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Dear Ben,
Congratulations on your appointment as rush chairman of Alpha Omega Chapter. I wonder if you have any idea of just how historic and influential the post that you now hold has been for Pi Kappa Alpha? If you don't know of him already, it wouldn't hurt to research the name Wilson Heller.
Regarding your post, my primary reaction is... Why is Alpha Omega waiting until the spring? It's still September - and it's not like fraternities are subject to National Signing Day restrictions. Even if there are ridiculous IFC "formal rush" rules, there are ways to lock-in these prospects.
If you are unsure of the quality of these prospects, that's one thing. It would then make sense to invite them to select chapter events and evaluate their candidacy. You evaluate candidacy based on PiKA's traditionally accepted standards: scholarship, finance, athletics, conduct and leadership. (In other words, don't fall into the "we think he's a good guy" trap - be thoughtful and deliberate in your evaluations.)
If there is no doubt that a prospect would score high in those areas, there is no reason to delay.
I am going to bet that two of the greatest perceived barriers to acting now are: 1) pledge program length/schedule, and 2) what other fraternities are doing. In regard to the first, know that in PiKA's early days there wasn't pledge education. Also, in most of the world's organizations, orientation takes place after someone is accepted to membership. As wonderful as they are, fraternities "ain't rocket science" and there is no reason why a pledge program couldn't be effectively administered in four weeks. In regard to the latter, by and large the most successful fraternity chapters are contrarians. They don't do what everyone else is doing - the same thing holds true in business. Use this as an opportunity.
Best wishes for a successful year.
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