Despite delay, fraternity rush proceeds relatively smoothly

With the two-day push back of Interfraternity Council rush to accommodate Panhellenic requests to avoid any overlap between the two recruitment processes, presidents of officially sanctioned fraternities worried that their potential new members would be swayed to off-campus organizations.

IFC members and chapter presidents argued that off-campus organizations, who can conduct their rush processes as soon as potential new members returned to campus after winter break, would have a leg up in attracting new members. Fraternity presidents were also inconvenienced because they had to cancel the venue reservations they made months in advance.

Wharton junior and IFC President David Moore said the two-day pushback of IFC rush did not have any measurable impact on the amount of men who participated in formal recruitment and accepted bids from recognized Greek organizations.

To record the amount of pledges who participated in open rush and then accepted bids, the IFC used a new app called “Greek Rush.” Fraternity rush chairs and presidents had difficulty using this new app, College senior and IFC Vice President of Recruitment Dustin Klein said. 

Due to misuse of the app, IFC rush records were not completely accurate. For this reason, it remains unclear whether off-campus organizations gained a leg-up as a result of the two-day delay.

In addition to the two-day push back, the IFC added an orientation in Houston Hall that slightly altered how open rush was conducted.

Instead of having a free-for-all during open rush where all of the pledges could go to the houses of their choosing at any time, the IFC set up specific time blocks when they could go. The times that houses were allowed to host open rush events depended on which street they are located on. Through this method, the IFC intended to maximize the probability that houses that do not have an optimal geographic location would be noticed by rushes 

“It enabled potential new members to better visit every house that they wanted to,” Moore said, “There was so much overlap and so much time in between each house that some houses tended to be skipped over.”

This system was also set in place to prevent IFC rushes from crossing paths with Panhellenic rushes.

“Fraternities during open rush did follow the rules…albeit very informally,” Moore said, noting how groups clearly identified the times of their rush events outside the house. 

IFC rush was further set back a day when the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life prohibited them from conducting any rush events on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. OFSL said the restriction was put in place in observance of the holiday. 

Despite this change of pace and the initial backlash from fraternity presidents, IFC rush went relatively smoothly with only a few minor bumps on the road.

“We did have a few people who did break rush rules […] people who rushed with alcohol and I don’t know if there was anybody who rushed early with Panhellenic women,” Moore said.  

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