The Greek system that at this time last year was fighting for its soul after Student Assembly President Andrew Beebe '93 proposed making the entire system co-educational, is hoping for an infusion of some vital new blood during rush activities this week.
Sorority rush starts tonight at 7 p.m. and fraternity rush starts tomorrow night at 7 p.m. Rush is the traditional wooing of students by the Greek houses, which ends with house members deliberating over who to give bids to, and students deciding which bids to sink.
The main quesitons for houses this year are: Will smaller fraternities, such as Kappa Chi Kappa and Gamma Delta Chi, get enough new members to survive?
And will the sorority system that is already bursting at the seams be able to handle a wealth of new members?
The rush policies for both sororities and fraternities have changed to attempt make the process easier and less intense for students who choose to rush.
Men are no longer required to go to more than one fraternity on the first night of semi-formal events. Last year's rush regulations forced men who rushed to visit at least three different houses.
"Last year we found if students like one house in particular, they just go to the other houses and sign in," said Kenji Sugahara '95, the Interfraternity Council's rush chair.
Sugahara said the IFC also removed pre-registration.
"We're trying to remove all the hurdles there were before pledging a house," he said. "Why would someone want to jump hurdles?"
Sorority rush is different this year because of changes imposed by the national Panhellenic Council, which is an umbrella organization for sororities across the United States.
Last year in the second round of rush, sororities threw elaborate theme parties. Those theme parties are no longer allowed under national rules, according to Sara Gutterman '95, the rush chair for Dartmouth's Panhellenic Council.
"It will be a no-frills rush," she said. "We're de-emphazing the grandiosity and emphasizing the conversation and interaction between rushees and sisters."
Also this year's sorority rush is shortened from two weeks to one week. "There was too much time in-between the parties," Gutterman said. "The rush process for women at Dartmouth was very stressful."
Aside from the starting time there are few similarities between sorority and fraternity rush.
Unlike men, women who rush sororities must attend functions at all five houses over the first two nights of rush. Kappa Delta Epsilon, the newest sorority formed just last spring to repace Xi Kappa Chi sorority, already has filled its pledge class with 50 members of the Class of 1996.
"It's very difficult for women because they don't have much contact with sororities before sophomore year," Panhell President Rachel Perri '94 said. "There's not as many opportunities to meet people."
Each party will last approximatly 30 minutes, Gutterman said.
Women will then be called back to a second round of parties by interested sororities on Friday and Sunday. Those parties will last 40 minutes.
Finally, women will attend hour-long parties for all the sororities that are still interested in them next Tuesday. Women will then go to 105 Dartmouth Hall to fill out a card listing their choices in order of preference.
The sororities make two lists of 40 women who they would like to have in their house, and Gutterman said she and Assistant Dean of Residential Life Deb Reinders will go through the lists trying to match women with their first choices.
Gutterman said the sorority rush procedure isn't perfect. "The process has a lot of drawbacks," she said, "but we're doing what we can to fix it."
Perri said approximately 230 women signed up to go through rush, and said each sorority is equipped to add about 45 new members.
The process for men is much simpler and quicker.
Men can visit houses of their choice on Wednesday and Thursday from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m.. They will get call backs on Friday. Sugahara said men can find out that night what fraternity they will be in.
He predicted a strong pledge class this year. "The '96s in general have shown more interest in the Greek system," he said. "They seem to have more of a feeling for tradition and the Greek system is like tradition."
Efforts to reach presidents of co-ed fraternities were unsuccessful.
