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Crucial Decision: 'Should I Pledge?'

Rush Provides First Glimpse Of Fraternity Life

By Rod MacDonald
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Picture yourself a fraternity
man. As a first-year man, you will
probably see yourself as a fraternity
member many times during the
coming weeks, and will think over
the decision of whether to join a
fraternity or remain independent
many times.

The choice is one that can have
a large effect on your future
University life, and should not be
taken lightly. There are many
implications and arguments for
pledging or not pledging, and both
should be weighed carefully.

The single most important
question for a prospective pledge to
ask is "What will a fraternity mean
to me?" Most members find in
fraternity membership the friends
and close companionship that they
seek during their learning years, and
find a brotherhood in which to
share common experiences and
beliefs.

A fraternity is a personal thing:
through membership a student joins
an experience that can change his
thought and strengthen his
character. Each University
fraternity is a working, united
organization that remains vital
because of the contributions of its
individual members; through the
responsibility it takes to keep a
house alive, each brother can gain a
great deal.

Independents

There are, however, many
students who prefer to remain
independent rather than commit
their efforts to a fraternity. And
while most fraternity men and
independents alike will state that it
is far better to remain independent
than join a house where one does
not feel at home, there is a house
for anyone who is willing to offer a
part of himself for a larger whole.

Originally, fraternities began as
efforts to supplement the academic
side of college life. Although social
functions still remain a large part of
fraternity affairs, many houses seek
other outlets as well, joining in
community service programs and
encouraging academic success on
the part of each member.
Fraternities today seek
well-rounded lives, making nights in
the library, an afternoon in a
football game, or the sound of a
good combo in your house on
Saturday night equally important.

In 1920 the fraternities
organized to form the
Inter-Fraternity Council, a strong
body representing each fraternity
that regulates business concerning
the fraternity system. In the past
year the IFC sponsored a bus roll to
the Virginia-Army football game, a
carnival for handicapped children at
the Rehabilitated Children's Center,
and held the yearly rush program
that provides members for the
fraternities, among its other
activities.

First Contact

Rush is the first official contact
that the prospective pledge will
have with the fraternity system.
The rushing season begins with the
distribution of smoker invitations
to the first-year men by
representatives of each fraternity.
First-year men interested in rushing
often find the dorm visits an
excellent time to meet members of
the fraternities to which they are
asked.

During the ensuing rush period,
the rushee will attend various
houses for more smokers, dinners
and lunches, and, of course, the
weekend fraternity parties. Also
during this period he can learn the
particular goals stressed by each
fraternity, and the obligations he
will undertake. Above all, rush
should be fun, particularly in
partying and meeting other
students.

Personal contact is one of the
advantages of fraternity life that
comes out most strongly in rush.
Each fraternity man will try to
meet each rushee, and vice-versa, as
both try to find the pledges or
house of his choice. When Bid
Sunday comes the final decision
will be based largely on the personal
contacts developed between a
house and a rushee.

Both rushees and fraternity
men, however, should read and pay
close attention to the rushing rules
established by the IFC. Failure to
observe the rules costs the
fraternity a sizable sum of money,
and can bar the rushee from
pledging the fraternity of his
choice.

Rush lasts approximately eight
weeks, a time designed to enable
each prospective pledge to see the
many different sides of fraternity
life before making a decision. If he
chooses to join, he will undergo a
pledge period during which he can
learn the various goals and aspects
of his fraternity, so that when he is
initiated in the following year he
will be ready to take on the
responsibility as well as the fun of
fraternity membership.

Tips On Rushing

Here are some tips for those
interested in joining fraternities to
help their rush be more effective:

1) Stay in town on home
football weekends, and be in your
room on the nights of dorm visits.

2) Try to visit as many houses
as possible early, then narrow your
choices to three or four; by the
final two weeks, concentrate on
one or two. Learning the names of
brothers is often very helpful.

3) Since intensive rushing
comes towards the end of rush, try
to be ahead in your studies before
rush closes.

4) Talk with fraternity men
about the financial burdens
involved, as they will vary
significantly between houses. Find
one that meets your own means.

5) Don't join a fraternity you
do not wish to join. There is no
social pressure to pledge a
fraternity. Join only if you are
willing to offer yourself to work
towards the betterment of your
fraternity and the fraternity
system.

Now is the time to consider
whether to join a fraternity. It is
usually worthwhile to rush even if
it is doubtful that you will pledge;
for the contact with fraternities can
prove useful whether or not you
join. In the end, however, the
decision "to pledge or not to
pledge" should take into account
your values and financial status,
your willingness to serve your
fraternity, and your personal
feelings toward the brothers. The
decision is important, and worth
taking the rush period to decide.

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