As the University's 12 Greek houses gear up for rush, the recruitment process which officially started Jan. 28, students are beginning to consider the idea of pledging. But many of the upperclassmen members as well as students rushing now were not always set on going Greek. In fact, many came to Brown with no aspirations to do so.
"I did not consider myself to be the stereotypical frat boy by any means," said Matt Dennis '09, president of Delta Tau.
Dennis was part of the pledge class responsible for Delta Tau's revival - when he rushed in 2006, the house only had four seniors remaining and was on the brink of extinction. Enticed by the prospect of an immediate leadership role, he, along with 29 other freshmen, leapt at the opportunity to recreate the house. Now, he said, he cannot imagine his Brown experience without the fraternity.
Steven Alerhand '08, president of Alpha Epsilon Pi, also felt unsure about Greek life and did not join the fraternity until his sophomore year.
"I unfortunately made the same mistake that first-years tend to make: I made a pre-determined judgment about AEPi and fraternities in general, deciding prematurely that Greek life was simply not for me," he said.
In the manner that Alerhand described, Julia Schuster '11 has already decided not to rush this year. "I'm satisfied in not knowing that much about (sororities) and deciding not to participate," she said.
"People here have very set ideas of what it means to be in a sorority and they don't want to challenge them," said Chelsea Miro '10, president of Alpha Chi Omega. "If people were to give it more of a chance, they would see the way we are is very Brown. We're equally as diverse and a great group of people - it's just smaller."
Miro did not come to Brown intending to pledge a sorority, but after attending rush events on a whim she was attracted to the community and its small, close environment.
According to Greek Council Public Relations Chair Alyssa Saenz '09, the houses are trying to "amp up" their advertisements for rush this year in order to paint a more accurate picture of the process. While the houses don't have a set goal for numbers of new pledges, she said that in the past, new pledge classes have been as small as nine students and as large as 40. She said she worries about the misconceptions students have of the Greek system and the rush process.
"People are so influenced by what they think they know or what they're afraid of it being," she said.
Saenz pledged as a sophomore, largely because she was unaware of the Greek system as a first year. She said she now views her decision to join as integral to her Brown experience.
She said she hopes other students will also consider sisterhood. "Potential new members forget that we want to meet you - we want more girls. We believe in what we're doing - no one is affiliated who doesn't really enjoy it. We want to share that with as many people as possible," she added.
To many students now rushing, the idea of joining a Greek house came as a surprise. "It never would have occurred to me," said Tricia Capuano '11.
"But it's just a community of girls. It's not the first thing you know about a person. It's not defining," she said. "It's just another thing people do (and) take pride in."
Once Mayo Hotta '11 heard about the opportunity to rush, she was excited about the idea of being in a sorority. After being in a small high school environment, she said she missed the feeling of knowing everyone.
But she has decided to "give it time and think about (going Greek) more, before jumping into it after being at college for only one semester," she said. "I am afraid of just knowing people in the sorority and not knowing enough people out of it."
Elana Siegel '11 said she has no intentions of joining a Greek house and feels they can be socially alienating. Even if going Greek could bring a member closer to others in the house, she said it might preclude getting to know other students.
For other first-years, the opportunity to find a close-knit group of friends is the most appealing aspect of Greek life.
"I think one of the main reasons why I'm rushing is because of the pull of the girls - they're just so friendly," said Fretty Huang '11.
The rush process offers opportunities for members and interested students to talk and get to know one another.
"It's just about meeting the people and deciding who you feel you'd be friends with," Alerhand said.
The events are governed by rules from Greek Council in order to ensure that each house has an equal opportunity to attract new members. For example, the council approves the events schedule to avoid overlap and conflict. The sororities also have rush policies mandated by the Panhellenic Conference, a national organization that oversees sorority houses.
After three rush events and additional parties in fraternities the houses give bids to the students they feel would fit well with the group, according to Saenz. Alpha Chi Omega currently has 30 members, which gives the house a strong, close dynamic, Miro said. When looking at new pledges, they choose girls whom the sisters are all comfortable around and who they feel will be comfortable in the house.
But the houses do not have specific criteria for new members. "There is no prototypical person," Alerhand said. Other house presidents echoed the same sentiment.
"The beauty of it is that everybody gets the same things out of it - fun, friendship - but everybody joined for a different reason," Alerhand added.
"I was always wary of fraternities and sororities because they have a really bad reputation," said Aida Manduley '11. But after meeting members of one of the houses, she began to change her mind.
"I liked that atmosphere and wanted to get to know the people," she said. "It's about building a sense of community."
