Rush numbers hold steady from last year

Students meet at the Interfraternity Council Open House at the Nasher Museum of Art Jan. 9.
Students meet at the Interfraternity Council Open House at the Nasher Museum of Art Jan. 9.

Despite changes to fraternity rush and the introduction of the house model, fraternity and sorority recruitment numbers are consistent with last year.

The Panhellenic Association noted that 554 women registered for recruitment this year—24 fewer women than the 530 women who registered last year. Out of those who registered, 504 participated in recruitment this year compared to a record 511 women last year. Every year, some women withdraw from recruitment before the process begins. Of those who registered, 45 are sophomores this year.

“We’re halfway through the recruitment process, but in terms of how we did last year, last year was an incredible, incredible surge—a couple hundred more than usual,” said senior Laura Williams, vice president of recruitment and membership for Panhel. “We’re at about the same amount.”

Interfraternity Council President Zach Prager, a senior, said about 500 men have signed up for fraternity rush, which is a typical amount.

Last year, Panhel saw an 18 percent increase from 2009 in women who signed up for recruitment. Changes to the IFC recruitment process that were instated this Spring included shortening the process by one week and requiring students to register by mid-December.

Some speculated that the changes and the new housing model affected the number of people who are willing to consider greek life. Joining other groups on campus, sororities will receive housing for the first time in the Fall semester.

“I think people are curious to see what the housing model has done, but I don’t think it’s been a deterrent,” Williams said. “It’s actually been nice because now we’ll be living together, and we’ll be that much closer.”

Fraternities, many of which have lived together in the past, will continue to have housing, though some will have new locations. Prager said he believes that the new living arrangements did not affect the number of men who are rushing for fraternities.

“I was a strong proponent of the idea that housing wasn’t going to change anything for our recruitment,” Prager said. “We choose our members based on who is a good fit. You’re choosing a group that you want to be a part of, and that’s what’s most important. Housing isn’t a factor.”

In addition to the shortened rush period, the IFC changes included an earlier start date and increased regulation of rush events.

“Things are more hectic now, so we’re having more weeknight events, which gets tiring—but it’s still fun,” said Tony Cao, a freshman rushing fraternities. “I did Project Build and one of my crew leaders was in a fraternity, and that really got me into it.”

Prager noted the benefits of the changes to the rush schedule, especially regarding the extra time able to be spent on participants’ schoolwork.

“This is sort of our test run, and we’ve set our groups up to succeed, and so far it’s going great,” Prager said. “We are going to take in this experience and see how it goes and see if we need to make any other changes.

Due to the success of recruitment last year, no changes have been made to the Panhellenic procedures this year.

“I was so impressed,” said Emily Brown, a freshman rushing sororities. “Everything was so structured and well planned out, down to the second. It was a great chance to talk to upperclassmen and get a great feel for personal growth at this school.”

For others, though, rush has been less ideal.

Freshman Leena el-Sadek went through part of the recruitment process because she wanted the closeness she saw her older sister had with her fellow sorority members all over the country, but el-Sadek withdrew last weekend.

“There were really a lot of reasons,” el-Sadek said. “I didn’t get one that I really wanted. Honestly, I felt like the greek community at Duke is a lot more about how you appear to others than about what you really want…. It felt like a show, and I wasn’t being myself.”

She said, however she had a great experience meeting people who she might not have met otherwise and recommends rushing to anyone considering joining a sorority.

“I hope to find my group of people outside of greek life,” el-Sadek added.

Correction: This article has been updated to clarify a statement by Laura Williams, vice president of recruitment and membership for Panhellenic Association, noting that sororities are halfway through the recruitment—not rush—process. In addition, a previous version of this article did not specify between women who registered and women who participated in recruitment. The numbers have been updated to reflect the discrepancy. The Chronicle regrets the error.

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