The doors of Northwestern’s fraternity houses will openofficially to freshmen this Sunday evening, allowing members tobreak the ice of Freshman Freeze and meet their potential new”brothers.”
Historically, Freshman Freeze has extended through the thirdSunday following the start of classes. During the freeze,first-year students are not allowed inside houses or at anyfraternity-organized events. In past years fraternities hadunofficially ended freeze on the third Wednesday of classes, butMark Manderino, assistant director of Fraternity and Sorority Life,said ending the freeze on a Wednesday was never enforced.
The Interfraternity Council’s risk management chairman, Weinbergsenior Matt Robbins, said Freshman Freeze’s is important because itallows new students can assimilate into NU without gettingimmediately thrown into Greek life.
“It’s important for freshmen to come into school and reallybecome ingrained into their academics before they begin socializingwith fraternities,” said Robbins.
But according to Interfraternity Council President MitchHolzrichter, some fraternities broke the strict rules regardingfreshmen during the freeze period.
“There were incidents of unregistered parties in which freshmenwere present,” said Holzrichter, a Weinberg senior and businessmanager of The Daily. “We are adjudicating those infractions withthe chapters currently.”
Several Greek students said a Delta Tau Delta party was brokenup in September when IFC learned of several freshmen at the house,but Greek officials declined to say which fraternities violated therules or how they will be reprimanded.
“Some houses were caught and will be punished accordingly,”Robbins said. “All in all there were no major problems or majorviolations, no freshmen were hurt in anyway.”
Robbins added that the rate of infractions during FreshmanFreeze was “about average, as it has been in past years.”
Although freshmen now will be welcomed inside fraternity houses,the student handbook still forbids them to attend Greek-sponsoredparties where alcohol is present, even if the house hosting theparty is considered “wet.”
“The risk management observation team will be making rounds allweek,” Robbins told fraternity presidents. “So don’t even try itguys, we’re really cracking down this year.”
As an alternative, Holzrichter recommended to chapter presidentson Tuesday that Sunday dinners serve as a viable method forfraternities to attract new members. During these events,fraternities order food from area restaurants to lure in thefreshmen.
Holzrichter added that rush is now in “full swing” and that hehoped chapters will begin to recruit right away.
“Sunday dinners give freshmen a comfortable way to come tofraternities and see if they’re interested in rushing,” said LambdaChi president Jay Ward. “Since there are a lot of freshmen, it’snot a pressure situation. They could come up, get food and leave ifthey want but hopefully they’ll meet some people that they willlike.”
Nick Johnson, president of Sigma Phi Epsilon, also is lookingforward to meeting the freshmen.
“The dinner is one of the best ways for freshmen to be able toget to know the brothers in the house in an informal setting,” hesaid. “It’s a good way for freshmen to compare houses and see whichones they like and which ones they don’t.”
The Freshman Freeze for sororities will remain in effect untilthe beginning of the recruitment period, during the first week ofWinter Quarter.
Reach Julia Neyman at [email protected].
