Girls do it all week long
Every spring, more than 1600 Inter-Sorority Council members and sorority hopefuls gather in Charlottesville three days before classes begin to engage in the rush process that allows sororities to select their new members.Former ISC president Massie Payne said, over 750 women participated in recruitment this year, and between 500 and 540 women accepted bids.
According to first-year College student Nancy Graves, the process starts with "round robins" in which each participant visits the 15 ISC sororities for a short period of time.
Graves said this was the worst part of the process for her because the day lasted so long.
During the second phase of rush, known as "themes," sorority houses decide which potential new members to invite back,while participants narrow down their lists and return to only ten houses.
"Themes was my favorite day in the process," Graves said. "You get to sit there and watch everyone and learn more about the house. It gives you a chance to take it all in."
After themes, there is another round of selections, and participants return to five houses. At this point participants receive tours of the houses in order to get to know the sororities better.
The final round allows participants to return to only three houses, and the sororities "take you to an off-campus place, and it's a formal event," Graves said.
After the night of preferences, or "prefs," participants rank their choices and sororities place their bids.
"The best part is at the end when you finally get your bid," Graves said.
Graves's roommate, first-year College student Marie Long, took part in the beginning of the rush process.
"As long and enduring as [rush] was, it was fun to be a part of it," Long said. "It was a good experience, and I'm happy I tried it and learned it wasn't my thing."
Long said she got to enjoy the perks that came when Graves' new sorority sisters decorated their room.
"At first I was wondering if I should have followed through with [rush], Long said. "But now I still meet new people through Nancy."
Graves said meeting new people, especially upperclassmen, was important, and she was exposed to people she would not have met in other places.
"There's a negative aura about rush, and I feel like at first it's kind of true, but I think that at the end, once everyone finds their place, it always works out for the best and everyone is very happy with what happened," Long said.
-- compiled by Becca Garrison
Boys wine and dine them
Casual conversations on a drop-in basis with people who could become your surrogate family in a few weeks' time characterize the fairly unstructured Inter-Fraternity Council rush process.
When rush started a couple of weeks ago, Charlie Morgan, IFC chairman for membership intake, said he was busy compiling a master list of everyone who signed up to rush and collecting registration fees from participants.
Rush begins with an open house organized by the IFC, and then doesn't include any more events until Bid Day, when each house sends out offers to potential new members.
Morgan said that advertising for spring rush entails sending out e-mails and dorm talks. Also, unlike ISC rush for girls, brothers are permitted to talk to first-years and get to know them during the fall semester.
"When guys know each other better, for more than one week before rush, it allows the process to be less structured," Morgan said.
The IFC rush's lack of structure is only one of a few key aspects that differentiate the process from its female counterpart.
Students can receive more than one bid from a fraternity, whereas the ISC only allows one bid to be given to each girl. Additionally, IFC rush doesn't use a computer system for organization like the ISC does. When a potential new member gets invited back to a house, he receives a card from a brother in the fraternity, as opposed to viewing a list of fraternities on a computer screen.
"For the most part, [IFC rush] isn't as nerve-wracking or boring, and you don't have to go [to each round]," Morgan said. Among the perks of IFC rush are trips, date functions and dinners with the brothers of the fraternities.
Even though the rush process lacks the stress of formal organization, getting to know all the potential new members can still be challenging.
Ben Squires, a second-year College student and a member of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity, said the greatest challenge is meeting all the participants.
"The kids who come to first invites really deserve fair chances, and if you have 80-plus people coming to an event, it'll be informal and casual," Squires said.
Squires said it is very difficult to communicate with everyone effectively. He said if a brother has a conversation with a potential new member that isn't memorable, it may cause the brother to pass him over.
"Making kids stick out in your mind is hard," Squires said.
Rushing for fraternities is really an exercise in getting to know people.
The two and a half weeks that comprise IFC rush ended on Saturday with bid day, and all around Grounds new brothers were tossed into the air by their new surrogate families.
-- compiled by Samantha Lowrey
Serving the community coeducationally
As an alternative to rushing IFC or ISC organizations, service fraternities such as Alpha Phi Omega (APO) provide students with a unique experience.
"I decided to rush APO because I wanted the feeling of a brotherhood, but I wanted to have social interactions with a higher purpose in mind," second-year Engineering student Kimberly Everett said. "The three main principles of APO are leadership, friendship, and service, and I think those are great because we have the whole fraternal feel, but at the same time, we exist to help the community."
APO holds rush in the fall and spring semesters, but later into the semesters than the IFC's and ISC's rush weeks. The time during which the process takes place is just one of many factors that make rushing a service fraternity different.
"I remember during my rush process, there were a few service projects that we had to go to and social outings to meet the brothers," second-year College student Michael Chapman said. "So, in that aspect, for normal rush, it's more of a social type of thing. But for [APO], they want to make sure you're really committed to the ideals and principles that APO stands for."
Overall, Chapman and Everett both said they enjoyed their experience rushing APO.
"I'd say meeting people is the best part of rush," Everett said. "Even though I didn't get in the first time I rushed, I still talk to a lot of people I rushed with. And you get to break away from the U.Va. bubble even if just for a couple projects."
Chapman echoed Everett's sentiments.
"I liked what APO stood for, and I felt that APO gave me the ability to give back more to the University and Charlottesville community," Chapman said. "It was pretty amazing because I found a great group of people with a great set of ideals in mind. Rush helped me decide this was something that I really wanted to try out and that I really wanted to get into. APO ended up being one of the most positive experiences that I've had at the University."
-- compiled by Vinu Ilakkuvan
You haven't tried 'em all until you try Trigon
While many first-year students spend their first semester of college trying to figure out how to get into the swing of things around Grounds, many students in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences gear up for rushing Trigon, the Engineering School's fraternity.
Founded in 1924 as a political party during Engineering School elections, Trigon has since expanded into a full-fledged fraternity that seeks to incorporate the college experience with the rigors of an engineering education.
Students eligible for rushing Trigon must be in good academic standing. Upon arriving at the University, first-year students promptly received welcoming letters from the fraternity.
Like any other fraternal organization, Trigon holds a rush session to determine which potential students will receive bids to pledge. While maintaining a demanding academic schedule, students rushing find time to socialize with each other. According to Rush Chair Vanessa Trahan, the students pledging are encouraged to attend a series of open parties followed by invite-only events, like broomball, wings and bowling.
Unlike other fraternities and sororities associated with the IFC and ISC, Trigon can hold rush whenever it chooses and for whatever amount of time the group feels it needs need to get to know the potential brothers. Usually rush is held in the fall and for several weeks before the pledge class is chosen.
While Trigon isn't associated with the IFC, the brothers still find ways to incorporate age-old fraternal traditions, like making students who are rushing wake up early in the morning to accept their bids.
Ultimately, Trigon's goals as a fraternity include serving the University and the engineering program and creating a sense of brotherhood among students in the SEAS and Engineering alumni.
-- compiled by Bailee Barfield
Read More
It’s okay not to be okay
By Mai Hukuoka | 4 days agoWhether talking to a friend, a loved one or a professional, it is so necessary, and human, to need more than you can provide for yourself.
Taking a break at Tangerines Kitchen
By Charley Thomas | 6 days agoWhat the restaurant somewhat lacks in ambiance, it compensates for in tasty dishes and prompt service.
Virginia Policy Lab — a hub for student-led policy action
By Katherine Haden | December 9, 2024Students propose their own projects and collaborate with other members to research their issues of interest, brainstorm solutions and write policy proposals.
