Fraternity Rush at Kansas

[srmom]

I go to KU. Formal recruitment was this past weekend

Sarah, formal recruitment was this past weekend? Am I reading that right?

Just curious, because the middle of June seems an odd time for formal recruitment.

I have a lot more comments, but most of them would be unfair speculation, so I'll shut up

Probably prudent and definitely panhellenic!

[sarahsmilehawk]

Originally Posted by srmom

Sarah, formal recruitment was this past weekend? Am I reading that right?

Just curious, because the middle of June seems an odd time for formal recruitment.

Yep, formal recruitment is in June for the boys. I guess the idea behind this is that new members will know which house (if any) they'll be in early on. That way they have time to cancel a contract with the dorms when they get a bid or find housing if recruitment didn't work out.

My understanding is that fraternities are a lot more open to informal rush than sororities. It's a hassle for a lot of people to travel to Lawrence for a few days during recruitment and then make a second trip out for orientation (which also lasts two or three days). I imagine it's tough for many of the houses to make quota with formal.

[nate2512]

Originally Posted by sarahsmilehawk

Yep, formal recruitment is in June for the boys. I guess the idea behind this is that new members will know which house (if any) they'll be in early on. That way they have time to cancel a contract with the dorms when they get a bid or find housing if recruitment didn't work out.

My understanding is that fraternities are a lot more open to informal rush than sororities. It's a hassle for a lot of people to travel to Lawrence for a few days during recruitment and then make a second trip out for orientation (which also lasts two or three days). I imagine it's tough for many of the houses to make quota with formal.

Don't bring that quota bs in this fraternity rush forum.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by nate2512

Don't bring that quota bs in this fraternity rush forum.

ha ha, don't worry, it's not like you have to carry a man-purse now since you read the post.

[banditone]

Formal Rush makes me cringe just thinking about it.

Open Rush on the other hand, makes me want to drive to the nearest lake party.

[sarahsmilehawk]

Originally Posted by nate2512

Don't bring that quota bs in this fraternity rush forum.

Why not? I don't know a lot about fraternity rush. Bring me up to speed.

Oh ps, that's a pretty rude way to reply to a completely benign post.

[nate2512]

Originally Posted by sarahsmilehawk

Why not? I don't know a lot about fraternity rush. Bring me up to speed.

Oh ps, that's a pretty rude way to reply to a completely benign post.

Fraternities have no quotas. We can take as many, or as little of pledge classes as we want. And I'm sorry if that came off rude, it meant for it to come off in a joking manner, since I assumed everyone here knew that were no quotas for fraternities.

[srmom]

Thanks again for the gracious post. You are more careful and considerate than I in the way you express yourself. I tend to come across a bit abrupt and sometimes abrassive in my text posts. I'm much better in person!

Okay, we can be e-friends haha

Thanks for your response. It sounds like your group of guys is wonderful, and I am so glad for you that you have been a part of it! Maybe they're just more mature and staid than most 18 year olds I know.

Not to say that the 18 year olds I know and have known arent wonderful, they just are/were looking for the "social" type fraternity that are more prevalent at the colleges that I have visited and the one I attended.

I feel that it is unfair to make negative blanket statements about groups in which you are not a part of. While some groups may act, in your opinion, like a**es at a tailgate, they may, in fact have a deep and lasting brotherhood that is just not apparant to you and your brothers. Just as you wouldn't want any part of them and their group, they wouldn't want to be a part of yours - doesn't make them evil monsters, just different.

I will say that the events where parents are included at my son's fraternity, the boys don't act like bafoons or make spectacles of themselves. They, in fact, have been nothing but polite and respectful. But, that's with the adults present - I don't know what they're like when we're not there .

[33girl]

Originally Posted by srmom

I feel that it is unfair to make negative blanket statements about groups in which you are not a part of. While some groups may act, in your opinion, like a**es at a tailgate, they may, in fact have a deep and lasting brotherhood that is just not apparant to you and your brothers. Just as you wouldn't want any part of them and their group, they wouldn't want to be a part of yours - doesn't make them evil monsters, just different.

I <3 srmom.

It's fine to be proud of the fact that you do something differently, but it's not fine to say everyone else sucks because they aren't you. (Unless it's a rush shirt and you're being fairly jokey about it.)

[Elephant Walk]

God, y'alls nationals are just as miserable as ours.

Here's a few gems:

What I mean is, a party-centric recruitment message can scare away top students who become concerned that they will not be able to be high-achievers if the culture is too party oriented. Conversely, the party-only guys will find a home at your fraternity and they may bring little else to your chapter and put you at risk.

You're too focused on "partying", to be honest. You can have a helluva social life with a party every night and no one would consider it a "party-centric rush message" (I refuse to call it recruitment, that's more bullshit nationals has stacked on us). The best chapters are up to their ears in drugs and alcohol, but that doesn't mean you can't get stuff done. It's just a small bit of the bigger picture.

I'll challenge you to make a slight paradigm shift. Instead of leading with Beer, Babes and Bucks - try leading with all of the attributes a top fraternity offers by way of leadership development and personal growth. What will happen is the best of the best will be attracted to you. From that, the bucks will come from higher manpower.

Hahahahaha. Where do I start?

Leadership development? We recruit guys who are already leaders and want to be leaders on campus. If you mean better leaders? Sure, being a part of a fraternity forces you to do that. Structured and intelligent hazing creates personal growth in the fraternity. Without focusing on "leadership development and personal growth" we're a very strong fraternity. We pull the strongest guys because being in a top house pulls top leaders, not top partiers. Furthermore, the bucks have been there for ages and will continue to be there without doing a "paradigm shift". Pulling in the top leaders means pulling in the top bucks generally (hefty generalization I'm guilty of, but I think for the most part it's true).

The history of bad things

We well know the history of fraternities. Thanks for updating us nationalsman. We were taught plenty of that during pledgeship. Gah.

[EE-BO]

FYI- Kevin is a highly educated contributing member to society and a credit to Sigma Nu. Rest assured your "disappointment" in him is very poorly placed, and alumni like us tend to get pissed off very quickly when someone takes all of our work and financial contributions to a chapter or to Greek Life in general and then says we are bad guys because we did not take some leadership course or because we refuse to tow some party line and never say what we think.

The rest speaks for itself. You are taking a few incidents and blowing it up into the need for a revolutionary vision that you think will magically attract a new kind of rushee- which implies you have disdain for all who have come before.

You are that upper middle-class white guy who thinks he can go be a teacher in an inner city school and overnight inspire and change the lives of your students- which of course requires you assume they are so unable to think for themselves that only you can help them. (And there are many more like you- I am not saying you are just out there on your own.)

I think your general assessment of Risk Management evolution over the past 20 years is largely correct, but by acting like you have discovered some magic inspiration- you really insult everyone around you.

Consider too how alumni might feel about this kind of "Ivory Tower" approach. I can tell you that it pisses a lot of them off- and they are the ones whose donations really fund nationals and chapter houses.

Leadership development has its place- but the idea that it is some magic solution to a problem that is largely mischaracterized as a flaw in fraternities in general is great leap.

[BigRedBeta]

This thread has some ridiculous arguments in it...

I think it's safe to say that the truly top-tier chapters are the ones that are doing everything well. They have good grades, their members are involved and leaders on campus, they benefit their community, they have fun, and the girls love them. They are the chapters that are producing our lawyers, doctors, and leading businessmen - not because of some "old boys' network" but because they're taking talent and molding it through brotherhood and high expectations into something better. The best chapters are those that are taking good men to begin with and making them shine.

To say that a great chapter can't have an active social life is ridiculous. But so is saying that national leadership programs aren't beneficial to individuals and chapters alike.

Really, balance is the key and should be what every chapter is striving for. If you get to far to the extreme in any direction, especially at the expense of other achievements, it's a recipe for disaster. Yes, if you're too "party-centric", you're only going to attract those guys who care more about getting drunk than going to class. If you only care about being number one in grades, you're going to get a bunch of nerds and the sororities aren't going to associate with you. But there are plenty of guys out there that want both and so it's up to the chapters to appeal to that ethos if they want to attract those guys.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by BigRedBeta

To say that a great chapter can't have an active social life is ridiculous. But so is saying that national leadership programs aren't beneficial to individuals and chapters alike.

Maybe a Dale Carnegie scholarship or partnership (or something of the like) would be better - so the members who want to pursue that can? Taught by people who do that for a living, rather than fraternity/sorority officials who have other stuff to do?

I was thinking as I read this thread, if every member in a chapter is a "leader" you're going to have a lot of head-butting and ego clashes. Lots of people think the Beatles broke up because they were all too strong-minded of individuals - they all wanted to have the spotlight. You can't have a group where everyone is like that and expect to get things done. You will have the guys who are Mr. Everything, but you also need to have the guy who never holds an office but is always THERE for companionship, support, etc.

[PhiGam]

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...endid=90893788

Way to brag about your chapter's 2.9 gpa on your Myspace. I figured with the way you talked it would be higher than that, my chapter is probably around a 2.9 and we actually have cool kids (weird huh?)

[CrackerBarrel]

Originally Posted by PhiGam

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...endid=90893788

Way to brag about your chapter's 2.9 gpa on your Myspace. I figured with the way you talked it would be higher than that, my chapter is probably around a 2.9 and we actually have cool kids (weird huh?)

Our chapter average is a 3.2 and we are a purely social organization. No "training", no academic programs, nothing. And yeah, we actually have cool kids too.

Hell, I go out every night of the week and have a 3.7. And I hate nationals. But according to his logic my house is full of lazy drunks, who are falling behind the times and setting themselves up to fail in school and life.

It's almost like you're wrong, Kedzman.