Rushing at the University of Alabama

[Jill1228]

Registration is SO underway!

This article was in Today's Crimson White...

Greeks gear up for Rush


Rule bars sororities from contacting possible recruits in summer
By Brittani Tingle
Staff Reporter
July 14, 2005



While some greek organizations are making changes for fall Rush recruitment next month, others are expecting more compliance to changes that have already been made.

Divya Patel, Alabama Panhellenic Association's recruitment chairwoman, said that between 1,050 to 1,200 could participate in fall sorority Rush activities next month. She said 812 had registered as of last Friday. The final day to sign up is Aug. 12.

Panhellenic Rush will run Aug. 15 to 21.

The number of participants is expected to be larger than previous years because of increased freshman enrollment, Patel said.

While no major changes have been made to the recruitment rules for the Panhellenic sororities since last year, Panhellenic President Elizabeth Thompson is expecting more compliance to a rule prohibiting summer contact between sorority members and potential recruits.

The rule was adopted at a Panhellenic Association summit in November 2004.

The rule says that, excluding normal contact, no sorority members or alumnae may contact potential new members or their parents after the last day of spring classes. The Panhellenic Association defines normal contact as contact between relatives, friends, neighbors and co-workers and asks that each sorority turn in a list of these circumstances in advance, Thompson said.

The rule also says there cannot be an organized attempt to influence potential new members through letters, phone calls, summer recruitment parties, alumnae teas or beach retreats. Sorority members are also prohibited from asking any fraternity to invite potential new members to summer parties.

Thompson said the Panhellenic Association adopted the rule because they wanted to ensure the safety of potential new members and sorority members. She said that it had also become expensive for sorority members who had to plan and pay for summer events to entertain potential new members.

Summer contact was also difficult for the potential new members who spent most of their weekends during the summer in Tuscaloosa, Thompson said.

"I just believe it takes a little bit away from their senior summer," said Thompson. "It wears everybody out."

Recruitment rules and aspects of "dirty rushing" were major talking points among the chapter presidents, Panhellenic delegates and national organization officials who attended the summit, Thompson said. The adoption of the summer contact rule was the biggest change that came from the discussion.

"We wanted to sit down and look at what was actually in the rules, what it meant, what we were following and what we weren't," Thompson said.

Thompson said that last year some of the sororities were confused by new rules, so this year Panhellenic representatives went to each house to individually explain the rules to them and answer questions.

"It's taken a couple of years for everyone to understand them and put them into action," Thompson said.

The meeting last November was not spurred by complaints from sororities or new recruits, said Jennifer Gray, Panhellenic judicial board chairwoman. Panhellenic officials wanted to ensure they were closely following national guidelines because to their knowledge, Gray said, the Capstone was one of the few universities that still allowed summer contact between sororities and potential new members.

Thompson said so far everyone has been following the rules this year "but we can't control what's not reported."

Unlike the formal sorority Rush, much of the Interfraternity Council recruitment takes place during the summer, said IFC Vice President of Recruitment Lucas Hayes.

It is very informal and usually involves incoming freshmen visiting the fraternities of their high school friends, Hayes said.

"This process is convenient for students from Alabama, but it puts some of the out-of-state students at a disadvantage because they can't spend as much time during the summer in Tuscaloosa," Hayes said.

Formal recruitment begins on Aug. 31 for IFC fraternities and ends Sept. 9. About 500 students sign up for recruitment, and those that don't get pledge pins during the summer participate in the formal recruitment process. The IFC is hoping for 150 students to go through formal recruitment, Hayes said.

To help out-of-state students find the fraternity that is right for them, Hayes said the IFC is changing the formal recruitment process and trying to make it more coordinated.

The fraternity house visits, during which Rush participants get to see each fraternity house for five to 10 minutes, will all be on one day, Hayes said.

"In the past, it has been a two-day event and by the second day, participation and enthusiasm has diminished," Hayes said.

Cookouts at the individual fraternity houses will also be apart of the formal recruitment process. Five to six fraternities will host cookouts each evening from Sept. 5 to 7, and Rush participants will be able to walk among them, Hayes said.

National Pan-Hellenic Council fraternities and sororities will hold a recruitment convocation on Aug. 31.