Even after multiple attempts to recruit new freshmen, some fraternity members are concerned about the Interfraternity Council's ability to generate interest in Penn State greek life this year.
Despite a "mixer" yesterday, an after-party following Be a Part from the Start and attempted solicitation via Facebook.com, recruitment numbers are still expected to drop.
The decrease can be attributed to a smaller freshman class and being unable to use Facebook to invite potential members to greek events, Interfraternity Council President (IFC) Grant Miller said.
In an attempt to recreate last year's high fraternity recruit numbers, IFC vice president of membership Jared Stillman tried to use Facebook as a recruitment tool again. He tried to invite all male members of the class of 2011 to a recruitment Facebook group and found himself nearly blocked from the Web site.
Because of Facebook's updated privacy settings this year, Stillman received a warning that said he was spamming people and his profile would be blocked if he continued.
Stillman said he tried to explain the situation to Facebook, but the site's officials wouldn't excuse his mass invitation.
Last year, the recruitment numbers jumped significantly with the new accessibility of the freshman men's attention. This year, Miller said Penn State gave IFC a list of freshman men so that IFC could send them e-mails.
Also this year, far fewer students have attended house tours, Stillman said at a president's council meeting last week.
With hopes to increase interest in greek life, IFC held a "mixer" yesterday in the East Halls quad.
At the East Halls mixer, fraternity members, most of whom were wearing their letters, brought footballs and Frisbees to play with, in hopes of piquing the interests of the freshmen walking through the quad. Although one boy stopped to punt a football back into a game in the beginning of the "4 o'clock until dark," event, freshmen kept their distance for the most part.
The informal event was an opportunity for the fraternity brothers to get outside, play some sports and meet new girls and guys, said Phi Mu Delta fraternity member Collin Hayes (senior-civil engineering).
After this year's four weeks of rush, which began Sept. 3 and will continue until Oct. 1, recruits will potentially receive a "bid," meaning an offer to join a specific fraternity.
Stillman said IFC is trying to add some structure to their recruitment process -- through activities like house tours -- but they don't want the bid process to become too complicated.
"The events are open for a reason," Stillman said. They are meant to give a taste of the various organizations, he said, but after rush is over, events become closed.
Registration online at the greek life Web site through Interactive Collegiate Solutions (ICS) is strongly recommended, Stillman said, and is currently free for fraternity recruitment.
Phi Kappa Psi fraternity member John Bonner (junior-marketing) said one problem with recruitment is that most people don't know about the online registration process.
An estimated 800 to 850 men registered on the ICS server last year, Miller said, and of those, about 700 joined a fraternity.
Miller said he expects this year's numbers to be fewer, in part because the freshman class is smaller and also because they aren't able to use Facebook.
The ICS registration asks some open-ended questions about interests and high school activities so that houses with similar interests can invite possible members.
The mixer at East Halls was also intended to let potential recruits see the fraternity members in a setting other than a night out on the weekend.
"There's a lot more to greek life than the social aspect," Stillman said.
