Fraternity rush is an institution on campus for freshman and sophomore men. But this year, fewer guys received membership offers. Because the Interfraternity Council established a more stringent GPA requirement, fewer men were eligible to join fraternities and the number of bids handed out decreased. Despite the decline, this new academic achievement policy is a welcome change.
Being a member of a fraternity can be a big time commitment — especially during the pledging period following recruitment. Since it takes solid time-management and study skills to balance schoolwork and group activities, even the most gifted student could become overwhelmed. While in previous years, male students with GPAs below 2.5 could rush after meeting with an advisor, classroom troubles are likely to be exacerbated when students become busier. Now, struggling students have to pass the GPA threshold in order to join an IFC fraternity at all, forcing them to prioritize schoolwork.
Although the number of bids decreased this year, lower membership may be only a temporary setback. After all, sororities have had set minimum GPAs for a while, and the number of women joining chapters this year went up. In the long run, fraternities will benefit from having new members who are better equipped to balance work and play. Greek chapters should continue to stress the importance of keeping up with classes once bids are handed out, and provide academic support to brothers and sisters. And to increase membership, fraternities can reach out more to potential new members during the fall.
