Help Intensify Spring Rush!

[SHSUATO1865]

fall rush is so big at our campus that spring rush is often overlooked.in fall the biggest is usually 27 last spring we had the biggest spring class with 8 guys. we have big events for fall and spring we usually have formal cocktail parties and what not. any ideas on how to amp up Spring Rush?

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by SHSUATO1865

fall rush is so big at our campus that spring rush is often overlooked.in fall the biggest is usually 27 last spring we had the biggest spring class with 8 guys. we have big events for fall and spring we usually have formal cocktail parties and what not. any ideas on how to amp up Spring Rush?

Why do you feel you need to "amp up" Spring Rush? It seems to be working for y'all.

[SHSUATO1865]

i feel that if we intensify our spring rush we can encourage other fraternitys to and i feel that if we make our spring rush bigger and better than we will be just that much more prepared for fall rush the next semester

[Kairav]

Originally Posted by SHSUATO1865

i feel that if we intensify our spring rush we can encourage other fraternitys to and i feel that if we make our spring rush bigger and better than we will be just that much more prepared for fall rush the next semester

Try and reach out to the people who by some reason failed to get a bid during fall rush. Also advertise in freshmen dorms as freshmen come to colleges during spring too. Maybe you and some other fraternities could organize a joint event, like a concert or something and invite as many people as possible.

[Styrofoam]

Spring rush generally for us are people who started hanging out with the guys AFTER formal rush in the fall, and decided this is what they want. After 3 years with 1, 3, 3 pledges, We got 11 this past spring. Hopefully Spring will go this well again.

[Elephant Walk]

Originally Posted by SHSUATO1865

fall rush is so big at our campus that spring rush is often overlooked.in fall the biggest is usually 27 last spring we had the biggest spring class with 8 guys. we have big events for fall and spring we usually have formal cocktail parties and what not. any ideas on how to amp up Spring Rush?

Fall Rush is big at your campus, and the biggest class is 27???

[SWTXBelle]

I think he means "big" as in more important - not "big" as in numbers. Sam Houston isn't a large campus, so bear in mind everything is relative.

[PHISIGPSITRITON]

The best way to "amp-up" Spring rush on a small campus is to not copy the exact events from Fall rush. \

[PhiGam1123]

I have now been spring rush chair for my fraternity for two years now. Last year we signed our largest class ever at 15 (which we eventually only initiated 11 due to attrition). This year to cut down on numbers I only signed 9. Out of the two years there has only been one individual turn down a bit...so something must be going right.
When approaching spring rush I always hit up the current freshmen for as many rush names as possible. They usually know friends from high school that would be good potential rushees, or they know other freshmen from classes, organizations, or intramurals who would be assetts to your fraternity. Also gaining recommendations from sororities, academic advisors, and older members is a great resource as well.

The best way to sign a rushee in the spring is to just show as much passion for your house as possible. If you can show the rushee how big of an impact the house has made on you and how much you care about your fraternity, it will pour over into the rushee. He will almost automatically want to be a part of what you are selling. Also it is key to make the rushee feel comfortable when around the house or meeting with brothers. You want the rushee to picture himself as a member. If you can figure out the needs of the rushee and what he is looking for in a house and then promote your fraternity's abilities to meet those needs, you probably will have the rushee locked up.
Basically for spring rush you need to show the kid why being a GDI is bad, and how much better it is to be a member of your fraternity.

[AlphaDeltaDelta]

27 would be a huge class here. It's more about the importance of Greek life on the campus than the actual size of the school, as Cal is not a small school.

[WhyGoGreek]

If you have large number in your fall rush class, odds are there are other freshmen in their classes and dorms they are friends with who, for whatever reason, didn't rush.

I would take a very direct and personal approach, and I would start with them, since these unaffiliated people will see their friends all joining houses, and will likely want to be a part of it.

-J.

[pattyp3@mac.com]

I was once a rush chair, and yes the spring is overlooked, but you must go out and make people aware that their is an opportunity for them to join Greek Life. Many students are intimidated by rush, and you need to go out and meet people and give each student a fair chance. If you start profiling people you will never reach the numbers you desire. Also quality before quantity, this means do not shoot for 40 members if you know half of them do not belong or fit in your organization. Hold rush events with out girls, to see what guys are really like. Many times you will get a better look at who people really are if it is a bunch of the same sex. Obv. don't do this every night, but before you give bids have just a guys night of football, wings, and brewskis.

[SAEalumnus]

Originally Posted by pattyp3@mac.com

I was once a rush chair... Obv. don't do this every night, but before you give bids have just a guys night of football, wings, and brewskis.

Having alcohol at a rush event was absolutely forbidden when I was an undergrad. Has this changed?

[Elephant Walk]

Originally Posted by SAEalumnus

Having alcohol at a rush event was absolutely forbidden when I was an undergrad. Has this changed?

Depending on where you are.

For some of us, I'm not sure anything ever changed, alcohol has always been present. (any Arkansas alumns want to confirm/deny this?)

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by SAEalumnus

Having alcohol at a rush event was absolutely forbidden when I was an undergrad. Has this changed?

When I was an undergrad in the late 1970s at Kentucky, the fall and spring formal rush events were officially wet.

As I recall, some of the first IFC rules at UK regarding serving alcohol at a rush event were first implemented around then. Originally, you could serve any beverage in any type of container. Often there would be kegs and or coolers both in the house and outside of it. Then, and I think it was my sophomore year, the IFC said no cans or bottles at all. (I think a bottle smashed and some co-ed cut her foot the semester before.) Beer, mixed drinks, soft drinks, and "punch" had to be served in an opaque plastic cup. And you could not leave the property (yard) with any beverage. (Before, you could go from one house to the other with your cup.) I believe it was the next semester or year that the IFC added a rule that alcohol/beer could only be served in the house. It was around then that the IFC implemented that you had to be a UK student - or on the fraternity's guest list - to attend. Also, you could not drink in front of the house. However, you could still drink in the back on on a deck. (Since beverages had to be served in opaque cups, this meant any beverage least a cop or someone come around and question you.) Then I think it was my senior year, the IFC added that beverages could only be consumed in the house. In other words, no decks or back yards and only students and fraternity guests (mainly alumni) could attend. Also, you could not walk out of the physical house and into the yard with any cup/beverage. All beverages were to be confiscated when leaving. University Police were positioned around the fraternities to check people's cups for alcohol. At the time, it was ok to drink in the house/on the chapter's property if you were at least 18. But if you were caught "in the streets" drinking, (even sober) that could be grounds for unlawful public drinking. Or something like that.

As I recall, the main reason for these rules were simply to cut back on trash in the yard. And to keep the noise level down somewhat. Somewhere during this time, a party end time (11 p.m.?) was implemented. But that just meant the "official" party ended.

For what it is worth, official rush events at UK are now dry. I think the change happened around the late 1990s when the whole UK campus went dry.