Fall fraternity and sorority rush came to a close this week, as 273 women were offered bids and 308 men sunk bids from single-sex Greek organizations. Participation in both men's and women's rush increased this term.
At press time, Alpha Chi Alpha fraternity had 21 men sink bids; Alpha Delta fraternity, 35; Bones Gate fraternity, 25; Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity, 21; Chi Heorot fraternity, 21; Gamma Delta Chi fraternity, 14; Kappa Kappa Kappa fraternity, 28; Phi Delta Alpha fraternity, 20; Psi Upsilon fraternity, 21; Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, 21; Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, 29; Sigma Nu fraternity, 11; and Theta Delta Chi fraternity, 23, according to Holt. The numbers for Bones Gate however, are still unofficial, he said.
Eighteen men sunk bids with Dartmouth's Beta Theta Pi fraternity interest group, officially named Beta Alpha Omega because the group is not yet recognized by or affiliated with the national Beta Theta Pi fraternity, Holt said.
AD, which has the highest number of new members, also reported the largest increase in the size of its pledge class, up from 24 last year.
AD rush chair Conlan O'Leary '09 said the increased number of bids was due to a larger group of interested men.
"This year, we had about 50 guys shake out, and almost all of those guys we knew pretty well," O'Leary said. "They were all very good guys, and we're very excited about then men we have in the house."
He added that eight or nine of the new members are soccer players who will pledge in the spring, effectively reducing the size of the fall pledge class 26.
Psi U saw the most dramatic decrease in new members, down from 31 last year.
"Rather than make comparisons to the extraordinary number and caliber of last year's pledges, we are focused on the great contributions to the house we expect from the newest members of our fraternity," Psi U rush chair Charlie Wolff '10 said.
More sophomores chose to rush compared to years past, Holt said, and many fraternities saw an increase in interest, though some chose to maintain a traditional pledge class size.
"Despite the greater numbers, the brotherhood decided to create a pledge class similar in size to past years," SAE rush chair Clark Warthen '10 said. "We were comfortable with a certain number and delivered bids accordingly."
SAE had 21 new members, the same number as last year.
"Over the two nights, roughly 80 different guys came to Tri-Kap this year, up from about 70 last year," Tri-Kap rush chair, Teddy Sinsheimer '10 said. Last year, 23 men sunk bids at Tri-Kap, compared to 28 this year.
Alpha Chi rush chair Scott Niehaus '10 said that fewer men sink bids at his organization this year, but added that last fall's pledge class of 24 men was "on the higher side."
Women's rush saw a jump in participation, as 361 women registered for rush this year, compared to 304 last year. More than two-thirds of registered women finished the six-day rush process and received bids from one of Dartmouth's seven Panhellenic sororities.
Alpha Phi sorority offered 40 bids; Alpha Xi Delta sorority offered 38; Delta Delta Delta sorority, 36; Epsilon Kappa Theta sorority, 39; Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority, 40; Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, 40; and Sigma Delta sorority, 40, according to Melissa Lokensgard '09, vice president of recruitment for Dartmouth's Panhellenic Council.
Though Panhell set a bid quota of 38 per sorority, some houses slightly exceeded this number, Lokensgard said.
Laura Richardson '09, Sigma Delt rush chair, said she was satisfied with this year's rush process and is enthusiastic about the women who received bids from her organization.
"Rush went absolutely fantastically," she said. "We got the most wonderful girls. We get the girls who want to be here, and that's more important than anything."
According to Kimia Shahi '09, vice president of membership recruitment for Alpha Phi, rush went smoothly this year as the result of teamwork among sororities.
"[The rush chairs] worked really, really hard together this year," Shahi said. "It was definitely a team effort, and it was great."
Panhell's rush system, called Select and Rank, met varied responses from students. Select and Rank, which replaced the priority system last winter, requires participants to select their top four organizations and rank the remaining three after the first round.
"I would rather give every single [sorority] a number than have to only rank three," Katherine Roddy '11, who accepted a bid at AZD, said. "Things aren't usually that clear-cut."
Roddy is a member of The Dartmouth Staff.
Rush chairs expressed positive opinions of Select and Rank, saying that it was beneficial both times it was used.
"I think the new system is great," Shahi said. "I like that you can get a feel for who you're expecting; you know sooner what the pledge class is going to look like."
