A wide range of community leaders, including administrators and independent students, joined leaders of the fraternity community Monday night to discuss the merits of this year's revised fraternity rush process in a forum hosted by the Interfraternity Council.
The Duke Community Leaders Forum started with a discussion of current fraternity pledges perceptions of the new formal rush process. Trinity sophomore Tom Sowers, IFC vice president for rush and pledging, presented an IFC survey of several hundred freshman that found the primary motivation for rushing was the opportunity to meet new people. Many forum participants indicated that they encouraged many of the rushees to interact with all upperclassmen, including both fraternities and selective houses.
Trinity junior Ben Mulroney, resident of Wayne Manor, said he liked the new rush process because there was a mixture of selective house and fraternity rushing. "It's a good chance to get out and meet a lot of people," he added.
The questionnaire also raised the issue of this year's shortened rush period. Trinity freshman George Vlahakos, who is pledging Kappa Alpha fraternity, said that the shortened time prevented him from meeting enough different fraternity members.
Chuck VanSant, associate dean of student development, said, however, that the revised rush process benefited both freshmen and fraternities. It allowed freshmen to first establish friendships within their class, after which they could better make a decision to rush and/or pledge, he said.
Adam Mitchell, the president and co-founder of the Independent Students Association, said that a shortened rush process like that of sororities puts additional pressure on students and can lead to "personal devastation." People get overwhelmed and friendships break in the shorter process, Mitchell said.
Trinity junior Christina Ponig, Panhellenic Council vice president for rush, countered this view, saying the shortened period forced the sororities to be more creative and efficient in the rush process.
Mulroney added that people isolate themselves if they choose only to meet people and make friends through the fraternity system. The rush process can only be successful if it can coexist with the other areas of the University community, he said.
Trinity sophomore, John Lambert, IFC vice president for rush, turned the forum discussion to address perceptions of anti-intellectualism surrounding fraternities. Fred Aslan, a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, said that they incorporate mandatory study halls into their pledgeship so that there is still a major emphasis on academics.
Seth Coren, Trinity junior and president of Phi Kappa Psi, said that he would like to de-emphasize the party nature of rush by incorporating philanthropy and intellectual activities into the process. "You're not just joining a social organization; there is a lot more responsibility involved," he added.
VanSant said that his primary criticism of the old rush process was that fraternities were "constantly recruiting or initiating." Now they have a chance to just be their fraternity, he said.
The effects of the new housing and alcohol policy were also discussed at the forum. Based on the results of the IFC questionnaire housing was not a major factor in determining whether or not to rush a fraternity. The availability of alcohol, however, seemed to be influential in terms of initially attracting potential rushees.
"It seems counter-intuitive; if the emphasis is on brotherhood, why is there a competition based on how much alcohol can be served?," said Trinity junior Takcus Nesbit, Duke Student Government vice president for student affairs.
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