Fraternities: Spring Rush

Tau Kappa Epsilon members.
Photo Courtesy of Ryan Atwell

Spring Recruitment took place last week for fraternities, but it’s never too late see what’s changed from recruitment last semester with each organization on campus.

    All fraternities agreed that there is a difference joining in the spring semester rather than the fall. They all concluded that the main difference is that most students are more adjusted to college in the spring as opposed to being an incoming freshman.

T.J. DeWitt, President of Chi Omega Psi says that “The difference between joining in the fall [semester] and the spring [semester] is [that] everything is new to you. …You don’t have people telling you, ‘Well you should join this one over another,’” says DeWitt.

    With a little more time to become adjusted, people have a better understanding for each fraternity. DeWitt states, “[In] the spring you kind [of] have an idea what each group stands for and what their focuses are.”

    Marcus Murrell from Phi Delta Pi states, “The biggest difference between joining in the fall and the spring is nerves really. …Many people do not go into rush knowing what Greek life truly is,” he says.

    Murrell goes on to agree that in the spring semester, students’ have had much more experience with college. “I believe in the spring, most of the freshman students have had the opportunity to get a feel for college and truly can decide if they feel as if they are missing something …or if they have their hands full depending on their own personal situation,” he says.

    Trevor Walker, head educator and media chair from Phi Sigma Phi says, “Fall rush is typically a significantly more fruitful time for us to recruit potential new members. You have a much greater chance of having more associates alongside you if you decide to rush a fraternity in the fall, which is when Concord gets many more first-semester freshmen,” states Walker.

    Jameson Lilly, an active member of Sigma Tau Gamma says, “I would say the difference between the two is that fall semester is stressful and spring semester is more laid back. Joining a Greek organization in the fall means you’re going to be busy most of the semester with homecoming. …In [the] spring the only thing going on is Greek Week. The big problem with that though is it can bring about little inactivity in the group,” states Lilly.

    Ryan Atwell, President of Tau Kappa Epsilon says, “Recruitment in the spring is very different from in the fall. During the spring you have a lower number of new or incoming freshman who show interest in your organization. …Some of the students who were unsure of joining in the fall or wanted to get used to college now have the experience,” he says.

    Although everyone has the option to join in either semester, each organization has a different opinion when the best time to join really is. DeWitt has a preference. “I personally feel

like spring is a better time to join because that gives you a semester to get used to college and get the feel everything,” DeWitt says.

    Murrell believes that there isn’t a better time to join. “The best time to join is anytime. Being Greek has truly helped me to enjoy my college experience and receive full benefits of having such a large friend group and networking system that’s fraternal organizations can bring,” he says.

    Walker disagrees and says, “The better time to join is most likely in the fall. As stated previously, there are more students looking to join. … However, joining in the spring, allows you to get to know your chosen fraternity’s active members better, as there are typically less people to associate,” states Walker.

    Lilly agrees with Murrell, he believes that there really isn’t a “best” time to join. “I can’t really say whether there is a better time to join. Fall semesters tend to have a bigger classes of new members and it can show how motivated members can be. [However], I would urge people to join spring semester though just so they can have a general feel about geek life without having to plunge into it like they would with joining in the fall,” Lilly states.

    Atwell also agrees, he says “I personally do not believe that we have a better time to join. I know that we have members who did not know what a fraternity was before coming to Concord and those members usually do join in the spring just because they want to adapt to the college life before wanting joining an organization,” Atwell explains.

    With each organization giving their own opinion with their experience, their chapter goals are surprisingly very similar. DeWitt states, “As President this semester, my goals for my chapter this semester is to become better acquainted with my brothers and build relationships with other organizations on campus. …I also want to help my guys with being well rounded individuals not only with school but our everyday lives. Rush is ending but it’s never too late to come see what we are about,” DeWitt says.

    Walker agrees that building relationships is an essential part of their fraternity. “Our chapter’s goal for this semester is to grow both our brotherhood’s cohesiveness as a unit and endeavor to emphasize on our individual academic accomplishments as well as our academic support systems within the fraternity,” states Walker.

    Murrell also agrees with DeWitt and Walker. “Phi Delta Pi’s goal for the semester is to continue to grow and expand in numbers, monetarily and as men. Every day we look for different ways we can improve individually, the school and the community. We have a very young group of guys who have never really held a position of leadership and 3 of our older members graduating so we are looking to pass the torch and bring in other fine young gentlemen to be a part of our special organization and brotherhood,” Murrell says.

    Lilly says that their fraternity is also no different. “Our goal is of course to get new members for our organization, but also to become more connected to the Sigma Tau Gamma nationals that oversee us. We also want to do more fundraisers for philanthropy and in general, to become a closer brotherhood,” Lilly states.

    Atwell’s goals for the chapter is not only to grow closer as brothers, but also to continue staying on track with their national headquarters. “We want to continue becoming closer with one another and creating a stronger fraternal connection,” states Atwell.

    Atwell also goes on to talk about their achievements throughout this year. “Our chapter has really grown over the last year and we have made tremendous improvements. Back in November our chapter was ranked #1 in TKE Nation, meaning that out of 247 chapters throughout the United States and Canada we were on the top of the list. Also something that we are proud of, as of January 19th our chapter was again ranked as #1. We are continually building a Better Men for a Better World,” states Atwell.

    Although there are differences in recruitment for each semester, these organizations share very similar goals: Becoming closer with one another and continuing to do better for our community.