deferred rush at UCA
 

CNN reports that the University of Central Arkansas has just banned freshman rush. What are your opinions about deferred rush?

I'm in favor of it, for the following reasons:

-It gives the rushees a chance to experience non-Greek college life and they will be less likely to "burn out" by senior year.
-The rushees have had time to get used to being their own bosses and managing their time as far as studying, etc. They also get to see whether they like that college in general.
-They have a chance to see how much of a part of the campus Greek life is and make a better decision as to whether it is right for them.
-There are fewer people who get "swept up" in it as part of the newness of college.
-They (hopefully) get to meet some of the members and make a decision from "real life" instead of just through 3 days of formal rush.

Now keep in mind that I'm saying this from the vantage point of a campus that did not have large houses to fill, and that had very lax "contact" rules - the only time the no-contact rules applied were during actual rush. For some of the schools I've heard about where freshmen are prohibited from going anywhere near the houses, I think deferred rush there would be a pain in the butt.

my school has formal rush in january, and i think it is a good thing because it gives us a chance to better "check out" the rushees. after seeing how much of the decision-making goes on behind the scenes before actual rush week ever begins, i have no idea how other chapters select a new pledge class after only a week or two of meeting the rushees.