Panhellenic Council's winter rush concluded last week with a significant increase in dropout rates compared to recent years. Panhell executives attributed the increase to declining interest in the Greek system, while many rush dropouts attributed it to frustration with the long rush process.
At round zero, 217 women were present. Nearly one-fifth of those dropped out, a figure estimated to be twice as high as last year's.
Fewer than 20 women withdrew from rush last winter, Panhell president Julia Keane '04 said.
Panhell gave various hypotheses for the higher-than-average dropout rate but did not come to a definitive conclusion. Panhell officials emphasized, though, that many women going into the Greek system were uncertain of whether or not they would join.
"I think this year, people were less interested overall than in individual houses. They're more willing to cut their losses and withdraw instead of waiting out and seeing if something pans out," Keane said.
Panhell also cited a downward trend in attendance for the entire Greek system.
"I think we kind of did anticipate that there would be lower interest this year compared to other years," Keane said. "It's not something about the recruitment process that we didn't already know."
Some women who stopped going through the process before it ended felt differently.
"The process is so time consuming, long and drawn out -- it's not very rewarding. It just made me realize that it wasn't something I wanted to devote an incredible amount of time to," Melissa Lynch '06 said.
Lynch commented that even some publicized positive aspects of rush weren't worth the effort.
"They try to justify it by saying you get to meet a lot of girls. While that's true, it's meeting in a very superficial way," Lynch said.
However, she was unsure of about joinomg a house at all from the beginning, confirming Keane's suggestion.
Other women's decisions to rescind were more personal.
"I went into it not really wanting to join a sorority. By the last round, I was still undecided. I dropped out at the last possible moment before I wouldn't be allowed to rush next term," Cordelia Zukerman '06 said.
Zukerman also commented on the rush process as a whole.
Referring to the ability for men to participate in fraternities before the rush process, Zukerman said, "It's not the most ideal system. If it were more like the guys' system, girls would have more of an idea of whether they wanted to join or not."
Throughout the process, a few women discontinued participating, but were offered open or "snap" bids. Keane estimated around six or seven women were offered these bids during rush and a most were turned down.
"We usually don't report them because they are sort of hard to predict how they will work out," Keane said.
These women were not included in the reported 39 dropouts, despite not attending preference night.
According to Keane, Panhell has made no official changes to adjust for the high dropout numbers, but the council will be holding a "Recruitment Summit" on Tuesday. Leaders will discuss how rush went and any problems they encountered.
In a ceremony yesterday, Panhell and the Interfraternity Council formally inducted their next year's officers. Panhell's new president is Krista Sande-Kerback '05. Yibei Shen '05 is vice president of organization, and recruitment vice president is Meredith Willsen '05.
Jonathan Lazarow '05 is the new Interfraternity Council president, while Steven Daley is the organization's vice president and Mike Beilstein is treasurer.
