A Tough Fall Ahead

[Firehouse]

Originally Posted by DTD Alum

I'm a fairly recent fraternity alum and I think somebody taking off school for a semester to rush is ridiculous. While fraternity rush can be a lot of work, it is nothing so intense that you should have to take off time from school to do it, especially at a school like this that is not even close to one of the 150+ member SEC fraternities.

Honestly, strong leadership is one thing, but the entire chapter needs to be motivated. One leader cannot change an entire chapter's esteem and confidence in their fraternity. All the organization in the world is not going to help if the brothers feel that they are a) in a losing battle and/or b) they are in a fraternity that they are embarrassed to be a part of. So assess where your membership is with that...you need to boost the morale before people will respond to orders.

In general, my chapter has never really had an issue with recruitment so I don't have any advice for how to turn around a struggling chapter. I do know that what has worked for us is to assign a "point person" to a specific guy that we wanted to pledge. We would have a meeting about who we wanted and then post a list in a private place in the house (the laundry room, supplies closet, etc). A person would volunteer to be the point person for the potential pledge if they had a natural connection to this guy (from class, dorms, high school, whatever). He would invite them to things tailored around the person's interests. For an athlete, invite him to a pick-up basketball game, a musician to a concert, etc. He would then be in charge of inviting Delts who they knew would be compatible with their interests to this event. That way, when rush came around it took very little to get him not only interested in a fraternity, but ours in particular.

The key of this is not to push the fraternity for some time...he's simply hanging out with a bunch of guys with similar interests. We'd only mention rushing closer to ("hey man, have you thought about rushing?"). It sounds very similar to all the "I Love Recruitment" stuff, although we never read the book or spelled it out or anything...it just works. You can't push your chapter too hard...it comes off as desperate and nobody responds to that. Focus on the connections first and cultivate them, and then mention membership.

Good; you've submitted some good ideas. So far, most of this thread has been arguments. You've articulated some ideas that may be helpful to the boys in Oregon. You and I don't have to agree on everything. You're offering practical answers based on your experience. Thank you for your willingness to help.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by Firehouse

Good; you've submitted some good ideas. So far, most of this thread has been arguments. You've articulated some ideas that may be helpful to the boys in Oregon. You and I don't have to agree on everything. You're offering practical answers based on your experience. Thank you for your willingness to help.

I offered practical answers based on my experience, as well. You just didn't want to listen to them.

[Firehouse]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

I offered practical answers based on my experience, as well. You just didn't want to listen to them.

Didn't come across the way I intended; meant no disrespect. I value your comments and I'm enjoying the conversation.