Winter rush sees increase in numbers
By Vera Bergengruen, The Dartmouth Staff
Published on Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Dartmouth fraternities accepted at least 27 men during this year's winter rush, which came to a close on Sunday. As in previous years, fewer men sank bids and fewer fraternities accepted new members in the winter than in the fall.
The 27 bids extended this weekend represent an increase from last year's unofficial bid count of 16, according to Taylor Holt '09, the Interfraternity Council's vice president for recruitment and new member education.
Alpha Chi Alpha fraternity had one man sink a bid; Beta Alpha Omega fraternity, 10; Kappa Kappa Kappa fraternity, six; Psi Upsilon fraternity, one; Sigma Nu fraternity, two; and Sigma Phi Epsilon, seven, according to representatives from the fraternities.
Alpha Delta fraternity, Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity, Phi Delta Alpha fraternity and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity decided not to extend any bids this term, representatives said.
"This year, we were happy with the quality and number of guys who sunk bids at SAE during the Fall term, and we opted to extend no bids during the winter," SAE president Anthony Guzman '09 said.
The College's fraternities also saw an increase in the number of men accepting bids this fall. Most organizations took on a greater than average number of new members, with an 8-percent increase overall, Holt said.
"I think most houses were more than content with their numbers from the fall, and most houses are adding kids [this winter] that couldn't rush in the fall," Holt said.
This year's increase in the number of men accepting bids may surprise some people, Holt said.
"A lot of people originally thought that the addition of Beta would mean other houses would be hurt in new membership numbers, but this does not seem to be the case," Holt said. "Beta's successful fall and winter rush numbers clearly indicate that they have marketed themselves as a house that Dartmouth men want to be in."
Twenty-seven men "shook out" at the end of Beta's winter rush period, indicating that Beta was their top choice. All of those men offered bids accepted them, according to Beta president Andrew von Kuhn '09.
"All the guys in the house are very happy about the guys that decided to pledge," Kuhn said. "They are from all over the world, represent a strong mixture of interests on campus and are all strong men of character."
As Dartmouth's chapter of Zeta Psi fraternity moves closer to re-recognition and finishes the renovation of its physical plant on Webster Avenue, it appears likely the house will be ready for rush next fall.
"Whether Zete's attempt to reestablish itself will produce recruitment results similar to Beta's is unclear at this point," Holt said.
Representatives from Bones Gate fraternity, Chi Heorot fraternity, Gamma Delta Chi fraternity and Theta Delta Chi fraternity did not return requests for comment by press time.