What's The Rush?

1. Transy is a Greek involved campus.
2. Wipe clean your preconceptions of what that means.
3. Now let's start this post.

Rush, or the recruitment process by which the Transylvania Greek community acquires new members, has officially begun for both women and men. As a male, I will be communicating a wonderfully comprehensive insider look at male recruitment, as well as an amusingly confounded outsider look at female recruitment. Plus, there are a few things that I've noticed about Greek life in general here that I'd like to mention.

First and foremost, I am glad, overjoyed, ecstatic, and tremendously thankful that fraternities and sororities here are NOT cults and they do NOT haze. I know, that sounds like a joke. What else is a fraternity or sorority after all? Seriously though, there's just something different about it. I was suspicious coming in, but now I think I understand, at least in part. I'll back up my claim with a little evidence. A couple nights ago, I went to a local late night restaurant with a sophomore friend of mine who is a member of a fraternity here on campus. While we were there, a "pledge" or not-yet-activated member of the same fraternity from a different school came and started talking to my friend in some sort of an attempt to win favor for his activation. It was all I could do not to laugh. The rush process that I have experienced is hardly a period of trying to appease upperclassmen. In fact, in many ways, it's the opposite. Last night one of the fraternities grilled pork cutlets for the freshmen guys, good pork cutlets, it was amazing. I haven't been asked to do anything ridiculous and degrading to "prove" myself; mostly I've just been hanging out and getting to know people. I suppose there's a reason why Transylvania fraternities consistently receive top marks from their respective national organizations.

Of course, that's not to say that fraternities and sororities are all good or perfectly suited for everyone. In fact, I still don't know whether I will end up pledging. I know plenty of independents who still have friends among pretty much all of the fraternities, and regardless of whether I join or not, I'm sure I will continue all of the myriad acquaintances I've made these first couple of weeks here. Also, about the negative actions that sometimes loom over the good reputation of fraternities, I know that the new President Williams is looking to address some of the relevant concerns in his progressive agenda. So who knows, maybe Greek life, which is already in a pretty good spot, will get even better.

So now for a little information on what exactly recruitment has been like for me so far. It doesn't end until next weekend; on Sunday we will receive bids from whatever fraternities extend the opportunity for us to join. Before that (for men) will be "smokers," invite only parties to solidify whom the fraternity wants to offer bids to. Already, I've gone through coke parties and off campus events. The former involves little else but informal meetings in all of the fraternity chapter rooms to get to know the guys in each. The off campus events involve different things, but most include food, (quite a step up from cafeteria food) conversation, and various games of Frisbee, corn hole, football, etc. I've enjoyed all of the above so far, especially getting to know some upperclassmen since it can sometimes be a little difficult to get to know older people outside of Clay hall. I've also enjoyed watching female rush. I'm sure other bloggers will mention what it has been like for them, but from the outside, it's an intense project. I was writing a letter to a pen-pal of mine last night on the steps of the administration building when a gaggle of girls came by for a meeting at 9:30 at night. In fact, I rather feel like a feminist conspiracy is going on all around me, preparing to take over campus. In a way, I can see the appeal of such a more intimate and formal process. It adds a lot more emphasis to the selection and social networking that at heart is the purpose of rush. Seriously though...if they start wearing uniforms, I will flee.

Now however, I'm going to return to the only real negative aspect of rush: the homework I haven't done. Still, I'm glad that I'm doing it. I'm glad that there is a Greek system here; and that it is one I can respect at some level. Now if only they had gyros...