Weeklong sorority rush begins

Over 650 undergraduate women passed through each of the eight sorority houses during Saturday's Open House, the first event in the organizations' week-long rush. Both sorority sisters and rush counselors called the rushes "nervous." Each sorority house hosted groups of 50 students for twenty-five minutes each. About half of the houses started each group's visit with a song, according to Panhellenic Council Vice-President for Rush Jenny Gonell. At all houses the sorority members and rushes mingle in order to become acquainted, Gonell said last week. According to College freshman Kirsten Bartok, as a rush walked into each house, a sorority member would take the rush around to introduce her to other members of the sorority. But College freshman Elizabeth Wells said that in her "long and hectic" day she had only met about five sisters in each house. Alpha Phi member Sue Scheps said this year's rush process is not hampered by the number of rushes, the largest rush group in recent memory. Scheps, a College sophomore, said that it is "not any harder at all" to choose a new pledge class. Last week, Panhel President Anita Hseuh said that pledge classes will be made bigger to accomodate the unusually large number of rushes, but noted that this may raise another set of problems. "The ideal size for a pledge class is not 50 people," Hseuh, an Engineering senior, said. College junior Chris Bremble, a Delta Upsilon brother who watched the rush groups pass in front of his Walnut Street house, said that the shortness of sorority rush presents some problems that fraternities, with a six-week rush, do not face. "I sympathize with the sororities sometimes because it [rush] does not give them a fair time to meet the rushes," Bremble said. Each group is divided up into Rho Chi, or rush counselor, groups which were assigned at random at the orientation meetings last week. According to Gonell, today and tomorrow will be "round one" of the rush process during which rushes will continue to visit each house that they are invited back to. During "round two" on Thursday, rushes can visit up to four of the sororities to which they are invited. The last round will be on Saturday when rushes can visit at most two sororities. Sororities will then extend bids on Sunday. Gonell said that during each successive round the rushes' visits to the houses grow longer, culminating in a one hour visit during the last round.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.