

I don't know anything about Linfield other then remembering that they were a pretty good chapter at one time. So, in the last hour I did some quick itnernet searches and found out more.

There are four fraternities at Linfield: Pike, Kappa Sigma, Theta Chi and Delta Psi Delta, the oldest local fraternity in the Northwest still in existence.

The original poster - the newly elected Pike president - says that 70% of the new initiates have left the chapter. That's not a good sign. He says that his competiting fraternities "exceed 30 members". That number turns out to be low. He says that the house was condemned, but they are trying to raise money to rennovate.
It tuns out that the Linfield Pike alumni have a very active facebook page, and planned an alumni work party at the house for July 17 (don't know how it turned out). They also are appealing for contributions from alumni to rennovate the house; I asume that is in order to "un-condemn" the house.

Delta Psi Delta alumni raised enough money through a capital campaign to pay off their house. The chapter photo shows a large chapter, over 40 men.

Kappa Sigma owns a house that holds 24 men. The 2010 chapter composite shows 53 members.

Can't find out how many members Theta Chi has, but they won a Chapter Excellence Award from their National in Spring, 2010, and members hold the Presidency and vice-presidency of Order of Omega.

My Pike chapter needs to grow to competitive size, and on this campus that appears to be 45-55 men. Their alumni seem to be in position to help with the house, and that should be their job.

Here's a revealing thumbnail look at the chapter's numbers. Our national magazine publishes chapter membership figures in every quarterly issue. These numbers were reported for Linfield:
Summer '10 17 members
Spring '10 15
Winter '09 10
Autumn '09 35
Summer '09 33
Spring '09 33
Winter '08 47
Autumn '08 47

This chapter's membership has dropped like a rock. I don't know why it happened, but I know this chapter needs to catch fire and quickly. If they only have 17 members, you cannot count on all of them to be there, especially if morale is a problem in the chapter. They have strong competition that is twice, even three times their size. They need bold action. They need success quickly that will inspire and motivate the members.

The alumni Facebook page appears to offer some hope for the house. It's an old chapter; one we do not want to lose. But they have hovered between 10 and 17 members for a year. They cannot survive with those numbers against that competition.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Firehouse

This chapter's membership has dropped like a rock. I don't know why it happened, but I know this chapter needs to catch fire and quickly.

Which is why it might be a bad idea for them to get a big house that they can't fill. Houses that are more than what a chapter can support can be the straw that breaks the camel's back where a struggling chapter is concerned.

Whatever happened, there is also IMO the possibility that "did you hear Pike HIRED someone to run rush because they're so far in the toilet?" would get scuttlebutted about. And I can't see that being a positive. It's kind of like the equivalent of a struggling chapter of a sorority bringing in members from one of the superduper chapters - which, if you read rush stories on here, doesn't fool rushees for a second.

I will say however that O of O offices and national awards don't necessarily mean a chapter is desirable to the STUDENTS on campus. Not a rag on OX there, just saying that it doesn't prove they are doing things the students want - it might just mean they're better at filling out paperwork.