Last week, the Inter-Fraternity Council instituted a policy to restrict coercion by fraternities while extending bids to potential members. Bid Day at the University is riddled with various emotions, ranging from excitement to trepidation, as rushees are offered the opportunity to join Greek organizations. Some may have decided which fraternities they wanted to join in September after reading threads on CollegeACB; others still may need to weigh input from family and friends. Pressure builds from all angles during the recruitment process, and culminates during the designated period to receive bids.
During the two-hour bid extension period, fraternity members arrive at the rushee's place of residence and present an invitation to join their respective houses. Recipients then have until 5 p.m. to inform fraternities that they have accepted or declined their bid.
Fraternities have their own traditional ways of extending bids: Some throw students in the air, some rush at prospective members, some even use strings of expletives. To standardize this procedure would strip fraternities of their identities during this important day and would be ill-advised. Still, some practices border on coercion thus the IFC should better enforce its existing policies.
The rewording of the IFC regulation reads as follows: "A fraternity shall not require nor coerce rushees to accept a bid before the designated time." As each fraternity extends bids to prospective members, most inform rushees of a designated time and place to accept the bids. Some fraternities, however, continue to defy the regulations and attempt to pressure students into "signing a book" or accepting bids at extension. This encouragement may be coupled with strong verbal persuasion, leading some students to feel as though not pledging is no longer a choice. Such practices are precisely what the IFC hoped to avoid. Not only do these intimidation tactics pressure the rushee, but they also place other fraternities at a disadvantage.
Formal rush can be a stressful time for students who have to decide during just two weeks which of several Greek organizations to join - or whether they wish to pledge at all. Removing coercion from the mix is necessary and serves to "establish an even playing field for all fraternities during Bid Day and prevent situations in which a student is pressured into accepting a bid to a fraternity before he gets a chance to receive a bid from another," IFC President Charles Gamper said. And though the IFC has taken the appropriate measures to ban this ongoing problem, the continued use of such coercion this year demonstrates that enforcement efforts should be ramped up.
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