Five campus fraternities extended bids during winter recruitment, which ended Monday night, according to Hunter Dray '12, Inter-Fraternity Council rush chair.
Alpha Chi Alpha fraternity saw one man sink a bid; Kappa Kappa Kappa fraternity, five; Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, seven; and Sigma Nu fraternity, two, according to Dray. At Zeta Psi fraternity, five men sunk bids, according to Zete president Travis Cramer '12.
The total number of men who participated in rush was not available by press time, according to Dray.
"This outcome is definitely similar to those of past winters," Dray said. "Fraternity winter rush has traditionally been light on volume, with the vast majority of rushees putting down roots in the fall."
Representatives from houses that participated in rush said they did not expect large numbers of men to join during winter recruitment.
"We were not looking to add many new members," Alpha Chi president Eric Sussman '12 said. "Our winter rush is mainly used to allow sophomores who were off in the fall to get a chance to rush our house."
Despite recent re-recognition, Zete did not see any change in winter rush numbers from past years, according to Cramer.
Although most students participate in rush during the Fall term, some opt for winter recruitment after a fall off-term, dissatisfaction with fall rush results or concentration on a fall sport, according to Dray.
The majority of houses chose not to host winter rush this year due to the influx of new members last term, according to representatives interviewed by The Dartmouth.
Alpha Delta fraternity, Beta Alpha Omega fraternity, Bones Gate fraternity, Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity, Chi Heorot fraternity, Gamma Delta Chi fraternity, Phi Delta Alpha fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, Psi Upsilon fraternity and Theta Delta Chi fraternity did not offer any bids to new members.
"In the past, it was rare to see fall pledge classes much over 30, but this past fall saw numerous houses breaking this number," Dray said. "Some houses are just at what they perceive to be their maximum capacity."
SAE president Brendan Mahoney '12 echoed this sentiment, citing the number of fall recruits and lack of interest among potential new members.
"Typically, we do not hold winter rush," Heorot president Cole Sulser '12 said. "The largest reason is the difficulty in organizing a pledge term. Generally, winter rush is much smaller and, thus, the pledge classes are smaller as well. Due to this, winter rush usually does not provide the rushees with the same benefits or the same ability to become familiar with their fellow brothers."
Smaller groups of rushees in the winter enable houses to be more selective and focus on creating a well-rounded pledge class rather than taking in a large group of new members, according to Dray.
While Chi Gam did not participate in a formal rush process, several individuals expressed serious interest in joining the house to brothers directly, according to Chi Gam president Sean Schultz '12. The fraternity deliberated on Sunday night but has not accepted new members at this time, he said,
"Our '14 class is strong by numbers and quality and can stand on its own as is," said Schultz. "For our informal winter rush process, we are seeking kids that will add tangible substance to the class, no fluff."
Schultz is a member of The Dartmouth Staff.
The number of men participating in winter rush tends to be smaller than that of their female counterparts, according to Dray.
During sorority winter recruitment, which concluded last week, sororities extended over 70 bids to new members.
Alpha Theta, Phi Tau and the Tabard co-ed fraternities are also undergoing the winter rush process.
After hosting rush on Friday, Phi Tau extended one bid, which remains valid any time until the time of graduation, according to Phi Tau president Leah Nicolich-Henkin '12. The organization's current pledge class also includes individuals who were offered bids during previous terms.
"So far we have four pledges, and we think we may get one or two more in the next week or so," Nicolich-Henkin said. "This is a somewhat small pledge class for Winter term for us, but we had a very large pledge class in the fall, so we're very happy with our overall numbers at the moment."
Phi Tau employs a "rolling" rush process, allowing students to rush the house at any point during the term. Those who receive bids can also sink their bids at any time, she said.
Representatives from other co-ed fraternities did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
