Make no doubt, fraternity rush and
sorority rush are incredibly different. Twice a year, most
fraternities go through their recruitment process, or 'rush',
for those of you who don't speak Greek yet.
It's pretty obvious when rush week is at school - the campus is
blanketed in fliers and Greeks take over the Quad area in front
of the library. Rush for fraternities is a lot different than
sorority rush, in that you don't have to visit all of them
during rush week. Instead it is up to you, the rushee, to decide
where you'd like to go during the week.
During the week, the fraternities host a variety of events
throughout the Sacramento area. From water skiing to broomball,
most fraternities try and show perspective members a good time,
as well as feed them to no end. Mark my words, if you rush a
fraternity, you will eat well! If nothing else, it serves as a
great way to get some free grub.
How do you find out what rush events are going on? There are
several ways:
- IFC Informational
Night. The first night of rush
usually starts out the same for all fraternities. On Monday
night, all fraternities will be in the Union Redwood Room for
an InterFraternity Council (IFC) informational night. From
here, you'll be able to browse the various booths of the
fraternities, in a neutral environment.
- The casual approach.
Do your research before you meet the guys. Check out their
websites, read some of the fliers, and find out when they're
meeting. If you need more information on a particular
fraternity, usually their communications include contact
information. Then show up at their event(s), and go from
there.
- The head-on approach.
Visit the quad and meet some of the guys right there. You
won't be able to avoid them when you're in the quad - their
booths are right there, and they usually have 10 guys hanging
out in front of it. This can be incredibly intimidating, as
it's hard to approach a bunch of guys and tell them you're
interested in finding out more about their fraternity.
However, sometimes you can narrow your search down a little
bit right here... if you scope out all the fraternities in the
quad, you might be able to figure out which ones you don't
want to check out during the week. If you're a little put off
by the onslaught of Greeks in the Quad, go early in the day or
later in the afternoon... usually things die down and aren't
as crazy.
- The referral. This is
the most common way guys rush a fraternity. Usually if you
know someone in a class who's Greek, ask them a little bit
about it. They'll most likely be more than happy to tell you
about his house. Ask when they're holding rush and go from
there. A lot of times, they'll offer to give you a hand and
give you an inside edge on the rush process. By the way, this
applies all throughout the school year, even if rush is over,
you can still check things out. There's always the next
semester to go through the formal process.
Once you're actually at an
event, it's up to you where to go from there. It's your choice
whether or not to attend one evening, one hour, or the whole
week with the guys. Your best bet by far is to check out several
fraternities and judge for yourself. Not only will it give you
more options, you won't be putting all your eggs in one basket,
so to speak.
At the end of the week, fraternities go through their selection
process, and if you play your cards right, you'll get extended a
'bid' to become a pledge of the fraternity. Congratulations!
Make the most of it!
Some pointers:
- Take it easy! It's not
high school anymore. Be yourself... you're more than likely to
impress someone when you're not putting on a front.
- Check out as many
fraternities as possible. Chances are, not all chapters
are going to be your style but the more you check out, the
more you might find that are appealing to join.
- If you're having a hard
time deciding, ask questions. A lot of times, you'll find
out that the guys are great, but what else? Ask a little
history of the fraternity and the things they do for social
events, whatever is important to you.
- Don't be intimidated by
the library quad. A lot of guys are interested in rushing,
but can't get the nerve to mix in with a couple hundred Greeks
socializing in the Quad. Approach a guy that's wearing letters
somewhere else on campus in the bookstore, in class, wherever.
Meet the chapter, then make your
decisions. Is fraternity life for you? Maybe, maybe not! How
will you know until you rush? |
