Adam Weber’s job has him overseeing the entire fraternity recruitment process — that means more than 30 fraternity chapters and 1,800 students rushing in the fall and half that in the spring. He’s the point of contact with all chapters and their rush chairs.
Weber, vice president of recruitment for Interfraternity Council, said he wants to make the rushees more comfortable and their experiences more efficient.
In the rush process hopefuls will attempt to establish a rapport with members of the chapter in order to be offered a bid. At IU this process can be hectic because of the amount of students involved.
In the spring, there are more than 900 students who must be satisfied. They have to be shown to all the houses and given an opportunity to talk to brothers. That means a lot of work for Weber.
“I will be very accessible,” Weber said. “If you have any questions, please contact me. I’m willing to help any kid find the right chapter for them.”
He said he thinks it is important to have an open-door policy because rush can be a very complicated process. That’s why he wants to implement some changes this semester.
“The problem in the past is that people didn’t know who was in charge of recruitment,” Weber said. “I want people to know that they can reach out to me.”
Weber said rushees will be introduced to different members of the IFC board and learn about different things going on like philanthropy.
Weber said he thinks giving rushees more exposure to the inner workings of IFC and greek life will make them feel more comfortable and make the entire experience smoother. However, he’s still looking to make it more efficient.
“What I’m doing is having some part of the questions just be me addressing frequently asked questions,” Weber said.
He said he will try to forgo the period when rushes ask questions because he said the students are often too anxious to ask their questions. That’s why he will focus on the most frequently addressed concerns and questions to start the questions-and-answer portion. He said he hopes his initiative will encourage students to ask more questions.
The most important initiative he said he’ll present this semester is a two-round rush.
“In the past kids give up after a week or two thinking that there aren’t available spots, and that’s simply not the case,” he said.
He said there is traditionally one round lasting a couple of weeks. The round involves tours and bids being offered. However, Weber said that doesn’t work.
“I’m going to ask every chapter what their goal is for their recruitment class,” Weber said. “I’ll be able to look at which kids haven’t signed bids yet, and I can say, ‘Hey, these guys have a spot, and I can put you in touch with their rush chair.’”
Another round could grant hopefuls another chance.
Additionally, he said he will try to make the housing tours three days, not two. He said he thinks it will give rushees a better opportunity to build a rapport with chapters.
Some in the greek community, like sophomore Ben Harrison, welcome Weber’s initiatives. Harrison is currently pledging a fraternity, but he said he recalls his rush process being a challenge.
Harrison said he supports the initiatives by Weber to make rush less challenging for students. He thinks these implementations will be good because rushees tend to give up prematurely.
“I went in knowing a few people after rushing freshman year,” Harrison said. “What helped me the second time around was that I had specific houses to revisit where I already knew people.”
Weber said he wants to avoid incidents where young men, like Harrison, are forced to wait an entire semester or school year to have another opportunity to receive a bid.
With these changes at hand, Weber and Harrison said they look forward to being part of rush and talking to as many hopefuls as possible.
