Greek alums criticize plan to delay rush

Want to meet Commission The Greek Alumni Council expressed its anger and concern over the Commission on Strengthening the Community's proposal to defer all greek rush to sophomore year at a closed-door meeting last night in Houston Hall. Last week, the Commission recommended the University postpone rush to first semester sophomore year in order to allow students to explore "the variety of living and social options on campus." GAC Chairperson Andrea Dobin said her concerns with the proposal primarily deal with the financial effect it will have on fraternities and sororities. "Our biggest concerns have to do with the financial implications, as far as filling housing and maintaining the viability of housing," Dobin said last night. "By losing the freshmen class, you're cutting out a large body of enthusiastic members of the Greek system as a whole." Dobin also said she feels the Commission does not give the Greek system enough credit for its contributions to student life -- particularly in the area of diversity. "There was a discussion [at the meeting] of the goal of diversity as it is achieved through the Greek system," she said. "We are gathering data that shows that the Greek system is more diverse than the University gives us credit." Dobin said GAC feels fraternities are "part of the solution" to diversify the campus. In addition, Dobin said GAC wants to meet with Commission members to try to reconcile the current system with the goals of the report. "We're going to see if we can, through dialogue with members of the Commission, meet the goals of the Commission without doing damage to the system that would be inherent with goals of a sophomore rush," she said. Although the meeting was closed, Interfraternity Council President Hayden Horowitz and Panhellenic Council President Suzanne Rosenberg were in attendance. "I stood up and made a statement to [the] council that I am opposed to deferred rush," said Rosenberg, a College junior. "I believe that it will have a devastating effect on sororities as well as the Greek system as a whole." Rosenberg agreed with Dobin that the movement of rush would "drastically" hurt the sororities' finances. She added that Panhel's current system -- which utilizes a second semester freshman rush -- allows women to get involved with sororities, while giving them time to be thoroughly involved in the University community. "We have a compromise to what the Commission is recommending and that is our current system, which allows for freshmen women to rush second semester of their freshmen year," she said, adding that Panhel allows women to rush during their sophomore year as well. An official from Rutgers University made a presentation at the meeting, Rosenberg said, and cited a 50 percent drop in pledging that resulted from Rutgers' move to defer rush four years ago. Dobin said she fears sophomore rush will greatly hamper the efforts made by fraternities and sororities to attract new members. Although Horowitz, a College junior, could not be reached for comment last night, he has come out strongly against sophomore rush since the Commission's report was released.