As of Monday, Oct. 22, 2012 the master rush list for the 2012-2013 academic year consisted of 125 men and 166 women.
The official rush list for 2011-2012 shows that 167 men and 254 women participated in rush last year. However, while numbers this year are not yet as high as they were last year and the year before, members and advisers of fraternity and sorority life are encouraged by the participation.
“We are still far enough out that I don’t think we are at a low point; we aren’t even halfway done,” said Briana McGlamory, coordinator for fraternity and sorority life.
Derek Tinker, men’s rush and orientation chair of the Fraternity and Sorority Council, admits to worrying about the numbers in the opening days of this year’s recruitment, but feels the numbers are approaching previous levels.
“The rush numbers were a little concerning at first,” Tinker said. “But, rush numbers are looking healthy”¦I don’t think any of the organizations on campus are or should be worried about numbers this year.”
Tinker continued to explain that the numbers reflect strong Greek life presence.
“It’s confirming that the greek community is still healthy. This is not just a single person or club, it’s an effort on the part of the entire greek community, and we’ve done well this year,” Tinker said.
Sarah Gambell, co-rush chair of Chi Beta Epsilon, noticed a difference between the amount of students at Rush Kick-off this year and the number of students at Rush Kick-off last year.
“I feel like there was an abnormally small number of people at Rush Kick-off because of lack of awareness about the event,” Gambell said.
Following an increase in advertising, Gambell noted that the women’s rush list has more than doubled. Gambell harbors no doubt that recruitment will end positively.
“I’m confident that there are a lot of girls who will find their place among Trinity’s Greek life,” Gambell said.
McGlamory was particularly pleased with the amount of men currently participating in rush.
“The number of men on the rush list seems really high,” McGlamory said. “[It’s] higher than I anticipated at this point.”
Rush numbers, especially on the men’s side, increased noticeably after Greek 101 on Wednesday, Oct. 17.
“The men’s list jumped over the weekend,” McGlamory said.
Tinker attributes the jump in the rush list to a good showing at Greek 101 as well as successful rush events put on by the fraternities and sororities.
“I think that the advertisement for Greek 101 as well as the first round rush events have gone very well,” Tinker said. “Clubs have done a good job of getting their names out in a positive way.”
With four Greek organizations missing from the rush process this year due to suspensions, the spirit of rush is noticeably different.
“It’s not better or worse. It’s just different,” Tinker said. “The impact on the presence of Greeks around campus due to suspensions is apparent.”
McGlamory commented on how the banned Greek organizations affect the first years who decided to rush.
“The potential new members who are freshmen don’t know what is missing. To them, this campus came with five fraternities and five sororities,” McGlamory said. “But, I can see the potential new members seeing that we have had some hazing issues and that being a reason for not entering the process.”
Rush numbers should increase up until RSVP on January 17, at which point both men and women are required to fill out an RSVP card in order to continue rushing. In years past, only the women rushing participated in RSVP.
