ULV Greeks get ready for spring rush
Campus Times
February 21, 1997
Every semester dozens of students from the University of La Verne sign
up for rush while feelings of anticipation and curiosity fill their minds.
They often wonder if they are the "type" to be in a sorority or
fraternity and what benefits could result from being a member. The time
has come once again to answer these questions, the biggest one of all being,
"What is rush?"
"You go to parties, you eat free food, and you learn more about
the Greek system. It's fun. People have to stop thinking that the Greek
community is exclusive and realize that it tries to be inclusive,"
said senior Cherryl Cercado, sorority rush chair.
There is a rush informational meeting today, at 12:20 p.m. in the La
Fetra Auditorium for all interested rushees. Each sorority and fraternity
will have a representative from its organizations give information about
their sorority or fraternity. Cercado and Braunstein will give details about
rush including dates, times and regulations.
Today is the last day for rush sign-ups.
"I think the biggest benefit is simply the fact that you are going
to meet a lot of new people. Some people think that rush is the same thing
as pledging, and that is not the case at all. Rush is a week to get to know
people and find out what fraternities and sororities are all about,"
said senior Chris Braunstein, fraternity rush chair.
Contrary to many student and faculty beliefs, Braunstein believes there
are only positive outcomes from rushing.
"I don't think there is a negative side to rush. I think the only
negativity about it is that people don't know what it is," he said.
"Sometimes it might be intimidating to people, but I think when people
actually go through it and get into it, it's a really positive thing."
"I hope people aren't intimidated by it to the point that they
don't sign up. I really think it is one of the most positive experiences
you can have at college," said Braunstein. "If you go through
rush and decide at the end of it that Greek life is not for you, you've
made some new friends and how can there be anything wrong with that?"
Cercado said, "Rush is a good way to learn more about these organizations
and see if it is something you want to do. It is a good experience."
There are three sororities and three fraternities on campus. The sororities
consist of Iota Delta, founded in 1988, Phi Sigma Sigma, founded in 1913,
and Sigma Kappa, founded in 1874.
The three fraternities are Delta Sigma Phi, founded in 1899, Phi Delta
Theta, founded in 1848, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon, founded in 1856.
"Greeks are very diverse. We have members from all different majors
and all different walks of life," said Braunstein.
For sororities, open house introduces rush week on Sunday, Feb. 23,
at 6:10 p.m. in the Student Center. The second night, Wednesday, Feb. 26,
is theme night, and the last night, Friday, Feb. 28, is a preference dinner.
All sorority rushees are invited to all three parties on open house
and theme night. On preference night, the rushees may be invited back to
all three parties, but must choose only two parties to return to that night.
"You go to the three parties and meet the girls in the sorority.
If you click with a certain sorority, you get invited to preference. You
don't have to sign a preference card, it's entirely up to the rushee if
they don't want to join a sorority," said Cercado.
After preference, you sign a "preference card" with your top
two choices.
"The sororities have a bid list and whoever you match up with is
yours. You can only get one bid from one sorority," said Cercado.
Bid day is Saturday, March 1, from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. If rushees decide to
sign their bids, they are due by Monday at 5 p.m. There is a silent period
from the beginning of rush until all the bids are turned in on Monday. Sorority
members are not to interact with a rushee other than an occasional acknowledgment
until rush is over. This is to prevent the sororities from influencing the
rushees.
"Bid day kind of ends the rush period. When bids are extended it
opens the door to pledging," said Braunstein. He believes that giving
out a bid is like saying, "You came to rush, you were able to get to
know us and we were able to get to know you and we hope you will become
a part of us."
The fraternities have open house on Monday, Feb. 24, in the Student
Center at 7:30 p.m. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday each fraternity
hosts its own event. Events include things such as football, barbecues,
laser tag, basketball, frisbee and bowling. On Friday each fraternity has
a preference dinner that they invite selected rushees too.
All fraternity bids must be signed and turned in by March 7, at 3 p.m.
to the Student Center mailroom.
"We are allowed to give a bid to anyone who signs up. We can give
out 10 outside bids. Those are for the people who did not go through rush,"
said Braunstein. "Open bids are nice, but it defeats the rush process.
I think you miss out."
"The major difference in fraternities and sororities is that fraternities
can go off campus, during rush, and sororities stay on," said Cercado.
"Each fraternity has a preference dinner to close out the week.
It is less formal than the sororities. It's more flexible," said Braunstein.
Although many students are excited about rush and have a positive outlook
on the Greek system, there are also a lot of negative feelings.
"So many people on this campus have such a negative image about
Greek life and the Greek community," said Cercado.
"I don't think there is anything negative about rushing. I think
it is a win-win situation with the people who are going through rush and
the people putting it on. It is an opportunity to meet new members,"
said Cercado.
"I think our main problem is publicity, especially for commuters
who don't spend their days here and who just come to school and leave,"
said Braunstein.
"There's a large number of Greeks in leadership positions such
as L.E.A.D., OWLs, R.A.'s, and ASF. You can even look at the dean's list,"
said Cercado about the misinterpretation. "We are not all about partying.
We want to welcome everybody. We thrive on membership."
"There's more to Greek life than partying. I think Greeks are trying
to let people know that that is not what we are all about," said Braunstein.
"There's something about rush, if you don't go through it, you
miss out on a good opportunity," said Braunstein.