Dartmouth's 14 fraternities will open their doors to approximately 275 sophomore, junior and senior men for fall rush this weekend, according to Taylor Holt '09, vice president of recruitment for the Interfraternity Council. Beta Theta Pi fraternity will participate in recruitment for the first time since the chapter was derecognized by the College in 1996.
Beta's rush will be led by the Beta interest group, comprised of members of the classes of 2009 and 2010 -- some of whom have depledged from other fraternities -- and Dartmouth Beta alumni, according to Tony Pastoors '10, a member of the interest group.
Beta alumni have been an integral part of the fraternity's return, and 50 to 60 Dartmouth Beta alumni are expected to return to campus this weekend to assist with rush proceedings, Pastoors said. Beta alumni conducted information sessions last spring, in anticipation of the challenge of attracting new members to the reinstated house, Pastoors said. Beta hopes to give out 20 to 25 bids, but the group will have to wait until this weekend to see what kind of response they receive, Pastoors explained.
"We're looking for a quality guy from the first pledge to the last pledge," Pastoors said.
The interest group hopes that this term's pledge class can help Beta reinvent itself and distance the fraternity from the negative reputation it had in the years preceding its derecognition, Pastoors said. The chapter was derecognized for violating the terms of its probation, which had stemmed from accusations of misconduct. Alumni from the 1970s and 1980s said Beta had a reputation for having a diverse membership, including captains from seven different sports teams, Pastoors said.
"There is no house on campus like that today and it would be great if Beta could regain that uniqueness," he said.
This fall, fraternity rush will be similar to past years', with potential new members visiting houses of their choice on Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights, Holt said. Prospective members can attend as many organizations as they want, usually visiting their first choice at the end of the night. Many participants will then demonstrate that a certain fraternity is their preferred choice by "shaking out," which involves shaking the hands of all the members of that organization.
Organizations can offer bids on either Saturday or Sunday, and can invite a student back if they want to get to know him better. Fraternities can also elect to extend rush into Monday night, at which point students who have not yet been offered a bid can continue to visit houses. Holt said the IFC expects to see a slight increase in the number of rush participants this year, but he does not believe Beta's return to campus will affect the number of pledges other fraternities receive.
"Beta has projected a strong image for rush, but it's one thing to look at it in theory," he said. "We'll see what happens -- there are a lot of things people are deciding between during rush, and they will have to weigh the pros and cons of any house."
Although fraternity rush does not officially start until Saturday night, many potential new members have already started preparing for the process, according to Joey Garagliano '11, who will participate in rush this weekend. Throughout the first weeks of the term, he said, he has spent as much time as possible at the fraternity he hopes to join.
"That way the brothers get to know you better and you feel comfortable there," he said.
Both Garagliano and Holt said that many students know which fraternity they would like to join by the end of their freshman year.
"Most guys have narrowed it down to one or two houses before rush even starts," Holt said. "Still, it's best to keep an open mind during the process."
