Let the pledging begin.
Fraternities received word Tuesday as students rushing various groups were required to accept or decline invitations of membership. Todd Adams, assistant dean of students for greek life, said the Interfraternity Council had over 250 men accept bids this year, an increase from last year.
He noted that this year's rush schedule was planned to accommodate various campus activities, such as men's and women's basketball games, but remained similar to that of 2003. The process for giving out bids was also modified to avoid conflicting with the Super Bowl--bids were handed out Monday instead of Sunday like previous years.
Adams said one of the reasons for the increased number of accepted bids was the presence of a new fraternity, Delta Tau Delta, which had 28 bids accepted.
"As far as numbers it has always been in the plan to grow as quickly as we could," DTD President Peter Fernandez said. "We are now among the largest frats on this campus. The thing that was really great was the quality of this pledge class. The guys we got are incredible, the best freshman out there."
For many fraternities, the 2004 rush season was marked by especially high yields. Joseph Kelly, president of Delta Sigma Phi, said that 26 of the 27 bids they offered were accepted, giving Delta Sig the highest percentage yield rate of all the fraternities for the year. Alpha Epsilon Pi also had a high percentage yield, with 19 out of 21 accepting, said rush chair Jason Black.
Delta Kappa Epsilon, while offering a smaller number of bids than Delta Sig or AEPi, received 10 acceptances out of 12 offered--marking its third consecutive year of growth.
For other fraternities, numbers for 2004 mirrored pledge numbers from last year. Sigma Nu received 22 acceptances out of 25 offered, Alpha Tau Omega will have 17 members in its pledge class after five students declined a bid and Kappa Alpha Order offered 29 bids and received 20 acceptances.
Sigma Phi Epsilon President Matt Ivester said his group's numbers were similar to last year's with 25 students out of 34 accepting bids. He touted the community-enhancing nature of housing--which Sig Ep obtained in Edens Quadrangle last year--but downplayed its effect on the rush process.
"I think that having all of us together has made us a stronger brotherhood," Ivester said. "But I think guys are joining Sig Ep because they want to be Sig Eps, not just because they want to get housing."
For other IFC fraternities, it was an unusual year. Sigma Chi extended a far larger number of bids than it did last year--an increase from 17 to 30. With its new pledge class totaling 20, president Marc Mattoli said his group doubled its pledge class size from last year.
Chi Psi President Vito Mecca said his group had not received notice about all of its 10 bids, but nonetheless planned to begin pledging in a week's time.
"Due to the fact that we have not received responses from all outstanding bids, I cannot give an accurate count as to how many pledges we will have for at least another week, when our pledging period will begin," he said.
As on-campus fraternities had a greater total number of accepted bids than last year, Adams said that he did not think the non-IFC off-campus fraternities Eta Prime (formerly Kappa Sigma) and Delta Phi Alpha (formerly Sigma Alpha Epsilon) had an effect on the IFC retention figures.
"Our numbers aren't showing that they have affected on-campus rush; in fact our acceptance rate was higher than its been in years," Adams said. "Obviously we're not seeing a decline in our numbers [and I] don't know if there is a correlation."
Despite a letter sent from Vice President of Student Affairs Larry Moneta to parents warning against students rushing off-campus fraternities last semester, both Eta Prime and Delta Phi Alpha were pleased with their yields.
Eta Prime rush chair Matt Sullivan, an associate sports editor at The Chronicle, reported that the group had offered 23 bids and had 17 students accept, 9 fewer than last year. Nevertheless, he pointed to the success of the rush process.
"In the face of everything the University threw at us, we mirrored the IFC schedule and came out with an awesome class," he said. "The letter that the University sent to parents had no effect whatsoever on our rush process, which I think was a lot more fun for kids than were those of the on-campus frats. This is the second straight January that the school hasn't been able to do anything to stop us from having a great pledge class, and it's not going to stop anytime soon."
Ryan Turner, vice president of Delta Phi Alpha, said he was also excited about the group's 20 new members--only five bids were rejected. He also praised the results for Eta Prime, noting that the campus social scene was in flux.
"[Eta Prime] got a great class and that's great for us," Turner said. "That further substantiates that things are moving in a new direction as far as the social scene at Duke."
Beta Theta Pi leaders declined to comment on its rush figures.
Officials for Phi Delta Theta, Theta Chi and Pi Kappa Alpha fraternities could not be reached for comment.
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