On Sept. 29, men’s fall fraternity rush came to a close. 356 new members bids were extended, compared to the 341 bids extended last fall.
Thirty-one bids were extended at Alpha Chi Alpha, 27 at Beta Alpha Omega, 31 at Bones Gate, 30 at Chi Gamma Epsilon, 35 at Chi Heorot, 27 at Gamma Delta Chi, 20 at Kappa Kappa Kappa, 28 at Phi Delta Alpha, 28 at Psi Upsilon, 41 at Sigma Nu, 29 at Theta Delta Chi and 29 at Zeta Psi, according to Brian Joyce, director of the Office of Greek Life.
This year, a majority of the fraternities either maintained or increased the number of bids extended to new members. However, Heorot and GDX decreased their new member class sizes from last years’. The format of fraternity recruitment also remained the same from last year.
As 61.4 percent of eligible male students are affiliated, Greek life plays a large role on Dartmouth’s campus.
Michael McGovern ’21, a new member at Alpha Chi, said that his decision to rush was based off Greek life’s predominance at the College and his desire “for the camaraderie.”
“I’d known I wanted to rush for a while [since] a lot of my friends were also rushing,” he said. “It’s a pretty big part of the Dartmouth community, and I didn’t want to miss out on that.”
Men’s rush at Dartmouth unofficially begins during freshman winter, when freshmen can mingle at different fraternities and build relationships with the brothers. The official recruitment process takes place over a two day period, during which prospective members visit houses of interest and interact with members of the fraternities. At the end of the evenings, prospective members can “shake out” at a house, which entails shaking hands with all of the brothers in the house to demonstrate one’s interest. The brothers then deliberate and offer bids, according to Alpha Chi president Fisher Katlin ’19. This process differs from the women’s formal recruitment process, which occurs over a two week period.
“A good analogy [for shakeout] is early decision acceptance to college,” he said. “You are saying that ‘if you want me to be in this house, I will be in this house.’”
The Interfraternity Council at Dartmouth facilitates two prior mandatory dry rush events that are open to campus, according to IFC public relations chair Caleb Smith ’19.
“[Prospective members can] meet brothers in the houses in a more open environment,” he said. “It’s something that we sponsor, encourage and actually require houses to do.”
IFC president Yoga Acharya ’19 emphasized that the connections made in a fraternity extended far beyond a surface level commitment.
“At the end of the day, these fraternities offer so much more than just a social scene. It’s a brotherhood, and its relationships last a lifetime for so many people,” Acharya said. “I think that’s really underrated and understated when people talk about their Greek experiences here.”
Rohan Chakravarty ’21 recently rushed Sig Nu because he said that he wanted form a bond with new people in his class.
“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “I met a lot of new people and I think I ended up at a house that I really like.”
