Panhel, IFC rush processes come to end

The two-week Panhellenic and InterFraternity Council rush processes ended this week, with 355 bids offered by sororities and 507 offered by fraternities. Panhel rush came to a close Sunday with bid signing in Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge. This year, 560 women signed up for rush, and 355 received bids -- slightly fewer than last year, according to Vice President of Rush Tara Troy, a College senior and a sister in Alpha Chi Omega. And IFC pledges gathered in Meyerson Hall last night at 7 p.m. for the culmination of the rush process. They listened with fraternity brothers to speeches by IFC executives and Greek affiliates. Theta Chi Director David Westhol, keynote speaker for the event, addressed such issues as hazing, the responsibilities of fraternity members and the overall Greek experience. The 507 men offered bids indicated a decline of only 11 from last year's 518, according to IFC Vice President of Rush and Wharton junior Nick Lemen, a brother in Sigma Alpha Epsilon. IFC President-elect and Alpha Epsilon Pi brother Josh Gottheimer said this demonstrates the success of spring semester rush. According to Gottheimer, fraternities were allowed to give out bids to rushees at any point during the two-week rushing period, though the rushees could not accept or reject the offers of membership until last night. Some men received as many as three bids. Sigma Alpha Mu pledge and College freshman Austin Katz said it was "nerve-wracking" waiting to hear from the fraternity. "We were told to be in our rooms past 2 a.m. [Saturday morning] and [brothers] proceeded to come to our rooms and give us our bids," he explained. The new Panhel rushing format also proved well-received by both pledges and sisters, according to Troy. The new Panhel rush shifted from rules to ethics, allowing rushees more control in deciding how much time to spend at the sorority houses during round two parties. Rushees were allotted four hours in which they had to spend a minimum of half an hour at each of their possible four houses, Troy explained. And Panhel President and Kappa Alpha Theta sister Lissette Calderon said she agreed. "Based on the feedback I've gotten from rush chairs and rushees, the majority were very excited and seemed to enjoy it a lot," the Wharton senior said. Troy said the new sorority pledges will spend the next few weeks learning the history of their respective houses and meeting their new sisters. Chi Omega pledge Julie Levin said she enjoys spending time with her fellow pledges. "I didn't really know anyone in my pledge class at first, but it was fun just being with different people," the College freshman explained. "It's good to see the sisters around school now because they're so friendly." Calderon advised the pledges to take advantage of the opportunities offered to them by their houses in the early part of pledging. "It's the one time in your four years in the Greek system that you're with your new member class the whole time -- it's very rare," she said.