(The following is part of “A discussion on the future of fraternity rush at Alabama”)
One of the most visible products of The University of Alabama’s growth is the wave of freshmen girls that arrive a week early for sorority rush. With record setting rush class sizes, it’s clear that UA’s Panhellenic sororities are doing something right. They have fully taken advantage of this campus’ growth.
However, the same cannot be said about their male counterparts down University Boulevard. The number of rushees for IFC has not matched the growth in the student body. In fact, it hasn’t even come close.
The issue at stake is not a lack of interest on the part of incoming students or a lack of offerings by the greek community. Rather, it is the informal rush process.
In theory, informal rush should work effectively: Any interested student contacts a fraternity and is invited to rush events over the spring, summer and early fall. Every interested individual gets a chance and all parties share control.
In practice, however, the process unfortunately falls short. It fails to recognize the breadth of the greek community’s appeal to incoming students. Instead, it is a relic of bygone days when interest in greek organizations was largely derived from well-informed groups that were able to attend rush events over the summer.
Now, with students enrolling from all corners of the nation, relying upon the expectation that freshmen know active brothers in a fraternity and are able to travel to Tuscaloosa in the summer is nothing short of absurd.
There is a break in communication such that many out of state students, or even students whose parents were not greek, are unfamiliar with the rush process and do not know where to start when rushing a fraternity.
By rejecting an organized way to rush, the University’s greek system is also shooting itself in the foot in regards to the size of its selection pool, which directly affects the quality of its new members. A formalized rush system would draw more students into events and would enable fraternities to better decide what members would thrive in their culture.
On the other side, it would also enable interested students to experience the breadth of options in the UA greek system. Instead of attending the rush events of a few fraternities, a formal rush would facilitate exposure to a much broader range of fraternities. In turn, this would enable rushees to find the fraternities, if any, that fit them best.
There is untapped potential for growth that can be seen in a formal rush system. Establishing a formal time period for rush events, after students move and with a visible schedule, would take great strides toward breaking down barriers that prevent interested individuals from rushing.
Implementing a formalized rush system would not require an overhaul of the current process either. It should go without saying that a formal fraternity rush would not need to be as rigid as Panhellenic rush, with applications, workshops and oddly specific events. In fact, an IFC formal rush would probably work best if individual chapters are allowed to design their own events. Still, having an established, well-advertised, period for rush is the right step for the fraternities to adapt their traditions and experiences into the new Alabama.
Fraternity members, including myself, have complained that our greek system stereotyped and misunderstood, that our practices are not archaic. Now is our chance to change this. Adopting a formalized rush would work to overcome these stereotypes by tearing down the mysterious veil of rush and placing the onus on those outside the system to truly experience what the greek community can offer.
The University of Alabama is changing. From the new construction on campus to bigger sorority rush classes, this reality is clear. What isn’t clear is how our greek system will respond. If we want to keep up with a campus that is growing in size and diversity, we must change as well.
John Brinkerhoff is the Opinion Editor of The Crimson White and a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. His column runs weekly.
Click the link below to read another viewpoint:
Not everything has to be formal
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