Give Greeks a home before winter semester

By Cortney Konner and Seth Fisher

Daily Editorial Board writers

Fall Greek rush is an integral part of the University, and moving it to winter term, as suggested recently by the Daily ("Wait to go Greek," 9/15/00), would be detrimental to all rushees, Greek Houses and the campus as a whole.

Every year incoming students use the Greek System as a medium to acclimate themselves to the University.

Entering such a large campus is intimidating to many first-year students. Rushing allows the opportunities for new students to both meet new people and participate in campus activities early in their college careers.

The opportunity to rush in the winter term has always been available to rushees who would rather use their first term to pursue other activities. Last year, the Panhellenic Association stated that approximately 1,000 women rushed during the fall term compared to about 150 in the winter. While no accurate numbers are available, fraternity houses have estimated similar proportions.

The fact that so many students chose the fall term to join a Greek house shows that this is the preferred choice.

Joining the Greek System during the fall term is advantageous to first-year students and the houses they choose. The competitive real estate market in Ann Arbor forces students to sign a lease by winter break or have severe difficulty finding a residence for the following year.

Students who decide after fall rush that the Greek System is not for them still have plenty of time to find housing. Winter rush does not offer this benefit. Students who decide to sign a lease in the fall term before rushing in the winter lose the chance to live with their brothers and sisters the following year.

The Greek System is obviously about much more than housing. Most students who rush their first semester do so to take advantage of the activities offered that they might not otherwise be aware of. These include, but are not limited to, community service work, intramural sports and tutoring programs.

While such activities exist elsewhere on campus, there is no other single forum where one student may find them all. Contrary to beliefs that rushing conflicts with studies, the Office of Greek Life has reported that the overall first-year GPA for Greeks is continually higher than the campus average.

Abolishing fall rush would handicap the entire Greek community. Membership is essential to the survival and improvement of every house.

Due to the proportionally lower turnout during winter rush, many houses will have trouble recruiting enough new members to fill the hole left by graduating seniors. Chapters rely on fall term's larger influx of these students in order to function.

Fall rush currently takes place about month after school begins, giving first-year students the opportunity to become involved in many non-Greek activities.

While the Daily's concern for potential members of the Greek system is certainly laudable, the suggestion that some new students are ill-prepared to join a fraternity or sorority is not. That decision should be left up to each individual to make for themselves.