The “Rushing Question” was the subject of an entry in the October 1898 Arrow of Pi Beta Phi. It read
It has been very forcibly borne in upon the minds of fraternity women, at least in the larger colleges and universities, that a radical reform is needed in one direction, and that is in methods of rushing. With the growth of colleges and the multiplication of fraternities, the rushing season has resolved itself into a wild scramble, a two or three weeks’ mad whirl of gaiety, which, with the accompanying emotional wear and tear, sends both rusher and rushee into their college work quite exhausted.
From the moment when the bewildered freshman is met at the train by excited delegations of rival Greeks, until she dons the pledge-pin or colors of her chosen fraternity, she is allowed not one waking moment to herself, but is so beset with calls, invitations and engagements, that she sometimes follows the example of the girl who married a man to get rid of him, and finds, perhaps, that she repents at a leisure which lasts through her entire college course.
Now, this is not fair to the freshman. She is not given time or data to form a cool judgment nor allowed to exercise it if she has. Surely it is not unreasonable to allow her space to look about a little before deciding a matter which is going to effect at least four years of her life very materially. If she is a stranger in college she needs time to become acquainted, while if she is already biased, by connections of family or friendship, in favor of some one fraternity, there can be no harm in waiting for her a little.
But the present system is not quite fair to the chapter either. All that glitters is not gold, and the most captivating freshman may lack solid qualities of scholarship and character, a lack which only time will disclose. Worst of all, this hasty rushing and pledging is unfair to the whole fraternity system. It is hardly an edifying spectacle to see one or more of the great national fraternities metaphorically on their knees each begging a totally untried, albeit charming, little maiden to make them perfectly happy by consenting to be theirs. This is a reversal of the proper relations. It is the maiden who is to feel honored and chapters which insist on this point are going to save themselves the trouble of ridding a popular freshman of some undesirable conceit.
As plans were being made for the 1902 meeting which resulted in the formation of the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC), a Kappa Alpha Theta from Nebraska wrote her magazine. She noted:
Rushing is very violent here in Nebraska and every one would like to see it modified at least. First, if we could only stop rushing, that is, rushing in the full sense of the word that violent round of social affairs which still takes place every year with many of our chapters. Of course, we must become acquainted with new girls but we can do it with dignity. We can talk to them sensibly instead of trying to see how much fun we can make them have and show them the serious and beautiful side of Theta life, not the frivolous. Girls who would not care more for this side would not make good Thetas.
Within the last several decades, there has been a concerted effort to lose the term “rushing” and replace it with the word “recruitment,” and to make the recruitment process one of conversing with the potential new members and less about entertaining them.
Old habits die hard, but long gone are the days of meeting a woman at the train station and “rushing” her until she agreed to join your organization.
My advice to those who are going through recruitment this year.
Be prepared. If recommendations are strongly encouraged on your campus, make the effort to obtain recs from as many of the NPC groups on your campus as is possible. Ask teachers, family friends and acquaintances, co-workers, etc. if they are members of NPC organizations. The proper forms are available from the respective NPC organization from their magazine, website or headquarters. Alumnae Panhellenic organizations often offer sessions to guide the new college student in this task.
Be open to all organizations. The badges, songs, colors, and mascots vary, but the experience of being a member in any of the 26 NPC organizations is essentially the same. The values and basic tenets of the organizations are very similar.
Be yourself and be true to yourself. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. Be the very best version of yourself that you can be. Just because your mom, sister, grandmother, or cousin twice removed belonged to XYZ, it doesn’t mean that you need to follow suit. Being a legacy does not mean an automatic bid; some chapters have two, three and four times the amount of legacies going through recruitment than the number of women (quota) to whom they can offer bids.
Be hospitable and gracious. Do not talk up or down any organization with the other women going through recruitment. When talk turns to gossip, be the one who stops it. Remember that golden rule; if you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything at all.
Be at Bid Day. See the process to the end. If you are not invited back to the chapter you had your heart set on, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and visit the chapters which invited you back. Don’t just drop out because the scenario did not play out the way you wanted it to. Sometimes things work out for the better despite the fact that they aren’t as we had anticipated them. I could fill a book with stories of women who could never have envisioned themselves in VWX chapter and yet, on graduation day, they couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.
© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2016. All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed this post, please sign up for updates. Also follow me on twitter @GLOHistory and Pinterest www.pinterest.com/glohistory/
