Taking off the toga: A behind the scenes look at Rush Week

By CATHERINE BYE

January 18 marks the beginning of Rush Week at Santa Clara-a time when anxious freshmen, sophomores and juniors assemble to try and join the ranks of the Greeks.

Rush is the time when the Greek houses on campus are showcased to the students. "Rush is a weeklong process that is the recruiting for the fraternities and sororities," Women's Rush Chairman Sarah Hamilton said. "It's their opportunity to meet new people and an opportunity for freshmen, sophomores and juniors to meet members of the Greek system and see if they're interested in joining."

"You get to know seniors, juniors, sophomores and even other freshmen in Swig or Campisi that you wouldn't ordinarily know," Men's Rush Chairman Ryan Monger said.

Rush lasts through Sunday, Jan. 23. The six-day period is filled with activities focused on displaying what the Greek system has to offer.

Participants are split into groups and led by a Rho Chi, which stands for Rush Counselor. Tuesday was also Letters Day, which promoted a "Go Greek" attitude and gave a basic introduction and overview of the houses on campus: Theta Chi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Pi, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Lambda Beta (not part of IGC Rush), Nu Alpha Kappa, Delta Gamma, Alpha Phi, Delta Zeta, and Lambda Sigma Gamma (not part of IGC Rush).

The week continued with house tours on Wednesday night and activity nights on Thursday and Friday for fraternities. Women have Thursday night off and return Friday for theme night, which includes skits and slide-shows.

Preference night falls on Saturday where both fraternities and sororities hold invitational dinners. This is the final night of Rush and, according to Monger, preference night is more serious than the other nights.

"It's the final night where you choose what house you want to try and pledge to," he said. Rush Week concludes when houses make their final cuts, distribute bids, and invite rushees to join their house.

"Selection is the worst part of the week because you wish that everyone who goes through Rush could get a house," Hamilton said.

"Unfortunately, due to University-imposed limitations, the Greek system is restricted to the number of new members that can be asked to join,"

Decisions are made on a mutually selective basis: not only must you choose a house that best fits your needs, the houses are simultaneously choosing members that will contribute to their organization.

"We like guys who are outgoing, social, have good grades and guys who want to join and be actively involved in the chapter," Sigma Pi senior Joe Liberatore said. "We want to make sure we're getting good quality guys."

The best approach for a rushee is to get to know the members of a house to see where he or she will be most comfortable. Rush, however, lasts only one week so rushees have little time to interact with chapter members. It is important for rushees to take advantage of the opportunity to share interests and ask questions about the fraternities and sororities.

Students who choose not to pledge have heard rumors about the exclusiveness of the Greek system, which has been labeled as unappealing and socially restrictive. Monger defends the Greeks although he admits that not everyone can get in a house.

"You spend a lot of time with the people in your class and develop bonds with them and that's misrepresented as being exclusive," Monger said.

Everyone has heard myths about Rush, especially about humiliating hazing procedures. Certain sororities supposedly measure body fat on their pledges, and some fraternities make rushees engage in binge drinking. No matter how bizarre, rumors spread and make people think twice about wanting to be part of a system that allows such practices; however, hazing is completely illegal.

"The stories you hear about hazing don't go on here," Monger said.

Although hazing doesn't go on at Santa Clara, rush still has its disadvantages because the process is time consuming and decisions are made in a short amount of time. The whole procedure can be rather intimidating.

"I heard it's incredibly impersonal and based on first impressions," freshman Siobhan Dye said. "It's incredibly hard and stressful for girls in particular."

After new members pledge a sorority or fraternity, they can expect a 10-week initiation in which they are assigned a mentoring big brother or big sister and are educated on the history of the particular house. As the year progresses, members are introduced to the realm of the Greek world.

"You have an opportunity to be involved in different relations: academics, philanthropy, social, campus leadership and personal development," Liberatore said of the Greek experience.The Greek system is ultimately like any other club, it requires commitment and provides a niche for individuals seeking solidarity. The benefits include community involvement, networking with alumni, social interaction and more variety within the university itself.

"The main reason I want to join is the brotherhood aspect and the networking possibilities," said Kevin Wong.

Professor Cheryl Dumesnil of the English department advocates the benefits of Greek life. "The organizations within the Greek system put on certain events that everyone on campus can benefit from," she said. "The Greek system, because of the philanthropic ideas behind it, is furthering the social justice of the Jesuits, but I don't think that is emphasized and we don't hear as much about that as we do about parties."

The best reason for rushing may be the opportunity to be a part of something more than just learning at Santa Clara.

"It's something that you can look back on and say 'I did this during college' instead of 'I just went to school,'" Monger said.

All rushees must attend the mandatory pre-rush workshop. In case you couldn't attend the workshop on Jan.11, there will be a video you can watch instead. The last day to watch is Friday, Jan. 14. Call the Inter-Greek Council at (408) 554-5549 for further details.