Should I rush/pledge again???

bing84 · #1 08-11-2005, 09:28 AM

During the spring semester of my freshmen year me and a bunch of my friends pledged Sigma Alpha Epsilon. About four weeks into the pledging process my sister was diagnosed with epilepsy and my father found out he had skin cancer. Obviously this was a very stressful time for me and I had to de-pledge in order to go home on the weekends to be with my family. I didn't pledge my Sophomore year because I was working all the time and missed the rush dates. My question is this... I am now going into the fall semester of my junior year and the desire to be a part of this fraternity is still very strong. Should I rush again in the fall? I still keep in touch and am friends with the majority of brothers in the fraternity, I'm just nervous that its too late in my college career. I should also mention that greek life is not that big at my school and numbers for a fall rush would be minimum.
Any help or advice you could give would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Adam

gpb1874 · #2 08-11-2005, 09:41 AM

Why not? Talk to the guys and let them know you are interested still. Since they pledged you once and you had to quit for legit reasons, they just might bite. and, if recruitment isn't too competitive, it shouldn't be a problem that you are a junior. you're probably not an ideal candidate in terms of classification, but they know you and it probably won't matter too much.

besides, what do you have to lose?

TSteven · #3 08-11-2005, 11:10 AM

Agree with gpb1874.

If you are still interested in the chapter, perhaps you could chat with one of your friends who is a brother and let him know your interest. This way he can be your advocate during rush.

And for what it is worth, most fraternity chapters do not have a restriction (quota or total) on the number of members unless it is chapter or school imposed.

OmegaPiSister · #4 08-14-2005, 01:03 AM

Id say to go for it!

KSigkid · #5 08-15-2005, 01:50 PM

You can go to it, but go into the process with eyes wide open. There's a chance that the guys won't necessarily understand your circumstances and/or won't be wild about rushing an upperclassmen.

It might not be a bad idea to let them know what's going on at the start (Rush chairmen?), and see if you have a realistic shot.

Good luck with everything.

adpiucf · #6 08-15-2005, 03:38 PM

Adam, it sounds like you dropped out for a legit family emergency, have maintained friendships with SAE and the guys like you. I would recommend you give it a go. If there aren't very many men who go through fraternity recruitment, this means that fraternity potential new members are very much wanted-- I don't imagine in that case that there would be the "oh, we only want freshmen" bias that can come into play at universities with large Greek Life and large numbers of PNMs.

When does rush begin? I encourage you to sign up! As an upperclassman, you contribute maturity and can serve as a role model and leader to a fraternity. Make sure you are able to handle the financial and time committment necessary while still maintaining your grades and pursuit of career goals.

Good luck!

WCUgirl · #7 08-15-2005, 03:58 PM

I dated a boy in college who de-pledged fall semester, but not for anything nearly as serious as why you did. He maintained friendships with several of the brothers, and the following semester (spring) went back to the house and said he was still interested and had "his ducks in a row" this time around (so to speak).

Anyways, the brothers said that since he had been honest with them when he de-pledged, and since he felt he was truly ready this time, they were more than willing to let him pledge again. He did, and he initiated that semester.

Unless you de-pledged for something trivial, such as "my girlfriend didn't want me to" or de-pledged and then talked junk about the brothers, it really shouldn't be an issue.

bing84 · #8 08-15-2005, 08:45 PM

Rush doesn't start till a couple weeks into september. They really wanted me to rush this last spring, but I couldnt get out of work to make it to the dates... I had mentioned pledging again in the fall to one of the brothers awhile ago and he said that I could def do that, but it was one of those late night drunken conversations so I don't know how serious to take his claims. I plan on talking to a few of the brothers that i know in the fraternity later on this week and let them know that im still interested and see how possible it would be. I'll keep you guys updated on how it goes

xp2k · #9 08-22-2005, 08:14 PM

bing84...you HAVE to rush!!!!

If you dont, you'll go through the rest of your life wondering how things would have been different if you had.

Trust me...more and more people are staying in college for 5 or 6 years...so men pledging as Juniors is really not even as special or unusual as you may think.

Guys are generally laid back too. At Indiana, I know just about every fraternity (...not all) was willing to pledge a junior if he was someone that they liked or someone that they felt would contribute to their organization.

Also, even if you already have your mind set on which house you want to sign and pledge, look at all of the other fraternities anyway. Not only will it be a great chance for you to meet a lot of cool guys (and girls at their socials), but you might just find out that your interests have changed since you were a freshman and maybe another group better fits your needs.

The key is take a chance....and not to spend the rest of your life regretting that you played it safe.

Start the journey now and dont look back!

SigmaPezY60 · #10 08-29-2005, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by KSigkid
You can go to it, but go into the process with eyes wide open. There's a chance that the guys won't necessarily understand your circumstances and/or won't be wild about rushing an upperclassmen.

It might not be a bad idea to let them know what's going on at the start (Rush chairmen?), and see if you have a realistic shot.

Good luck with everything.

I am sure they knew what the deal was when you depledged. If they were okay and understanding then, I am sure they will be now. And if they aren't...you have to ask yourself...do you really want to be part of a Fraternity that doesn't put family first?

But i agree talk to the Recruitment Chairperson and let them know what the deal is. I would think you'd have a realistic shot because of your situation. It's not like you depledged because you didn't want to do the work or because they dropped you.

hope u rush them. and good luck.

graceanne

bing84 · #11 08-31-2005, 02:25 AM

Rush begins in about a week, and i've decided that im rushing no matter what, regardless of what house im going to check them out and see what they have to offer. On the same token, i have been talking to alot of brothers from SAE and they have pretty much said that if I want to do it I have their full support and would back me up no matter what, so thats a good sign. Ill keep everyone updated on what eventually happens, but thanks for the words of encouragement

PhoenixAzul · #12 08-31-2005, 08:40 AM

psssst...you should post a recruitment story!!! We always get a ton of stories from the girls, it'd be a nice change to see a guy rush thread!

Good luck, rock on.