When the lights went out in the middle of College junior Spencer Scharff's inaugural speech as InterFraternity Council President, he did not seem to be terribly upset.
The crowd of approximately 500 men waiting to sign bids for the 29 fraternity chapters on campus did not seem fazed either.
"We can bear with it!" Scharff said laughing, referencing the statement he had just made regarding the strength of Penn's Greek community.
But once the power returned after the routine outage, Fraternity bid night was like any other. In addition to ending the formal rush process, the night marks the annual change in leadership of the InterFraternity Council. Scharff, a Pi Kappa Phi brother, will succeed Wharton and Engineering senior Conor O'Callaghan.
"There's still a long way to go" in improving the Greek community at Penn, said O'Callaghan, a Phi Kappa Sigma brother and Daily Pennsylvanian columnist. "But I have full confidence in Spencer and his executive board."
O'Callaghan commented on the responsibility of new members, stating that their individual actions reflect on their brothers, their chapters and their University.
Scharff agreed with these sentiments. "This is something not to be taken lightly," he said, addressing the crowd.
Both Scharff and O'Callaghan were very enthusiastic about the upcoming pledge class.
"I'm really impressed with our numbers this year," O'Callaghan said.
Approximately 500 men are pledging this year, an increase from last year's 466.
College freshman Jason Karsh said he had not planned on pledging when he came to Penn.
"I did not see myself as a typical frat boy," Karsh said. He said getting to know the men in fraternities and further understanding the sense of brotherhood in the chapters changed his mind.
"About halfway through rush I decided what bid I would sign, should I get it," Karsh said, referencing Phi Kappa Sigma.
Karsh did sign his first choice bid last night, but not all were so lucky. One of his friends did not receive a bid to the house of his choice and decided not to pledge at all.
However, Karsh, along with most of the men present, seemed happy with the rush process and its end result.
Rush "kind of threw everything out of whack," Karsh said. "But it was temporary, and ... worth it."
Scharff acknowledged the enthusiasm of the pledge class, and said that he is looking forward to working with them.
"I plan to hit the ground running," he said. "It should be a good year ahead."
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