Northwestern men braved cold temperatures Tuesday night as they trekked to North Campus, where the prospective fraternity pledges chowed on pizza, steak, fajitas, seafood and barbecue on the first night of Winter Rush.
The Fraternity Quads were filled with cheering and laughter as fraternity members tossed new pledges in the air after they received their bids.
Although fraternity houses were brimming with activity Tuesday night, fraternity rush unofficially begins Fall Quarter, when male rushees attend Sunday night dinners and other fraternity events to meet people and learn about the different chapters. But by the start of Winter Rush, most rushees and fraternities already have narrowed down their choices.
“Fall recruitment is the start of it all and really the most important part,” said Chris Bruss, a Communication junior and Interfraternity Council vice president for recruitment. “Formal recruitment in January is just a formality, when you take the people you’ve been developing friendships with and invite them to become part of your brotherhood.”
Colin Beazley, recruitment chairman for Chi Psi, said the format of fraternity rush helps current members and new pledges get to know each other better and make the right decision.
“One week is not really going to do someone justice,” said Beazley, a Weinberg junior. “We really like to get to know someone before this week. This is where you’re going to be living. This is where you’re going to be for the next three of four years you’re at Northwestern.”
Some participants said they viewed Winter Rush as a culmination of the good times they have spent with fraternities.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” said Pete Papagiannopoulos, a Weinberg freshman. “The guys are awesome. They take care of us. They’ve been good to us. I live in Allison Hall, and if we don’t have anything going on down there, we can just come up and chill and have a good time.”
Rushees start each night of fraternity rush, which ends Saturday, with dinners at 5:30 p.m. that are catered by local restaurants such as Giordano’s Pizzeria, Buffalo Joe’s, Chipotle Mexican Grille and Joy Yee’s Noodle Kitchen.
At 7 p.m. rushees are asked to leave to give fraternity members time to discuss who will receive bids. Participants can return to the houses at 8 p.m. and take part in fun activities, such as boxing, sumo wrestling and casino games.
“Basically our Winter Breaks were spent calling other people looking for things that would be fun but not controversial,” said Joe Rooney, recruitment chairman for Delta Upsilon, which is having a “rabbit hunt” tonight. Current members will dress up like animals and be “hunted” by prospective pledges.
“It was inspired by (the computer game) Oregon Trail,” said Rooney, a Weinberg sophomore. “We couldn’t find a buffalo costume, but we might have a moose.”
Throughout the night rushees receive bids to join fraternities. If they accept the ensuing celebration echoes throughout the quad, as new pledges are taken outside for the bid dropping ceremony. Although the tradition varies from house to house, it usually includes putting a recruitment shirt on the pledge, forming a circle around him, singing or chanting and then throwing him in the air.
“It was a good welcome,” said Tristan Meline, a Weinberg freshman and the “Alpha,” or first, pledge of Sigma Phi Epsilon. “A little cold, but it was fun.”
The informal format of fraternity rush also can make it easier for older students to join a fraternity to which their friends belong.
“I have some of these guys in classes and they seemed like interesting guys, always willing to lend a helping hand,” said Rob Shivey, a Communication sophomore and the Alpha pledge of Beta Theta Phi. “I just wanted to start off and put my feet in the water and was convinced that this was the best place for me.”
IFC hopes to allow more students to join fraternities this year with the aid of a new scholarship named for Jonah Richman, a Medill freshman and Phi Delta Theta member who drowned in mid-August at Split Rock Falls in New York state. The scholarship will pay the dues of two pledges for Winter and Spring quarters based on their academic achievements and leadership capabilities.
“There’s sometimes a great person who can’t join because of financial reasons,” said Jordan Cerf, a Communication junior and IFC vice president for scholarship and service. “We’re going to look at the applicant as a whole and find someone who really embodies what we want to see in a brother and (who will) help enhance the Greek system.”
