2013 Delta Chi Chapter History
Revamping Rush
During executive board meetings, and break out sessions at the beginning of the semester, brothers and the executive board discussed several ways to make preference and bid voting more efficient, make the rush process more selective, and to attract more males. To address the large size of the chapter (approximately 90 brothers), which has led to cliques and Brothers feeling distant from each other, the executive board decided to aim for a class of approximately 18-22 initiates.
The standards committee drafted and passed an amendment to the Operating Policies to attempt to make the spring rush voting process more efficient. In order for Delta Chi to vote on a rush, six brothers have to endorse the rush by raising their hands. This is to eliminate the rushes that have not talked to any brothers. However, if a rush reaches 75% of the endorsement needed, in this case five brothers, then a Brother can make a motion to consider the rush with probable cause. This was put in to make sure that if a Brother spent a significant portion of the rush’s time talking and forging a decent connection, that that rush could still move on. The rush adviser also focused on more male-oriented events. The first rush event was ultimate Frisbee. Although the weather was less than favorable, the cycle of playing on the field and watching on the sidelines made for good quality bonding. The second rush event was the classic making Valentine’s Day cards for St. Luke’s. The Brothers rotated around the Rushes and got to know them further. The last event was new: the science fair. Brothers and Rushes sat in on a liquid nitrogen demonstration with s’mores, got their hands dirty with oobleck, and made lemon soda. It was an enjoyable wrap up to the official rush events.
This semester, the rush adviser also decided to add an unofficial, not-for-credit rush event in between rush and preference week. Taking the example from other chapters, the rush adviser held a social cupcake decorating night. It allowed the Brothers and Rushes to bond on a less official, more relaxed atmosphere and was largely a success.
Delta Chi, using the new endorsement method, moved twenty-one of the thirty-nine Rushes onto preference week. Out of the thirty-nine, ten were not spoken about because of lack of endorsement, and eight that were discussed were not moved on to preference week. Thirty-nine is a lower number than usual for Rushes in the spring, as the registrar had some problems giving out the proper list of e-mails. However, the number of twenty-one is within the desired goal that the executive board wanted.
The first preference event was a dancing event. The Brothers and Prefs laughed at the goofiness of the event, but it allowed for bonding as people put themselves out of their comfort zone. The second pref event was the classic leadership planning, but instead of just leadership events, the Prefs planned a leadership, scholarship, and fellowship event. The last event was team builders, and because of a misstep, the event had to run without materials. Thanks to the help of ex orientation leaders, the event still ran smoothly with charades, an obstacle course, and two truths and a lie.
