A hypothetical: No Formal Rush?

[James]

I would like to present two scenarios for you to comment on:

1. What if there was no Formal Rush? Just a coordinated COB?

2. What if the above existed and there was no Total either?

If you want to take a second, predict what wouod happen on college campuses to sororities. Because that is where the guys are all the time.

[Little E]

This is how my campus opperates.

We don't have NPC, and it looks like we'll get a new national, hopefully, next fall. Currently the two sororities have COB and just kinda do their own thing. We love it! It does get tiresome because we do constant rush, but it allows our chapter to really get to know the women who are rushing.

I think on big campus' it might be more difficult. Our local and AST attract different 'types' of women. They'll either go one way or not go at all. (Rarely do they lose a pledge to us and vice versa.) If you got rid of total though on a big campus you might kill smaller houses and make it harder for new houses. There is a possibility that we'll set Total when NPC forms on campus but till then we do open rushing.

I dunno, that's just my 2 cents.

Tau Love
Lil E

[carnation]

Not anywhere near possible at SEC schools.

[FuzzieAlum]

Actually, that is the case on some campuses, and not just those where there is only one NPC group. Generally, however, they aren't "big" Greek schools.

The biggest advantage of formal rush, as I see it, is that is forces rushees to consider all their choices. If you're rushing as a freshman, you might think you love XYZ, but we all know people who met the right group for them only after saying XYZ was the only one for them.

I think the outcome would depend on the campus. At a school like mine, where as many folks joined informally as formally, Greeks are for a fun social life and not social ladder climbing, and many sisters are "never thought I'd join" types, it would be a terrific idea and save everyone a lot of trouble with the expense and fuss of formal rush. Other schools, it might not work so well.

[MoxieGrrl]

I think that at my college, doing away with formal rush would be a good thing. The pressure would be less intense and girls would join the house that they are friends with, rather than the one that has the best decorations. (Hey, they are freshman and get caught up in the heat of the moment...or in all of the crepe paper )

[shadokat]

To add my own .02 (or .03 depending how long winded I get).

Right now on my campus, we are having this issue. We have not had formal recruitment in 2 years, and what has happened is that smaller sororities get shafted in the process.

Our Greek Advisor thinks that the NPC formal recruitment process hurts their system by making women go to sororities they wouldn't want to go to normally. She also believes that the formal process takes too much time away from the PNMs. So, she set up this system:

Day 1: Information Night
Day 2: President Speeches and Sorority Sing
Day 3: Pig Roast for all greeks and PNMs
Day 4 & 5: Informal parties (PNMs go to 5, but there are 10 sororities)
Day 6 & 7: Pref parties (PNMs go to 3)
Day 8: Bid day

This system is so ridiculous, I can't even begin to tell you, but this recruitment thing takes the cake. As of right now (they are on Day 6), some sororities already have no women. Some chapters have all 70 coming back to their preference parties. Others fall somewhere in the middle.

Now you may say, well, the bigger sororities are doing the right thing and the smaller ones aren't, so they don't deserve to get girls back. WRONG! The system does not encourage ANY PNM to get to know sororities. She can go to whatever she chooses, without being introduced to 4 very good, yet smaller sisterhoods. The other 6 groups are between 35 - 42 members. But even 2 of those groups do not have as many women returning.

This system doesn't help the Greek system at all. It will leave many women bidless come Bid Day, because while some of these women will be invited back to three preference parties, they have NO shot at getting a bid. The sororities are inviting back 70 women to parties where they can only extend 18 bids! How nice to break 52 women's hearts.

I know that men think this is the nature of the beast in Greek Life, but it is not how NPC intended recruitment to be conducted. While the system may sometimes screw PNMs over with cross-cutting and dirty rushing and a plethora of other things, when the system is in place and working properly, it works! It may not provide the most ideal outcomes, but at least the process is fair to all chapters involved. This free for all process only guarantees 2 things...broken hearted PNMs who can't get bids where they think they want to go, and broken hearted sisters who can't understand why women aren't attending their sorority events.

If I had to decide, I'd do NPC recruitment. It works, despite it's flaws, and that's what is important.

Two notes of interest: #1, the Greek Advisor says she won't lower total because it's not fair to the larger groups to not be able to take as many women as they can; and #2, there are 5 NPC sororities on campus.

[sugar and spice]

It would be possible, of course, at my school, but numbers would drop tremendously and the composition of the sororities would change drastically. Having just finished with informal rush, my sorority has realized how different the girls we get from informal and COB are from the girls from formal rush (not in anyway superior or inferior, only different -- informal is generally more laid back girls who are less the "sorority type"). I think the types of girls that would join houses if there was no formal recruitment period would be so different as to change the way our entire Greek system functions.

I personally like formal recruitment because, by giving girls a chance to see all the houses, it ensures that a girl will have the best possible choices. What she does with those choices is up to her, of course, and she won't always make the best one. But with COB, most girls are only exposed to three houses, maximum, and this can definitely lead to some disillusioned PNMs.

The no total thing would be very, very unlikely to work. I can't picture it working without causing huge amounts of sorority rivalry, animosity between houses, out of control drama, etc.

[aopinthesky]

>>>1. What if there was no Formal Rush? Just a coordinated COB?

2. What if the above existed and there was no Total either?<<<

What if NPC groups just threw all their guidelines out the window and began to operate like IFC for recruitment? Isn't that kind of what you are advocating? I don't understand why IFC men are constantly trying to turn NPC around to their way of thinking regarding the procurement of new members. Yes, we have a system with some flaws in it, but I don't really think that IFC works any better.
There is always room for improvement, but shadokat makes some very good points. "Our" way of recruiting works very well when the guidelines are followed, and less so when someone decides to make their own particular adjustments (like at shadokat's campus).
I doubt that you will get much support from NPC members for the willy-nilly way that IFC secures their members - we prefer more structure.

[33girl]

I would be all in favor of eliminating total because if we did, hopefully the stigma of being a smaller chapter would be eliminated as well. However, that's going to happen when pigs fly. The national HQs of the sororities are too afraid that too many chapters would choose to be small and there goes the $$$.

I think a coordinated COB can work for a small school and a mainly upperclassmen rush, since a lot of those women already know where they want to go. But for freshmen? @#$% no. In addition, I think that the guys should have something where they get to meet all the fraternities or at least a booklet that gives them the basic info on them. Girls get rush booklets over the summer, guys should too.

Re shadokat's story, I hope that when men are rushing they aren't doing things like inviting back guys they have no interest in just as a "safety." Whatever the Greek advisor is smoking there I want some.

[shadokat]

To the men, I mean no disrespect to IFC or the way it runs recruitment when I say this, but if you haven't used the NPC system of formal recruitment, and lived with it, you can't really understand why it is preferable to NPC women over the IFC system. It's almost like a mindset...the IFC mindset is that each fraternity does its own thing...NPC has a more structured manner of going at it.

I think it would be good for fraternity men to use the NPC system for a year and see how things are different. I know it won't change your minds, but you may understand better

p.s. thanks to all of you who responded It's very frustrating and hearing that it's not just us is good!

[sugar and spice]

Originally posted by aopinthesky
>>>1. What if there was no Formal Rush? Just a coordinated COB?

2. What if the above existed and there was no Total either?<<<

What if NPC groups just threw all their guidelines out the window and began to operate like IFC for recruitment? Isn't that kind of what you are advocating? I don't understand why IFC men are constantly trying to turn NPC around to their way of thinking regarding the procurement of new members. Yes, we have a system with some flaws in it, but I don't really think that IFC works any better.
There is always room for improvement, but shadokat makes some very good points. "Our" way of recruiting works very well when the guidelines are followed, and less so when someone decides to make their own particular adjustments (like at shadokat's campus).
I doubt that you will get much support from NPC members for the willy-nilly way that IFC secures their members - we prefer more structure.

I don't think James was advocating anything per se, just raising topics for discussion. I think that most of the guys on GC have seen the topic raised enough times that they know better than to tell us that there's something "wrong" with our system.

In the same vein, then, I'd like to ask this: what would happen if the men used the NPC standards for rush?

What are the strongest aspects of each system, and what are the weakest aspects? Obviously each method has its strengths. Is there anything from the IFC system that the NPC should consider adopting or vice versa?

[Aphigal]

Hi...if any of you work with a campus considering doing something other than formal recruitment you should encourage the GA to speak with the NPC area advisor. NPC does have prgramming called "modified forms of recruitment" but its on a campus by campus basis.

I think the issue is not so much the format as the panhellenic spirit of the system Case and point -University of Maine. They had a quota of ONE the year before their area advisor came in the help them (oh and every chapter didn't make quota but some got quota additions -so pledged two) Anyway their area advisor went over the options and ALL the groups in the system said we want a formal rush structure. They worked at it, removed some of the restricitions on silence and how a pnm could be signed up for formal rush.

The result two year later quota is 9 (it was 7 the first year after NPC help) and even though all groups didn't match most did (even a chapter that didn't match when quota was one!) Oh they also used release figures and full party cards and other things.

Long story but the point is a formal rush system CAN work if a campus commits to making it work. But a half-hearted attempt followed by "oh well we will just COB anyways" the results are a half hearted pool of pnm's

Phew off the soapbox!

[Firehouse]

What if the men had formal rush? Well, I went through and pledged as a rushee in formal rush, and I was chapter rush chairman in formal rush, structured very much like NPC rush. I was also rush chairman during a time of no rules at all, the 'Wild West' option.
Let me say this: no one should force either the men or the women into any rush system they don't like or want. Men and women are different in their thinking and that must be respected.

That said, here's what happens in men's formal rush: 1) everyone gets a pledge class, even the fraternities that have the least to offer; 2) the fraternities tend to become lazy and fall into the rut of rushing who shows up, rather than going out on campus and aggressively seeking stars; 3) the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor -- everyone is guaranteed a pledge class, but all rushees see all fraternities, and the weak suffer by comparison to the strong; 4) TIME is the most important factor; Greeks and rushees all have to make their decisions quickly and on superficial basis; 5) men cheat, and the penalties meted out by IFC tend to be brutal and Draconian; men will use the system to cripple or destroy a rival. One savvy chapter makes a point of buying 'party photos' of all their rivals, just to have if they get caught; 6) the very best and most successful chapters have their pledges already lined up in the summer before they come through formal rush in the fall. If rush is deferred till spring, even better. The whole pledge class can be 'pocketed' before Christmas; 7) there are two really unpleasant side effects of men's formal rush. First, some men don't get bids from anyone. I think this is cruel, and I think every man who wants to be in a fraternity should have that opportunity. Second, sometimes out of boredom or just meanness, some Brothers will take rushees on a 'tour' of the house bathrooms and the dumpster, etc. No way to make friends for the house.

I don't know, frankly, how that scenario differs from sorority formal rush. I think for men, open no-rules rush is best. Makes them work hard to be successful and keeps them out of idle mischief.

[FuzzieAlum]

I have to disagree that everyone, male or female, deserves a bid.

What about a potential member who sells crack to babies and beats up his or her mom? I can't think of any GLO whose ideals this potential member would fit. If this person wants to go and start their own GLO, so be it, but I wouldn't wish them on any sorority, not even my biggest rival. And there are people like that going through rush - or on a less frightening level, people who have a 1.3 GPA. Or who never bathe. While the human yearning for friendship is universal, part of a GLO's mission is to seek the best. Every GLO interprets that differently, but there are some commonalities - no chapter is seeking dirty people who are flunking out.

That said, Firehouse is right on ... and formal rush has most of the same effects on the sororities, too. I'm come to the opinion there is no ideal system.

[shadokat]

I don't understand...who said that everyone deserves a bid? That's part of the beast of fraternities and sororities. It's a selection process. If we just handed out bids to anyone, where would the "specialness" of it be?