This past weekend was the big kick-off to Lawrence’s Greek Rush Week. Students eager to “fraternize” with potential housemates for next year as well as those who just wanted to have a good time flocked to the east side of campus, where the fraternity and sorority houses stand.
As students trekked from building to building throughout the weekend they could hear the resounding chants of the various sororities working to promote the unity within their groups. Students could also see posters hung across campus advertising various fraternity events made available to underclassmen, such as Poker Night in Sage Hall and a meet-and-greet event at the LU basketball game Tuesday night. These events were specifically designed to give students a chance to become more comfortable with the members of the various Greek houses and to decide which house, if any, they would like to belong to.
Formal and informal “round robins” for the frats took place on Wednesday and Thursday of this past week. This plan gave students interested in pledging to a fraternity a chance to go from house to house to hang out with their potential frat brothers and learn what each of the frats represent.
Sororities are busy hosting get-togethers this week as well. Girls interested in joining are able to visit each of the sororities and socialize with the members, learning in the process how each group contributes to both the campus and Appleton communities.
Rush Week not only helps students to determine which fraternity or sorority they would like to join, but also helps them decide if Greek living is the right choice for them. Although living in a Greek house is a good time, it also entails promoting respect and community among the members and across campus.
To encourage this kind of behavior, each fraternity and sorority has unique national goals and expectations for its members. For example, the sorority group Kappa Kappa Gamma is involved with working on literacy programs through public libraries as well as doing volunteer work for Harbor House and other institutions.
In addition to the national chapter’s expectations, living in a Greek house requires one to fulfill “house expectations” such as doing dishes after meals and cleaning up after parties. If you love Downer food and parties just aren’t your thing, then living in a Greek House may not be the best choice for you.
Don’t worry underclassmen; each member of these Greek houses is just as eager to impress you as you are them. And they need you to fill the quota to keep their houses ********– just remind yourselves of that. If after this article you think Greek living might not be right for you, then there are plenty of other groups around campus that you can join. However, I encourage underclassmen of the Lawrence community to at least check these groups out and see what they can offer you. As one fraternity member who shall remain nameless says, “Greek life is the shit!”
There it is in a nutshell everyone, just have fun with it.
Lawrentians participate in Rush Week -dlh -bkm
