duke details results from its rush, claims 213 pledges

With students papers replete this time of year with stories summarizing the results of rush, some articles are more noteworthy than others. And we select only the most noteworthy for your attention. Duke's roundup of its spring recruitment recommends itself for attention to detail, a snazzy color graphic of fraternal crests and pledges gained, and some actual quotes to put some meat on the gristle.

The raw numbers: 470 men rushed, 255 were given bids, and 213 accepted a bid, a small fall from last years' 225 pledges. In the current climate, anything better than a dramatic decline should be viewed as a victory. Duke appears to suffer from a certain stratification of its greek society, with Pi Kappa Phi claiming nearly half again as many pledges, 31, as the next-best recruiter with 22. A large cluster of greeks occupy the middle ground of high teens and low twenties, leaving three laggards in the single-digit recruitment range, bottomed out by Delta Kappa Epsilon with only four bids accepted.

But any paper can spout statistics. Duke illustrates the real human drama of the process in the person of Matthew Clayton, who was torn between following his friends to non-recognized Eta Prime (Kappa Sigma before the derecognition) and Delta Tau Delta, before ultimately opting for the latter. He explained: "With all of your friends going one place, you feel the pressure to follow. Then during rush you realize it's important not to think of it as following rumors or the image the frat puts out, but the group of people you want to emulate and live with."

The Interfraternity Council's response to the Sophie's Choices faced by some freshmen? Make them decide more precipitously! Wrote the Duke Chronicle, the "IFC might re-evaluate the length of time recruits can defer bids, so that fraternities know sooner who will constitute their incoming pledge class." They do at least acknowledge this may be disservice to rushees, though only obliquely by suggesting it may encourage more to drop bids. All in all, a fairly institution- rather than individual-centered treatment.

Duke Chronicle