Northwest Missouri State University - Tower Yearbook (Maryville, MO)

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With anticipation, Phi Mu Kim Lamberty awaits for rushees. Even with a low rush number, the excitement was still high among the active members, photo by Gara Lacey Graffiti night at the Kappa Sigma house attracted a small crowd, but did not stop James Pate from signing Jared Watson ' s T-shirt. Kappa Sigma received six new members when rush ended, photo by Christine Ahrens Rush 13

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Chansine by Jaclyn Mauck i -i - M • • - More than 400 students participated in sorority and fraternity rush events that were both marked with change and grounded in tradition. Iraditions Sorority rush kicked off Sept. 5, when both active and rushing women entered a pledge of silence. Members and rushees marked themselves with ribbons, blue and yellow respectively, to eliminate confusion and illegal conversation that could potentially lead to rush infractions. Rush events actually began the following evening when the women attended the sorority tea at the Mary Linn Performing Arts Center. The rushing women met the 40 Rho Chis, who served as their rush counselors, and were formally introduced to the five social sororities. The rest of the week was filled with parties and conversation as the rushees attempted to find their niche in the Northwest Greek system. Rush took a turn and emotions peeked Sept. 11, which was the official bid day. The rushees gathered on the third floor of the J.W. Jones Union and anxiously waited for their Rho Chis, who held envelopes that contained information on who their new sisters would be. I ' m just hoping that it is the right sorority for me, Megan Thole said. As rushees opened their envelopes, reactions to the bids ranged from squeals of excitement to weeping. However, excitement was not confined solely to the rushees. Members from the five sororities had gathered on the lawn on the east side of the Union to welcome their new members and Rho Chi sisters with carnations, T-shirts and other gifts. Overall, bid day, and all of rush, was made easier with the addition of the computer program Computer Rush. This program used statistics from the last three years to determine how many and which rushees would receive invitations back to parties. Then, it was used to match the rushee ' s sorority choices with the sororities ' bids. In years past, matching was done by hand as sorority advisers and Director of Campus Activities Bryan Vanosdale evaluated each rushee individually. The entire process used to take approximately four to five hours. A poker game starts at the Delta Sigma Phi house so Jason Ware joins in. After fraternity rush ended, eight men pledged the fraternity, photo by Sarah Smith As she slips on her new T-shirt, Nicole Weimer takes her place among the Phi Mu new members. Thirty-two women pledged the sorority on bid day. photo by Gara Lacey 12 Student Life

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Changing Imditions Computer Rush cut that time to just a few minutes. It made rush 100 percent easier, Panhellenic President Jenny Falilstrom said. The decision to purchase the program was made for two reasons. The first being the ease of matching bids, and the second was to ensure that all of the sororities met their national new-member quota. The program helped sororities improve their numbers by better spacing the returning invitations during rush. Despite the program, the total number of rushees was still below expectations with only 146 new members. Some attributed the lower number to how rush was held one week later than it had been in years past. Fahlstrom had a different perspective. People said that they wanted to wait until they were sophomores because they wanted to get settled in first, she said. While sorority rush was evolving, some aspects of fraternity rush remained the same. Open rush began Sept. 11, for the men, with a variety of social and food events. Tau Kappa Epsilon opened with an ail- you-can-eat taco banquet and later in the week they had a barbecue and a catered dinner. Maintaining a five-year tradition, they invited the women of Sigma Kappa to their house, sung to them and gave each new member a carnation. The Sigma Kappas returned the serenade with a song of their own. The guys really enjoyed it and the girls fti THf rxninoBniMn ' HYl Dl Photos ■ Video did too, Shawn Emerson, TKE rush chair, said. Well, at least I hoped they did. A graffiti party at the Kappa Sigma house, a smoker vnth the men of Phi Sigma Kappa and casino night at Delta Sigma Phi house were some of the other rush activities hosted. Campuswide, fraternity new pledge numbers rose to almost 200. People are looking for a type of family, Emerson said. A fraternity offers a home away from home. 14 Student Life ' iCrCTTini TIii[?HFTTTK!«rira