Rush events find mixed interest

Author: Zamir Ahmed

The College's four active social houses saw varying degrees of success in the popularity of their rush events during the recently completed two-week rush period. Despite the range in rush attendance for different houses, many fulfilled or exceeded their targeted pledge class size.

Kappa Delta Rho (KDR) and Xenia saw a decrease in attendance for their rush events from last year, which had yielded one of the largest pledge classes in recent memory. Despite the drop in turnout, KDR currently fields the same number of pledges as last year. Xenia has four pledges, down from an average of five or six in previous semesters.

Attendance at Tavern rush events remained steady from last year. The Mill was the only social house to see a dramatic increase in attendance for rush this year, which yielded a "troublingly large pledge class of 16," according to The Mill president Luke Woods '07.

Rush period is designed for interested students to attend events at the houses to sample the social life and atmosphere of the particular house. All social house events during rush period are required to be dry, a College policy that was violated by the now-suspended Delta House last year. The active social houses said that they remain committed to adhering to the College's rules.

"Our policy on rush and pledge has always been that it should remain dry, in keeping with the college policies," said Flannery Murphy '07, president of KDR. This has been something KDR emphasizes to anyone considering pledging and we take it very seriously. We believe that pledge should be a time that you make bonds with people without the influence of alcohol."

A fluctuation in rush turnout this year has not seemed to affect the popularity of social house parties, as each social house reported numbers in attendance at their gatherings similar to last year.

"Similar to rush, attendance at our parties hasn't been falling," said Chris Shea '07, president of Tavern. "Our parties are still well-attended and we've had good relations with the administration in working to make the parties run smoothly."

According to Xenia leaders, the attractiveness of social house parties extends beyond the lure of free alcoholic beverages, as parties at the substance-free house have gained popularity this year from previous years.

"We've had a dramatic increase in attendance at parties," said Matthew Johnstone '07, president of Xenia. "Quite a few freshmen have been attending events, which from our perspective is excellent news."

This year, the administration created workshops to educate students about the rules for hosting on-campus parties, regardless of whether parties occur in social houses or other campus locations. The workshops are in a large part a reaction to College violations at the March 31 party at Delta House that resulted in the organization's year-long suspension.

"In the immediate wake of Delta's suspension last spring, Public Safety and the administration were particularly vigilant," said Murphy. "This year, Public Safety offers party host workshops for anyone who will host a party on campus and they clearly outline all of the policies. To have informed and knowledgeable party hosts, we are better prepared to handle situations that arise during parties that we host."

A majority of the social houses leaders said that the suspension of Delta House had not significantly affected the way Public Safety patrols their house parties.

"Public Safety seems to be pretty consistent in their enforcement of the rules," said Woods.

With the recent suspension of Delta House this year and the disbandment of Zeta Theta Phi two years ago, the social house scene on campus has been significantly reduced from previous years. But, social house leaders expressed the belief that the numbers from this year's rush and pledge periods indicate that the organizations will remain a viable part of the College's social atmosphere.

"There is a feeling on campus that the administration may be trying to phase out the social houses," said Murphy. "However, the remaining houses are still here and strong. We provide something to students you can't get anywhere else."