Small fraternities took on fewer new members than large fraternities, said Inter-Fraternity Council executive board members upon the conclusion of the organization’s fall recruitment period.
IFC Vice President of Recruitment Kenneth Gold said large fraternities such as Pi Kappa Alpha and Sigma Phi Epsilon took on a large portion of the 185 men who pledged the 14 IFC fraternities this year.
“The larger fraternities stuck with their numbers,” Gold said. “It’s very difficult for small chapters to get more people – they just can’t compete.”
Gold said the IFC was pleased with this year’s numbers of men who participated in the rush process and also the number of men who accepted bids to become new members.
“The process is the same, so the numbers (of interested men we received this year were) expected,” Gold said. “We’re very pleased. It’s nice to have a routine, to be able to expect this amount of ‘rushees.'”
As GW’s undergraduate enrollment numbers rise, the number of students pledging IFC chapters has risen proportionally.
“More and more people are coming to GW and they’re going Greek. Greek life will become a force on this campus, if it hasn’t already,” Gold said.
Gold said he felt optimistic about the year ahead for the Greek-letter community.
“We’re looking forward to raising as much money as we can for our philanthropies and continuing the growth of Greek life on campus,” he said. “It’s really special to have such a strong Greek community in an urban university like ours. We’re finding the guys we need to keep the community strong.”
Other members of the Greek community echoed Gold’s enthusiasm.
Bob Kickish, director of Greek affairs for the Student Association and a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, said his organization was “very happy” with the way fall recruitment had gone for them.
“We had more than 120 guys come out for rush and we have chosen 17 excellent men that have accepted our bids to pledge our fraternity,” he said. Kickish said “impressive events” in 1957 E Street and the Georgetown waterfront were what attracted many freshmen.
“Rush was a resounding success,” said senior Andrew Brady, vice president of recruitment for the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. “We are proud to have these freshmen and sophomores as part of our brotherhood.”
Jake Goodstein, a freshman who pledged the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity said “Rush was awesome.”
One new feature of this year’s fall recruitment is the IFC’s adoption of an open-bid policy. Students who were not interested in joining a fraternity during rush week or who were not sure which organization they wanted to join now have a chance to pledge later in the semester.
“We’re still promoting open bids for all chapters,” Gold said. “Open bidding will begin as soon as the formal rush period ends. We’ll encourage chapters to stop for finals and then to continue again after spring rush.”
Gold declined to comment on allegations that PIKE’s rush violated proceedings, saying that all chapters had complied with standard rush policy after the rush period officially began.
“We like to have an even playing field and want everyone to play by the rules,” Gold said. “We would hope that all chapters are willing to play by the rules.”
