Men's rush kicks off

It's that time of year: the first couple weeks of school when male students can become actively involved in the process of "going greek." Tonight from 5 to 7 p.m. in Dunn Meadow, the greek kickoff for men's rush begins.\n"Each chapter goes to Dunn Meadow on Friday for an informal gathering to meet rushees," said president of Sigma Chi, senior Kevin Byrne. "Tables will be set up for each chapter."\nProspective rushees can register for rush at Dunn Meadow with the Interfraternity Council. Fraternity members and rushees will meet at Dunn Meadow Saturday followed by chapter presentations in Woodburn Hall. \n"On Saturday, it's more formal. More information is given, and you get to know people a little more," Byrne said. "Each chapter will give a presentation of their history. After the presentations, it is up to the rushees to go to the houses they are interested in."\nRushees can further select their preferred houses by going to chapter visitations Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. \n"Twenty to 30 guys will be assigned a counselor to look at houses in a group," said president of Phi Delta Theta, senior Zeb Holt. "Every chapter will be doing something."\nByrne said potential greeks should keep an open mind when going through rush.\nEach chapter will organize other activities with rushees in order to get to know them better throughout the rush process.\n"We take rushees out to dinner with about four brothers and four rushees," Holt said. "We're going to have a poker night and football night."\nHolt said after the three weeks of rush, it's up to each individual chapter to extend a bid.\n"When I came here, I didn't want to join right away, but I got involved after my friend had good experiences," said president of Acacia, junior Matt McGill.\nJunior Jeff Newcom, Alpha Tau Omega president, said being a brother in the greek community is a great chance to be a part of the community at IU.\nWhile rushees were required to tour each house in the pas, this year each fraternity will make a presentation in Woodburn Hall.\n"They changed it because some houses are physically better than others, and some people don't even have a house," Newcom said. He encourages students to participate in the greek system at IU.\n"Being a part of a fraternity allows you to make friends for the rest of your life," Newcom said. "It allows you to excel in school by providing positive reinforcement.\n-- Contact staff writer Daria Kamalipour at dkamalip@indiana.edu.