The Interfraternity Council will be making major changes to the recruitment process this semester.
Traditionally, fraternity and sorority recruitment tend to be very different, with the latter being the more “formal,” said Max Lundin, vice president of IFC recruitment. IFC also has two rushes each year, while the Panhellenic Association only has one in spring.
However, for this recruitment IFC is becoming slightly more similar to PHA in terms of giving more exposure to each of the chapters on campus, Lundin said.
IFC is the umbrella organization for all of the fraternity chapters on campus. Likewise, the PHA serves the same purpose for all of the sorority chapters on campus.
“We’re trying to make it so you have more formalized education on what the different chapters have to offer,” he said. “We want to give the men who are rushing a more in-depth view into the chapters they are seeing.”
Lundin said he wants to inform the potential new members of what each chapter has to offer, receive feedback from them and allow them to explore all of their options on their own until they find their ideal match.
“My goal is that rush becomes more of a process to where every guy is going to get exposure to every different chapter he is going to want to see,” Lundin said.
On Jan. 29, IFC will be putting on a Greek Orientation Seminar, something relatively new to the IFC recruitment process.
Lundin said this will be a large presentation featuring all the presidents from the different chapters across campus, as well as representatives from Greek communities like the Multi-Cultural Greek Council and the National Pan-Hellenic Council.
Exposure to these two organizations is important because it shows that IFC and PHA are not the only Greek communities on campus.
“We want to show them that this is a community that we want to be progressive,” he said.
IFC’s Vice President of Community Programs Jesse Scheinman said he would also like to use the seminar as an opportunity to promote organizations like Men Against Rape and Sexual Assault.
On Jan. 31, when rush officially begins, IFC will put on rush tabling at the Indiana Memorial Union Solarium. At this event, potential new members will be meeting with different Greek organizations on campus at different tables. This is done as a means of better familiarizing the potential new members with what Greek life is about, Lundin said.
On Feb. 1 and 2, there will be tours of all the different fraternity chapters on campus.
Originally, IFC recruitment would consist of only the tabling and house tours, so this is a big step toward change, Lundin said. It allows for a broader representation of Greek life than what has been given in the past.
For this recruitment, Lundin said IFC is looking for trustworthy, ambitious potential new members. He said chapter presidents want members who won’t get their chapter revoked.
“These are the guys that you’re going to need when you need someone most, so those are the guys you should be looking for,” he said.
Following recruitment, Scheinman said IFC plans on educating new members on issues like sexual assault on campus. On top of this, he will be informing members of the philanthropy community service opportunities to get involved in.
“We hope to get the new members on a macro-community scale,” he said.
Given the recent controversy and suspensions of IU chapters like Alpha Tau Omega and Phi Kappa Psi, Lundin said he recognizes there may be a hesitancy to join a fraternity.
However, he said he believes members typically join with the intent of not getting their chapter revoked, so he doesn’t think it will drastically change their turnout of members recruiting this year.
“Everyone wants a community that works well together, and rush is the first step in creating that community,” Lundin said.
