As of press time, at least 306 men had sunk bids this fall, although rush numbers were not yet available for Bones Gate fraternity, Sigma Nu fratenity and Gamma Delta Chi fraternity.
Alpha Chi Alpha fraternity had seen 21 men sink bids; Alpha Delta fraternity, 32; Beta Alpha Omega fraternity, 16; Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity, 18; Chi Heorot fraternity, 31; Kappa Kappa Kappa fraternity, 19; Phi Delta Alpha fraternity, 24; Psi Upsilon fraternity, 30; Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, 29; Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, 27; Theta Delta Chi fraternity, 24; and Zeta Psi fraternity, 35, according to numbers provided by the IFC.
Last year, IFC numbers given to The Dartmouth indicated that 308 men sunk bids during the fall rush process, which saw participation by one fewer fraternity.
Zeta Psi reestablished its Dartmouth chapter this year after being derecognized in 2001. Zete alumni selected this year's class, Adelman said.
This fall also marked the first student-run rush season for Beta Alpha Omega fraternity, following the reinstatement of the Dartmouth chapter last year, Adelman said.
These recent additions heightened competition among the existing houses, Adelman said.
"It's been a long time that there's been this many options for men on campus," he said. "The demographics have changed a bit, just because there's that many more houses to split people up on."
Several fraternity presidents also said that the new organizations increased the pressure on each organization to recruit new members.
"Rush is a competitive thing," Beta President Tony Pastoors '10 said. "We are all fighting for the best guys we can get. It does make it more competitive. Adding [Zete] will give people more options and make people work harder to attract members."
Throughout the past week, the fraternities hosted open houses, barbecues and other social events targeted at potential new members. Zeta Psi's events were organized by alumni.
Despite their prevalence during rush, open houses have only a limited effectiveness in attracting new membership, Alpha Delta President Michael Shrubb '10 said.
"We'll hold events like barbecues and social events just to meet the incoming [pledge] class, but most important are the social events throughout the year, like Homecoming, Green Key parties, things like that," Shrubb said. "That's what sparks the interest in kids: meeting the brothers and coming to hang out."
Because exposure tends to be the most important factor in attracting members, newer fraternities like Zeta Psi may be at a disadvantage, Shrubb said.
"I obviously think it's hard for fraternities who are just starting again to pick up new members, but that's just inherent to the fact that they're new on campus," he said.
Several male students interviewed by The Dartmouth said they knew little about Zeta Psi and chose to rush elsewhere.
"Zeta Psi is that even what it's called? I didn't get much or any impression of them at all," Brendan Norris '12, who sunk a bid at Heorot, said. "Maybe I wasn't looking for it, but they didn't seem to be trying very hard to get people to look at it."
Other students who went through the rush process, however, said they were interested by the concept of a fraternity without an existing reputation.
"[Zete] was the only place that I rushed," Kamil Adamczewski '11, who received a bid, said. "I didn't want to be part of a stereotypical fraternity on campus, so Zeta Psi attracted me because they're new. They were looking for a diverse group of people. They didn't have a history of being a frat associated with a certain group on campus."
During last year's fall rush period, Beta managed to successfully convey on a similar image, Adelman said, noting that several affiliated men left their previous houses to join Beta.
This year, Beta members sought to distinguish their organization by emphasizing the diversity of its membership, Pastoors said.
"We're just a melting pot of everything," Pastoors said. "We have football players, basketball players, the debate team, water polo we attract a broad spectrum. It's something different."
