UM Delays Greek Rush -- Sparks Backlash?

anongreek · #1 10-08-2019, 05:01 PM

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne...sh/2445056001/

I understand the school's motives,but I have a lot of mixed feelings.

Please feel free share your thoughts, feelings, and opinions on this matter.

SigmaCat · #2 10-08-2019, 06:51 PM

They say their main motivation is protecting new freshmen from alcohol and sexual assault, but I'm not seeing the causality. The parties are still happening in fall, even if rush isn't. And let's be real, these issues are COLLEGE issues, not just greek ones. The worst situations I witnessed in college had nothing to do with fraternities. A lot of students party. Deferred rush isn't changing that. And if the hope is that the delay will magically eliminate hazing, the answer is no. It's just going to delay what's already in the pipe.

Like people mentioned in the deferred rush thread, it's nice to have the actual collegiate GPA for membership selection. And personally, I think students with zero knowledge of the greek system could really use this extra time to learn how rush works to prepare themselves and make the most of the opportunity. But I don't buy the "adjusting to college" crap. It suggests that high-achieving students who were super-active in high school activities are completely unequal to the task of juggling school and extracurriculars, and that's a ridiculous notion. Certainly, you may realize that college is different enough that you can't do everything you think you want to do, but that's not the Greek system's problem. It's up to the individual to decide what stays and what goes. I think it relates back to recent convos we've had here about women not believing their sisters when they tell them point-blank during new member periods that sororities are hard work, not ego-fluffing services.

By all means, do the university-sponsored trainings and stuff, but that's not going to require a full fall semester of freshmen focus. Make it part of undergrad orientation or something.

Also, that one guy flat-out lied about most southern schools having deferred rushes, if the info in the deferred rush thread is to be believed.

anongreek · #3 10-08-2019, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SigmaCat

They say their main motivation is protecting new freshmen from alcohol and sexual assault, but I'm not seeing the causality. The parties are still happening in fall, even if rush isn't. And let's be real, these issues are COLLEGE issues, not just greek ones. The worst situations I witnessed in college had nothing to do with fraternities. A lot of students party. Deferred rush isn't changing that. And if the hope is that the delay will magically eliminate hazing, the answer is no. It's just going to delay what's already in the pipe.

Like people mentioned in the deferred rush thread, it's nice to have the actual collegiate GPA for membership selection. And personally, I think students with zero knowledge of the greek system could really use this extra time to learn how rush works to prepare themselves and make the most of the opportunity. But I don't buy the "adjusting to college" crap. It suggests that high-achieving students who were super-active in high school activities are completely unequal to the task of juggling school and extracurriculars, and that's a ridiculous notion. Certainly, you may realize that college is different enough that you can't do everything you think you want to do, but that's not the Greek system's problem. It's up to the individual to decide what stays and what goes. I think it relates back to recent convos we've had here about women not believing their sisters when they tell them point-blank during new member periods that sororities are hard work, not ego-fluffing services.

By all means, do the university-sponsored trainings and stuff, but that's not going to require a full fall semester of freshmen focus. Make it part of undergrad orientation or something.

Also, that one guy flat-out lied about most southern schools having deferred rushes, if the info in the deferred rush thread is to be believed.

Incredibly well said SigmaCat! I agree with your POV. Students Greek and Nongreek at my school partied. It wasn't an exclusively Greek thing. Sexual assaults happened within the Greek community but they happened way more outside of the Greek population. Hazing wasn't really a huge issue at our campus, but I think it was because all of our sororities and fraternities understood they weren't the exception to the rule and wished to keep their charters more than they wished to run the risk of hazing pledges. All of our orgs did very much the opposite of hazing. Lol. But that's because the school I went to literally had a 0 tolerance rule.

And everything else was spot on. I agree with you. I did well in highschool and was very much a high achiever. I did have a bit of a culture shock and a period of adjustment, but actually, if anything, my org helped me with that by enforcing mandatory study time at the house, that had to be signed off on, and by having very strict policies on grades. So if anything, being in a Greek Org typically has a positive influence on students in that respect as well.

SigmaCat · #4 10-08-2019, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anongreek

I... if anything, my org helped me with that by enforcing mandatory study time at the house, that had to be signed off on, and by having very strict policies on grades. So if anything, being in a Greek Org typically has a positive influence on students in that respect as well.

I'm not sure I would have been half as happy that first semester without my membership. Being in a sorority helped me prioritize and feel good about it. I felt looked after without being stifled, my better inclinations reinforced. *struts, flinging rose petals*