Rushing a fraternity or a sorority is like being a recruit in any organization. Potential members need to show a commitment to the organization and attend and participate in its events in order to get one step closer to becoming a loyal brother or sister.
Any student can rush, but not every student can pledge, since that decision lies in the hands of the fraternities and sororities.
The purpose of Formal Recruitment is to evoke interest in a fraternity or sorority and to give possible members, usually freshmen and sophomores, the chance to meet the current members.
Fraternities and sororities are devoted to enrolling members into either the brotherhood or sisterhood and using the rush process as a means to get Hopkins students to pledge.
"Rush is recruitment, we are trying to recruit committed and determined individuals," said Stephen Iwanyk, a sophomore Sigma Phi Epsilon brother.
Iwanyk also noted that "the rush process is aimed at getting students to experience the fraternities, have fun and begin life-lasting friendships with their brothers."
During the first weeks of the semester, male students may rush one or more fraternities by attending a variety of social events, which includes such activities as playing pool, watching movies and participating in intramural sports with the brothers.
Each fraternity has different calendars of events-when Recruitment begins, keep an eye out for advertisements or talk to the brothers to get detailed information. After a potential member attends the fraternity's events, he will either receive a bid or not-if he gets the bid, he needs to decide if he wants to continue into the pledging process.
The rush week for the sororities, which include Alpha Phi, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Phi Mu, usually begins with an ice water party (which will not occur this semester), followed by the first theme party, the second theme party, and a preference night, that each get progressively nicer.
In order to rush, candidates for sororities register and pay ten dollars before the events begin. They are split into alphabetically arranged groups and attend each sorority's party room. After the first theme night, those who rush will write down their three favorites and will wait for invitations to attend the second theme night.
If a candidate is not invited back to any, then she will not be in a sorority that semester. If she is invited back by two sororities, then, on preference night, she may choose her preferred sorority. Still, at this point, the sorority will choose whether or not she will receive a bid.
These bids into a sorority are valid only if they are signed by the candidate. If a candidate refuses to sign the bid, she has resigned any role she may have had in the sorority.
The opportunity to rush a fraternity or sorority gives a student valuable time needed to assess the commitment, values, and structure of Greek life in a relaxed atmosphere devoid of the pressures of accepting or refusing absolute commitment to a frat or sorority.
Remember that the rush process is very different from the actual process of pledging.
When one is involved in the rushing process, there still remains the freedom to leave at any time."Rush is fun, even if a student does not pledge," Iwanyk said.
Sorority Formal Recruitment Schedule:
Info Session (Glass Pavilion) - Feb. 4, 8 p.m.
First Theme Parties (meet at Levering)- Feb. 5, 12:30 p.m.
Second Theme Parties - Feb. 7
Preference Parties - Feb. 9
Bid Night - Feb. 10
Fraternity Formal Recruitment schedules vary from Fraternity to Fraternity.
For more information, visit :
http://webapps.jhu.edu/hsa/greek/
