The number of new pledges at the 16 Northwestern fraternities participating in Winter Rush was at its highest level since 1999 as recruitment wrapped up Saturday night.
Interfraternity Council Vice President for Recruitment Chris Bruss said he expects the number of pledges to rise from its current total of 311 to more than 330 by the end of the week as more men accept the bids received during rush week activities.
“All I can say is, I’m very happy with the way things turned out,” said Bruss, a Communication junior. “I think there was a good group of recruitment (chairmen) that went out and formed friendships between upper- and lowerclassmen in the fall. They were really on the ball.”
Seeing the largest increases were Pi Kappa Alpha with 12 more pledges than last year and Delta Tau Delta with 11. Lambda Chi Alpha followed closely, improving last year’s total by 10 pledges.
At the end of fraternities’ Winter Rush last year, 286 men had pledged fraternities. Bruss said that number grew to 310 before the end of the 2002-03 academic year.
This year’s freshman class has 1,947 students, 58 fewer than the class of 2006. Panhellenic Association leaders have attributed the decline in sorority rush participants — down to 531 this year from 600 in 2003 — to this disparity.
Beta Theta Pi President Ray Bourdeau said his fraternity, which has pledged 23 men, stepped up recruitment efforts this year after experiencing a lower yield of 17 last winter.
“Last year was a real kick in the ass for us,” said Bourdeau, a McCormick junior. “We didn’t work hard in the fall meeting guys. We put too much focus on too few guys and it hurt us.”
In contrast, Bourdeau said members reached out to more people this year and even invited potential pledges to special events normally open only to fraternity members.
Although the Fraternity Quads were quieter Friday night than earlier in the week, houses still attracted rushees and new pledges alike with more entertainment and food. During the nightly activities, new pledges mingled with older members, played video games and poker, and looked at photo albums.
Phi Gamma Delta announced its new pledges with members snapping in unison and offering their congratulations and hugs to the new members. Other fraternities maintained their traditional bid-dropping ceremonies — which, when involving the tossing of a new pledge in the air, do not always go as planned.
A new Zeta Beta Tau member was sitting at a poker table when the fraternity’s president, Mike Bregman, lifted him by the armpits and rushed him toward the front door. As they bounded out the door, the pledge in tow slipped on the muddy, wet tile and fell on his face.
The new pledge was picked up quickly and brought outside, where members in T-shirts stood in the snow, sang and tossed him in the air 24 times — once for each member of the 2004 pledge class. His name was then added to the long sheet of paper listing the new members.
As he headed back inside the Beta house after another new pledge ceremony, member Matt Robbins rubbed his head where a pledge had kicked Robbins as he was tossed in the air.
“He twisted in the air and boom!” said Robbins, a Weinberg junior. “I almost went down to the ground. I always wind up right underneath people.”
Although they enjoyed the fun and excitement of rush week, Bregman and other fraternity leaders said they were ready for it to end.
“It’s been very exhausting,” said Bregman, a Weinberg junior. “It’s kind of an emotional roller coaster, especially in our case.”
Bids for ZBT were inconsistent, with only one new pledge Thursday night and nine accepting bids Friday.
“I definitely feel the pain of the recruitment (chairmen), but it’s worth it,” Bruss said. “This is what fuels their chapter and the fraternity system. Although it’s tiring it’s a really great experience.”
