For many Dartmouth sophomores, rush constitutes one of the most stressful social experiences of their young lives. Shake outs, dings and callbacks become part of our vocabulary. Guys frantically go out every night in the weeks leading up to that fateful weekend, trying to accrue as much social capital as possible, while ladies hone their girl-flirting skills.
Rush is a stressful process, but for Dartmouth students, that stress comes much later in their college career than for students at most other schools. The rush timeline can often be radically different, leaving us perplexed about the workings of rush outside of our bubble. Fortunately, several students involved with Greek life in states ranging from Massachusetts to below the Mason-Dixon offered to illuminate the pros and cons of our own process here at Dartmouth.
In stark contrast to our late rush date of sophomore Fall, future frat boys at the University of Georgia might begin rushing in February or March of their senior year of high school. For example, students at public high schools in Atlanta where I went to school often receive calls from rush chairs in Athens asking to take them out to lunch and get to know them better throughout their senior winter. Most fraternities begin the process in earnest with big weekend parties during the spring to which they invite potential rushees. These names are gathered from the recommendations of current brothers and alumni. Legacies, whose brothers, fathers and grandfathers may have all joined the same fraternity (not uncommon at many of UGA's historic Old Row fraternities) may even receive bids at this time.
Ethan Latty, a junior in Phi Gamma Delta fraternity at UGA, did not participate in any of the big spring parties. His first visit to a fraternity occurred during his orientation session in June, when he stopped by the Phi Gam house (also known as Fiji) to meet the brothers and rush chair, who he had been in contact with through an older friend. Sitting around a fire pit with the brothers who were living in Athens for the summer, he got to know his future brothers in a "pretty chill and relaxed" environment, Latty said. He had received good recommendations from alumni on his behalf, so when he returned to campus during the first week of August, he was invited to go downtown with the Fijis. He subsequently received a bid and sunk it before formal rush even started.
Although Latty received an early bid, many of his high school friends had sunk bids even earlier, in June or July. Most fraternities worked the same way through a kind of early action process, with the 2013 Fiji pledge class taking 27 of its 31 members before formal rush began, according to Latty.
"There's almost a stigma attached if you go through formal rush, and it's much harder to get a bid," Latty said.
Given the advanced timelines at UGA and other large state universities, reputation and recommendations from older friends often play critical roles in the decision-making process.
"You're aware of fraternity reputations going in," Latty said, adding that he received especially valuable advice about reputations from older female students, who were able to provide a different perspective that the naturally biased fraternity brothers.
Connections are also a key component in the rush process, Latty said.
"I would guess about 95 percent of pledges knew someone in the fraternity personally before they started pledging, instead of just saying, Hey, I've heard about [your house],'" Latty said.
While acknowledging that the early rush system can be stressful in forcing freshmen to make a decision that will define their college social lives before they even start classes, Latty said that being "integrated into the social system from day one" more than made up for any drawbacks.
"You immediately get to school in August and you have 30 new best friends, somewhere to go every day and older guys to hang out with and look for you," he said.
The women's rush process at big state schools is also earlier than at Dartmouth, but has some additional interesting quirks of its own. At the University of Georgia, contact is often forbidden between potential new members and sorority sisters after early July, according to Grace Elliott, the social chair of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority at UGA. Violations of this rule are referred to as "dirty rushing" (not just limited to overeager Dartmouth freshmen), and can bring harsh punishments upon guilty sororities, according to the rules of the National Panhellenic Conference. In order to remain in contact with PNMs who are family members or close friends during this time, sorority members must fill out a standing contact form listing their relationships to the PNM and why they should be allowed to stay in touch. Many sororities are consequently bombared with allegations of dirty rushing (drama!), and the deluge of complaints are leading to reform. Now sisters can remain in touch with girls as long as they're not offering them gifts or alcohol.
In early August, all active members return to Athens early for recruitment week. The 17 sororities of UGA's Panhell utilize a four-round rush process. The first is the conversation round, often called "Water Day" because girls are served water (drinks increase in quality as the rounds progress lemonade is served in the second round), according to Elliott. This is followed by a longer conversation round, then skits and then preference round, in which sorority sisters wear all black. The first day of classes is bid day, when girls find out which sorority has offered them a bid.
According to Elliott, rush begins far before the week-long formal recruitment period. Much like fraternity rush, "it definitely comes down to reputation and [knowing] older kids." She added that spring fraternity parites are "really important to get out there and meet rising freshman girls to get in touch with."
Despite the pressure, Elliott believes that "with 17 different sororities and a process that's both fair and thorough, there's a house for everyone."
Elliott acknowledged the challenged faced by incoming students from out of state particularly the men who hope to receive one of the few bids still available at "popular" fraternities.
"You have to know people in order to get an early bid, and many of the best' houses at UGA don't take anyone through the normal rush process," she said.a
Other large universities of the Southeastern Conference among them Auburn University, the University of Alabama and Louisiana State University feature similar rush processes, since PNMs from nearby hometowns can more easily travel to campus during the spring before their freshman year. Duke University, however, draws a greater percentage of students from across the country, and therefore conducts its Greek rush during the second semester of freshman year, according to Hilah Almog, the recruitment chair at Duke's Pi Beta Phi sorority.
Almog feels that Duke's rush process is more relaxed compared to those of other schools. Sororities hold rush immediately after winter break, according to Almog, and receive bids after the standard four rounds of rush.
"Having rush second semester makes the process less shallow," she said.
Almog also said that it is important for academically challenging schools like Duke not to force students to make the important social decision of whether to rush right off the bat.
"I don't even understand how that would work," Almog said, citing the difficulty of getting to know girls in the brief and contrived situations in which rush often places them.
Almog also added that the fact that sororities at Duke do not have physical plants "completely changes the dynamic of rush."
"Girls can live with friends in other sororities and the process is a little more relaxed," she said, offering students a "richer college experience that doesn't physically segregate people according to Greek affiliation."
Despite the lack of sorority houses, Almog believes that Duke's sororities compose "a really intense emotional network," and compared joining Pi Phi to "being welcomed into a family." (Full disclosure: My twin sister is a Pi Phi at Duke and I live for that sorority. Pi Phi or die!)
The sorority rush processes at Harvard, Penn and Cornell also mirror that of Duke, taking place in the winter of freshman year. The later rush process at Harvard "allows for time to meet more people and decide if Greek life is for you," Liz Ahern, a member of Harvard's Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, said. "To rush right away would take away from the opportunity to branch out."
"I've been able to expand, rather than inhibit, my friendships due to rushing later," Ahearn added. "[It is] good to rush freshman year because there is a need to have that opportunity to meet new people out side of your house and dorms."
Dartmouth, meanwhile, conducts it Greek rush sophomore fall, much later than most other schools. So, boys and girls of the '14 class, as you go through rush this fall, use the extra year you've had under your belts to make the most informed decision you can. Remember that whatever happens, there really is a place here for everyone.
