Penn men devoured cheesesteaks and pizza last night while women prepared to brave the cold in fine attire as Greek organizations across campus kicked off their annual two weeks of rush.
During the rush period, students interested in joining a fraternity or sorority have the opportunity to visit the different organizations in which they are interested before committing to one.
The rush process ends with bid night, when fraternities and sororities formally select the applicants who will undergo "new member education." This year, bid night falls on Jan. 19 for women and Jan. 23 for men.
The InterFraternity Council began rush events last night, while tomorrow evening brings the first open rush night for sororities.
And this year, Penn men have an extra day of activities.
The IFC is adding one more day of open rush this year, lengthening the period to three days.
Open rush for men will now include at least two hours of activity at each fraternity house on Sunday. Although invitation-only events will start after Thursday, men will still be able to visit houses they have not yet explored this weekend.
Sorority rush, overseen by the Panhellenic Council, will be the similar to last year's. However, those rushing can register online for the first time.
Stacy Kraus, Penn's associate director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, said that both Panhel and the IFC have a number of rushes similar to the past several years'. Last year, about 500 women and over 700 men rushed.
Outgoing IFC President Spencer Scharff, a College senior, said that the additional day of rush -- which will occur after the fraternities' first round of selections are made -- was implemented in order to make the rush process more accessible and open.
"It will not only benefit the fraternity houses, as it gives them a chance to meet more students, but also gives rushes a chance to look at more houses," Scharff said.
Last year, fraternity rush was shortened by two days.
College junior Mike Zubrow, a brother of Tau Epsilon Phi, thinks that the new policy makes a lot of sense.
"I knew when I rushed, I didn't have enough time to look at all the houses I wanted to," Zubrow said, adding that the only difficult part of rush is finding time to visit each house.
Even with this pressure, Zubrow said that most of his friends enjoyed fraternity rush. The process for men, he said, seems more relaxed than sorority rush.
"Events are a lot more fun for guys," Zubrow said. Girls "just stand outside. ... Girls go house-to-house and get interviewed."
Engineering junior Neta Tenenhaus -- who rushed Sigma Kappa her freshman year but left the organization as a sophomore -- agreed that it is difficult for girls to get to know each other with such a rigorous interview process.
"It was kind of scary to meet people you've never spoken to," she said. "You have to make an impression in those 10 minutes."
Tenenhaus added that although she heard that she would "be judged by everything. ... Your outfit doesn't matter that much."
However, Vice President of Panhellenic Recruitment Kelly Rytel, a Wharton senior, said, "This is the best way to do it, especially with the time and the number of houses on campus."
During the two days of women's open rush, each 'Rho Chi' group --- composed of about ten girls -- will spend about 30 minutes at each house.
Men rushing fraternities do not have IFC regulations regarding how long they spend at each house or how many houses they visit.
Incoming IFC President Max Dubin, a College junior, said that open rush events for his fraternity, Phi Kappa Sigma, will include White Castle night -- with about 2,000 White Castle hamburgers --- and a Pat's versus Geno's cheesesteak-eating challenge.
Rytel said that each sorority is decorating its house with different themes but would not comment on the nature of each chapter's preparations.
