Fraternity rush will take on a new flavor this year as leaders aim to decrease the emphasis on alcohol consumption to highlight the other perks of fraternity life.
The rush process-which has historically involved and, by some accounts, centered around alcohol consumption-will now look to focus on the system's values of brotherhood and friendship.
The change in the process coincides with an overall de-emphasis of alcohol's role both in fraternity life and at the University; in keeping with this shift, the Interfraternity Council is expected to pass in mid-October a measure that would effectively eliminate the open distribution of alcohol at fraternity events.
The old "Animal House" mentality frequently associated with fraternities has allegedly been in decline for years-and some maintain that it was never present. But fraternities at the University are trying to change their image.
"We really want to emphasize the brotherhood and other benefits from joining a fraternity," said Trinity senior Ted Post, IFC co-vice president for rush. "We don't think it will be a huge change, but we do want to focus more on fraternities, their long-lasting friendships and the support system that they create."
The implications of IFC's hard-line stance will make their mark on the atmosphere of fraternity rush, as well.
Rush chairs for individual fraternities said they have already begun preliminary meetings to plan a variety of new activities for rush and to refocus their objectives.
Many rush chairs added that they welcome the change as an opportunity for them to highlight their fraternity's strengths, which they maintain extend beyond parties and alcohol. Perhaps the most noteworthy advantage to the altered process, according to several greek members, will be the opportunity to get to know the rushees as people by shifting the attention toward individual interaction. After all, they said, meeting a rushee when he is sober is far different from meeting one who has been drinking alcohol.
"Basically, it's really not beneficial to meet these people when they're drunk," said Trinity sophomore Adam Bomarsi, rush chair for the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. "The structure will really be the same, except we're going to focus more on one-on-one conversation and really getting to know who the rushees are."
In keeping with the pattern established by non-rush period fraternity parties, theme parties are expected to dominate the focus of the rush process-quite a departure from the alcohol-centered festivities of the past.
The concept of theme parties-such as "Frottage on the Beach" hosted annually by the Kappa Alpha order-is gaining momentum as many rush chairs anticipate integrating such parties into their processes. The result, many predicted, would be a decrease in the number of "regular" parties, even during non-rush seasons.
"We're going to try to eliminate the parties that are just the normal parties with [disc jockeys] and music," Bomarsi said. "Instead, we'll have fewer parties, but the ones we'll have will be bigger and with more bands and general themes."
The unanimous change in the alcohol distribution ban has been touted by many greeks as the primary reason why fraternities in general-and rush more specifically-will continue to be a success. Across-the-board enforcement of the ban, they said, should equalize fraternities during rush, theoretically placing all of them on a level playing field.
The shift toward a dry fraternity system and a dry rush process is congruent with a nationwide trend of dry-or drier-campuses. And most agree, in light of recent alcohol-related deaths at Louisiana State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that the trend is beneficial to fraternities.
"The focus at this school was much more on partying in the past," said Trinity sophomore Marcus Marsh, rush chair for the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. "Our rush process is really just reflecting a change in the overall school."
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