Fraternities Recruit Fewer New Brothers
This is an article that was in the University of Oregon's campus newspaper today. It brings up an interesting question: Do dry fraternities make recruitment numbers go down, or does it help in the long run? What do you think?
Fraternities recruit fewer new brothers
Fraternity recruitment falls short of last year but current members are hopeful that more students will join in the coming weeks
Jared Paben
News Reporter
October 10, 2003
Recruitment week has finished and the dust has settled, but a picture of this year's fraternity community is not yet clear.
In the first week of recruitment, 138 men were pledged into fraternities, a number that may initially appear dismal when stacked up against last year's 180 fall term pledges.
However, fraternity recruitment will continue throughout the remaining weeks of fall term, allowing more time to pledge, said James George, vice president for leadership development for the Interfraternity Council.
"For the numbers right now, we really can't say whether they're down or not," he said. "Men's recruitment is kind of an ongoing process."
George said during recruitment week, which lasted from Oct. 3 through Oct. 8, 20 to 30 people who received bids to join a fraternity have not yet chosen one. This year, the Interfraternity Council modified the recruitment week schedule to give incoming students more time to make a decision to join.
"It's a big decision to make," said Tim Rinaker, a recruitment chair for the Sigma Chi fraternity . "In one week or ten days it's tough for them to make a decision."
He added that his fraternity did "really well" this year. They pledged 21 men, and had only three undecided bids. Usually they get anywhere from 20 to 25 total pledges.
"We really didn't have to compromise our standards at all to find those guys," he said.
Ryan Birge, who is in charge of initiation for the Kappa Sigma fraternity, agreed that a lot of potential members are holding out before pledging. His fraternity had 13 pledges, but 20 people are sitting on their bids.
Birge added that there doesn't seem to be a lot of enthusiasm this year, largely due to the University's alcohol ban. Last year -- the first year of the ban -- was even worse, he said.
George disagreed. He said he didn't think the alcohol ban was drastically affecting fraternity recruitment. He added that freshmen who look for the stereotypical fraternity experience will not find a place in the University fraternity system.
"If that's their only focus I don't think they're going to find a fraternity focused solely on that," he said. "I like the fact we're taking the focus from the alcohol and back to the chapter."
Rinaker said his fraternity has always been dry, a policy which he said has kept out the members who only want to party. He said he felt the University's rules would lower the number of men interested in joining a fraternity, but that it would attract a better pool of members.
"I think initially it might hurt the greek system," he said. "In the long run I think it'll improve the quality of the guys."
This year, two past fraternities are also returning to campus, George said. Phi Kappa Psi is trying to "re-colonize" the University after a four- or five-year absence. Phi Gamma Delta has also expressed an interest in restarting a fraternity here. Both chapters retain their houses on campus but will need a large number of pledges to fill their leadership positions, he said.
Despite the return of two fraternities to campus, Birge said the greek community is still reeling from the effects of the alcohol ban.
"Overall, I think greek life is going downhill," he said. "I think dry is a major part of it ... It's kind of ridiculous when a 21-year-old can't drink in his own home."
Last edited by KDbutterfly; 10-11-2003 at 03:17 AM.
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