University of California Berkeley - Blue and Gold Yearbook (Berkeley, CA)

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on c: oi e OI -a c OI DO ■a ' a: oh c fO Q ■ l .a (•) o •4— ' o Q- i deal Story by Richard Nguyen With every new wave of incoming students, the traditional house-based Greek chapters mobilize to choose the best and the brightest who strive to become better men and women through brotherhood and sisterhood. The momentous task takes many hard months of preparation that can be affirmed by each recruitment official of the 32 fraternities and 12 sororities on campus. Chapter members of the Interfraternity Council (IFC) came together August 22 to August 29, 2001 for Fall Rush Week. Although most fraternities have an open rush policy where recruitment is open for prospective recruits ail throughout the year, the united effort to recruit men sends a clearer message to prospective members, otherwise known as prospectives, of the benefits of joining. Furthermore, the formal rush period allows for a safer, controlled atmosphere by which prospectives may shop for the right fraternity for them and for chapters to compete fairly. Heading the coordinated effort of Rush Week was IFC Vice President of Recruitment Hyat Khan. It was continued by IFC President David Smith. The Panhellenic Council, the Cal Greek community ' s counterpart to the IFC, strives to promote sisterhood and e.vpand its ideolog) ' to women interested in bettering themselves. The 12 active sororities that comprise Theta Delta Chi. also known as Chia House, gets into the rush spirit. 21

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With over 30 fraternities on campus, Delta Upsilon applied its creative talent to differentiate itself from the pacl(. 20

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Sandwich boards of Greek letters are one of the many tools employed by fraternities to promote their houses, generally on Sproul Plaza. Panhellenic come together each year to present Sorority Rush Week. From August 24 to August 31, 2001, the women of Panhellenic welcomed hundreds of prospective women into the (jteek sisterhood at Cal. During Rush Week, all houses are required to adhere to University Policies and the Greek Code of Conduct, including policies requiring all Rush Week events he alcohol free, or dry. To educate prospectives, IFC conducts information session.s, distributes fraternity event fliers, and provides rush counselors, otherwise known as Rho Chis, to men interested in fraternity life. In addition to counseling, Rho Chis serve as guides for walking house tours, whci c pi onctive freshmen tour Greek houses and meet members. Along 1 - efforts put forth by IFC, each of the fraternities spends ds, if not thousands, of dollars on recruitment each yeai hold events such as broi luau, to build friendships initial steps in building the become brothers. .Mternativelv, Panhellenic offe cruitment, individual chapters will bowling, and theme parties like a ispective recruits. These are the which will allow strangers to ich more structured process of recruitment. First, interested women begin by registering with an assigned Rho Chi who acts in a similar fashion to the male Rho Chis. With these formalities completed, the prospectives embark on a five day narrowing process that hopefully matches the girl with her best house. Day one is Greek Unity Day where prospectives are exposed to a forum of united Panhellenic members proinoting the benefits of Greek life. The goal of this first day is to share what it is to be Greek and not just to be a part of their house. At the end of the day, perspectives fill out house preference lists to help narrow down matching possibilities. This process is repeated at the end of each day. The following day house tours are conducted and on these tours prospectives garner a feeling of what it is like to live in the house ' s environment. Next, a day is taken for rest by chapter members and prospectives alike. Day four is theme night; this is the opportunity for individual houses to show off their talents and skills by putting on a performance. The last night is preference night. Best matches are given to each prospective girl and then each chapter will have an opportunitv to share more of fhcmseK ' es. Information such as a chapter ' s svmbols, crest, and 11