Recruitment

[DeltaRhoDragon]

dry rush is the only way to go. when i first got in we would wet rush and then spnd the rest of the semester trying to filter out all the guys that were only there for parties.

[Coramoor]

I don't really understand this war on alcohol.

Drinking is a fact of life. There are many social situations that are critical to your success in life that will have alcohol. You need to be able to control yourself.

A fraternity needs all types of people. Guys that party, guys that are academically oriented, guys that play sports, politics, etc. A good fraternity is one that has a mixture of brothers with those traits.

Dry rush is basically not allowing you to guage how a person acts or reacts in a social setting with alcohol. Some people do a total 180 when they drink. I think that is important to know.

Additionally, if it is a mixed rush system (some wet and some dry houses) the dry houses are at a real disadvantage. A lot of good solid guys are not going to even check out the dry houses because it gives the wrong impression. "These guys don't party, not social, etc etc".

Some freshman are probably going to think that the dry houses are service fraternities or something.

I really don't see any advantages.

[DeltaRhoDragon]

i agree with you there should be a mix of different type of guys in a fraternity, and if we could have a mixed rush system that worked i'd be all for it. unfortunatly that doesn't happen.

the way we do things in my chapter is we have a dry rush. we tell the guys that drinking and parties is not one of the foundations of our fraternity, brotherhod is. we tell them that we're doing too many good things and making too much progress to let a bluto wannabe mess it all up. we also point out that were all betwen the ages of 17 and 23 so parties and drinking and girls come with the package but its not our sole ambition.

then we watch as the pledges drink and guage their actions as the semester progresses. if they do a 180 when they drink then we sit them down and talk to them about drinking. there's no reason to not bid a guy just cuz he doesnt know how to drink. thats one of the lessons you learn in college.

besides if a freshman is really too dumb to understand that a chapter with a wet house is holding a dry rush cuz we want to get to know them, then forget'em they're obviously not the type of guy i need to call bother.

[Coramoor]

the way we do things in my chapter is we have a dry rush. we tell the guys that drinking and parties is not one of the foundations of our fraternity, brotherhod is. we tell them that we're doing too many good things and making too much progress to let a bluto wannabe mess it all up. we also point out that were all betwen the ages of 17 and 23 so parties and drinking and girls come with the package but its not our sole ambition.

I agree. Drinking is not one of the principles of Beta. However, I do not see how a wet rush equates to a Bluto like mentality, promotes drinking as the reason to join a fraternity, and halts progress.

there's no reason to not bid a guy just cuz he doesnt know how to drink. thats one of the lessons you learn in college.

It's not knowing how to drink or not, but knowing how to govern yourself in those situations. Some places would certainly use alcohol as their sole means of rushing-and those places would fail. Drinking acceptable in social settings and I just don't think that banning from rush (only) is going to bring in these 'ideal' guys.

besides if a freshman is really too dumb to understand that a chapter with a wet house is holding a dry rush cuz we want to get to know them, then forget'em they're obviously not the type of guy i need to call bother.

Freshman are dumb. Plus, many don't go in rush knowing the ideals that nationals is trying to mandate to chapters. If you know a rushee that is one thing, but to a total random guy looking into rush everything influences his decisions.

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

Well, no matter the argument there is with wet rush and dry rush... We are not allowed to have a wet rush. Its not about whether wet rush is benificial, its if we want to break the rules or not. We dont want to break the rules. Plan and simple. I dont know if thats the rule everywhere, but I assume so. Its a rule here, so were going to stick by it.

[sdbeta1]

from the risk management policy:
All recruitment activities will be dry functions.
So I do believe it is something that should be followed everywhere.

[Coramoor]

Wow.

Talk about avoiding the question.

You know, that's the same answer that our EC gives when we question the logic about a policy. He doesn't have an answer, so he just gives us the same BS.

Anyway, we just finished our rush week here. A dry rush, like every fraternity on campus. We did suprisingly well, considering that IFC didn't actually let chapters know when rush week was until 4 days before it started. Although, the IFC President's fraternity already had event's planned and the IFC graduate advisor's fraternity already had event's planned well before the offical dates were announced.

We had a total of 18 guys come to our house, from what I understand that was a pretty high number. 11 guys accepted their bid, three deferred, and we lost 4 guys to other houses. One guy went to another fraternity because he was a legacy and I think his father really pressured him. The other three were good guys, but were drawn into a different fraternity by promises of girls. That's like the dumbest reason to decide which fraternity to pledge, because every fraternity is going to have social events with sororities etc. Maybe it's better that we didn't get them in the end.

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

lol, if thats why they join a fraternity, then you dont want them as a Beta. Congrats on getting that many, and doing it with a dry rush. As far as your question goes that you said we avoided... I agree with you on alcohol for the mass majority of what you said. I would love to throw a wet party in somewhere during rush, I think it presents a totally different look at the brothers, that you cant see otherwise. I think thats valuable. However, rules are rules, and you promised to uphold the code, meaning your not going to break those rules. That is why everyone does dry rush. Instead of breaking the rules, try changing the rules! Now, obviously, you probably wont be able to get people to change that rule, so you have to deal with it. You said

Originally posted by Coramoor There are many social situations that are critical to your success in life that will have alcohol. You need to be able to control yourself

Well, there are many more situations that our critical to your success in life that require you to follow the rules, and you need to be able to control yourself.

Thats why my chapter doesnt have wet rush. We took the oath not to, and thats much more important to us.

Originally posted by Coramoor
Wow.

Talk about avoiding the question.

You know, that's the same answer that our EC gives when we question the logic about a policy. He doesn't have an answer, so he just gives us the same BS.

Anyway, we just finished our rush week here. A dry rush, like every fraternity on campus. We did suprisingly well, considering that IFC didn't actually let chapters know when rush week was until 4 days before it started. Although, the IFC President's fraternity already had event's planned and the IFC graduate advisor's fraternity already had event's planned well before the offical dates were announced.

We had a total of 18 guys come to our house, from what I understand that was a pretty high number. 11 guys accepted their bid, three deferred, and we lost 4 guys to other houses. One guy went to another fraternity because he was a legacy and I think his father really pressured him. The other three were good guys, but were drawn into a different fraternity by promises of girls. That's like the dumbest reason to decide which fraternity to pledge, because every fraternity is going to have social events with sororities etc. Maybe it's better that we didn't get them in the end.

[Coramoor]

I would just like to know the basis behind the rule. I want to hear a justification that isn't just the same rhetoric that I always hear.

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

the basis of the rule is that people thought there were too many negatives that came out of drinking then bad. Now, you said freshman are stupid... so they could easily think that someone who keeps offer them free alcohol is the place for them, and thats not the kind of guys we want... Also, its unfair to those who do dryrush, if you wetrush.

there is no reason to break a rule, if you dont like, try and change it... but the you committed to the rules, so the basis doesnt matter. Now, that sounds like a bullshit answer, but thats the best that I MYSELF could tell you.

I can see where the dry rush is comming from, but the whole self-governance thing is contradictory to that in my opinion. I think that in the past that alot of chapters were probably really careless, but we need to be trusted to deal with that. So, I agree with you, but I know that I cant change the rule, so the best thing I can do is abide by it.

[Oldest_Pledge]

If the "target" of RUSH is Freshman students (generally speaking) and most Freshman students are under the legal drinking age of 21 (generally speaking),

Why would you want to commit an illegal act by giving the beverages that they are not legally allowed to have?

I agree that the rules presented (All RUSH events will be dry) should also have some contextual explainations (just my opinion/suggestion) provided.

However, common sense of the chapters should also recognize that not all students are of legal age to drink and creating the proper party space so underage persons do no get served is more hassle than just having a good time without alcohol.

[Coramoor]

I can accept that most freshman cannot legally drink...but in actuality neither the cops, school, nor most bars really care about that. If that law was taken seriously then it would be different.

[Betarulz!]

I think there is a middle ground between Coramoor and the other "rules are rules" guys.

The first thing is that I believe is important is campus climate. If you're going to be the only house using a completely dry rush, then you're at a competitive disadvantage.

The reverse of that scenario (only wet rush) doesn't mean a competitive advantage, but more than likely that you're going to be bringing in a very different type of member.

I don't think that rules should necessarily be follewed just because they are on the books. If there is rationale, then they should be followed to a T, regardless of whether you feel the rationale is appropriate. At least to a certain extent.

However I don't buy into the "alcohol is everywhere, so that's why we have a wet rush." Yes, alcohol is a social lubricant, and it is a part of being an adult. being able to handle alcohol responsibly is a big deal of being mature, but that's not justification for rushing with it.

The most important thing that I consider in the arguement is if going one way or the other is going to prevent or enhance your chapters ability to get the cream of the crop of rushees.

For my chapter, we do use a completely dry rush. (Although as soon as a guy signs, he's usually invited to every subsequent post rush event party). Most of the rush done by other houses is also dry, although every summer there are rumors and known cases in which a rushee was taken to a party by a chapter as sort of a way to tip the scales. It happens, and sometimes chapters do get caught by Greek Affairs (very tough to prove though). However, dry rushing has not prevented us from competeting for any rushee since the year I pledged. It hasn't hampered our ability to be a great chapter. Yes, we've lost out on guys here and there because of it, but in the end, it hasn't hurt us. The fact that we arent' handicapped from bringing in a great pledge class combined with the possible penalties from Greek Affairs, pretty much means that for us there is no benefit to providing booze to rushees. If things changed and possible repurcussions diminished, and we needed to keep up, I believe that I could support going to a wet rush policy.

It's also not a matter of "what type of members" you'll bring in, or get interested in your chapter, because you have to remember that you're still in control of the bids. There are plenty of good, successful Betas who enjoy the hooch **raises hand**. There are also plenty of shitty, piss poor members who have never touched the stuff. If you think a kid is only there for the parties and the fact that you gave him alcohol, then you don't have to give him a bid.

In the end, I really think that every chapter should be reaching for those rushees that did it all in HS and early college careers. The guys who got good grades, played sports, did community service, had a job, like to party, pull all sorts of girls, and are basically just all around rock stars. If that's the goal, then your chapter needs to be doing what it can to be competitive for those types of guys.

[Coramoor]

Recruitment can always be improved. We are doing ok with how things are, but the goal I set for the recruitment chair this semester is to begin an effort over the summer. I'm wrestling with a few ideas on how best to do that.

1.Regional captains. There are about 4 main areas that I think we can begin our efforts in. The first criteria is to have brothers in these areas.

2.Funding. I will try to have local alumni from those areas help fund the effort.

3.Contacting potential men from those area's that are going to attend my school. I'm going to check into the my school's admission/records and see if I can get a list of incoming students. Hopefully I can. It would be nice if I could get more info before the initial contact, but it might come down to just sending an RTS letter to their homes. Hopefully their parents will have them respond b/c of the potential money.
**Does anyone have any more input on this?

Perhaps contacting the highschool/coach/teachers or something.

4.Set up small gatherings to meet the guys and sell them Beta.

5.Make the transition to them pledging here.

One problem we've had in the past is guys being very interested in Beta, but then when rush comes we loose them. I have some ideas of why, but nothing concrete.



We are up to 12 pledges now, one guy that decided to def. until next semester changed his mind and is pledging now.

[sdbeta1]

University of San Diego's rush just ended today with a 20 gentleman Gamma pledge class. Active membership is ~36.