A total of 222 men joined the Greek system while 210 women received bids this past week during the first mass winter rush in Dartmouth's recent history.
Of the 279 male rushees this year, 240 received bids. These numbers were markedly lower than those of last year's fall process, when 520 men rushed and 253 of the 350 who received bids chose to sink.
All women who completed sorority rush this year were offered membership in a house, with a total of 200 formal bids and 10 open bids being distributed. Six female rushees withdrew from rush prior to the distribution of bids.
Last fall, two percent of the 226 women who rushed a sorority did not receive bids.
"Bids have not been guaranteed for some time," Panhellenic Council vice president Maxine Goldstein '02 said. "We don't want to put the sororities in a position where they have to take someone they don't feel comfortable with."
This year, she added, "We were fortunate to be able to set the quotas relatively high."
Goldstein anticipated a larger spring rush group this year than in past winter rushes, but "it certainly won't be anything compared to this rush."
"It's very interesting that 86 percent of men rushing received bids, which I think indicates that people are rushing places where they've spent more time," Interfraternity Council president Eric Powers '02 said.
"There's a decreasing amount of exclusivity," he added. "Last year, fewer than 66 percent of men who rushed received bids."
Powers attributed the plunge in students rushing Greek houses last week to the delayed process. The Board of Trustees made the decision to move rush to winter on the recommendation of the Student Life Initiative Steering Committee.
Powers, however, criticized that decision, saying the Trustees maintain "a position of removal and loftiness from any given situation."
Gamma Delta Chi fraternity president Nate Mitchell '02 was disappointed in the dramatic drop in pledge numbers.
"Winter rush definitely hurt us a lot ... compared to fall rush, we had four people this year. We usually get around 35."
Mitchell said that his house is largely comprised of athletes -- specifically football players -- who are off campus during Winter term.
"We anticipate about 25 [pledges] in the spring," Mitchell said. "It definitely complicates things ... now, since there's less money coming into the house."
At other houses, winter rush was met with more excitement. Psi Upsilon president Mike Mothner '03 said, "We got a good turnout for rush, and we ended up with a solid group of guys.""We were really pleased," he said. "We try not to really think about numbers when we are evaluating -- we try to [distribute bids] by the people."
Mothner noted that his expectation of a "decent-sized" spring rush class did not affect the number of bids Psi U distributed last week.
Chi Heorot fraternity president John Campbell '03 felt mixed sentiments toward the delayed rush process.
"It was sort of tougher on some houses and better for others," he said. "A lot of houses have would-be pledges that are off this term. I think winter rush is better for people who aren't sure, to think about decisions and evaluate their choice."
Campbell was "more than pleased" about Heorot's pledge class, which increased in size from last year.
"I don't see that our [recent] probation really affected us with respect to our numbers," he said.
