When rush starts Monday, the Interfraternity Council for the first time will track patterns concerning the number of men going to certain houses.
The final sink numbers will be viewed as well, and in the future, compared on an annual basis.
"The reason for tracking these numbers is so that the IFC can have an idea of the relative popularity of certain houses, and thereby determine which houses are shrinking or growing on campus," IFC Vice President Dave Hodapp '04 said.
Rush numbers will help provide a look at the whole fraternity system, Hodapp said.
The IFC will see if more or less people are rushing from year to year, and the relative health of the system.
Still, IFC President Jonathan Lazarow '05 was quick to note that "less people doesn't necessarily mean less popularity."
Besides the availability of statistics, rush will remain roughly the same this year. No structural changes will take place, and no changes in policies are underway.
"We're trying for continuity, it's easier that way," Lazarow said. "It's a very easy and painless process."
The rush process runs from Monday to Thursday next week. Somewhat different from sorority rush, few rules exist for the week. There is little governance over the rushees, apart from alcohol being prohibited and a time schedule, according to Hodapp.
However, Hodapp stressed that the alcohol policy is strictly enforced.
The first three days of rush will consist of open houses at the different fraternities from 6 to 9 p.m. Each house will offer a different setting, Lazarow said.
"It's a really laid-back process, each house has different kinds of food and that doesn't necessarily represent the quality of the house," Lazarow said.
Like sororities, some fraternities have had to adjust how rush is run since it was moved to Winter term after heated debate between the administration and Greek leaders.
"It's been really troublesome because so many juniors are off in the winter," Hodapp said, "You have a large contingent of kids in the spring that don't know the pledges from the winter."
