How to run a Rush?

[mckid]

A group of girls at my college is trying to start a local sorority and we were wondering if anyone could tell us the protocol was for Rush, and the Bidding process. Thanks.

[LightBulb]

Talk to your school's Greek Advisor about starting a local sorority first of all.

Once your sorority is approved, ask if you can recruit with the Panhellenic sororities (at the same time, with the same bid matching, etc.). If so, then find out if your school participates in fully structured, partially structured, or minimally structured recruitment.

[mckid]

Thanks for your advice, the problem is we don't have ANY greek at our school at the moment, so there are no other sorority or frats on campus to rush with.

[33girl]

You don't need to rush with another sorority.

How many women do you have? Are you planning on seeking national affiliation?

Basically when sororities are choosing new members they have a certain set of intangible standards or values they are looking for, along with more tangible things like a certain GPA. The women who are going through rush are evaluated on these standards and the ones who excel in these areas receive bids. The founding members of the sorority need to sit down and work these things out amongst themselves - everyone's standards are different.

[mckid]

thanks. would you happen to know what is the process of pledging entails? We're a little confused on what to do next.

[aopirose]

Just FYI - NPC groups (http://www.npcwomen.org/) no longer refer to it as pledging. We call it a New Member period. Every group might have a different formal name but no one calls it pledging.

The period is designed to get the NM acclimated to the organization and how it relates to college life and beyond. Remember also that although you are interested in developing a NM program, you want to have relevant programming for the entire chapter.

Components can include: History (the history of the organization, chapter history, and/or Greek Life history going back to Phi Beta Kappa), Philanthropy (fundraising or hands on activities (like tutoring elementary school kids) for a national or local cause), Academics (get someone from the school’s tutoring center to come in and council. Topics can range from study tips to how to use the library system. I only add the last bit because some schools have 3 or more libraries and it wouldn’t do much good to do an English lit paper in the engineering library.), Cultural interests (invite someone from the local theatre or symphony to come and speak or better yet go to those places as a group, have a poetry night or an anthropology professor to speak about her latest work), Fraternal Spirit (retreats, learning songs, get ice cream), Life Skills (have someone from the career counseling center to come in and discuss how to write a resume, how to prepare for an interview, remind them about upcoming job fairs), Public Relations (co-sponsor an event with another club or even a department, put announcements in the paper congratulating members on recent accomplishments) and Risk Management (address mental and physical issues, show how to avoid potentially hazardous situations and conflict resolution).

These are just a few ideas to get you going. The main thing for you all to do is to design a program for your needs. Most NPC groups have NM periods from 6-8 weeks in length because of schools breaks and such. Some groups use a full semester because they require end of semester gpas for initiation.

Good luck!

[PhoenixAzul]

there's only one real way...WITH AN IRON FIST! (just kidding)

[FSUZeta]

in your case, once things have been worked out with the "powers that be"(school administration), you and the other interested girls should hold a couple of meetings to get yourselves organized,THEN, you might hold a couple of informational meetings to explain to interested women what you can offer them and what your organizations plans are. depending on what your school allows, you might spread the word about these info. sessions by posting flyers and writing messages on the sidewalks with chalk. you might also put an ad in the student newspaper. and talk to women in your classes that you already know, especially those that you think might be a good fit and help your organization achieve its goals.

[mckid]

thanks everyone for your good advice.