Students rushing fraternities and sororities this year will experience a very different process than in years past, in large part because of Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Patrick Romero-Aldaz's reforms.
Students will see greater administrative support, but will also deal with stricter administrative oversight under the new director's control.
Working with the Inter-Greek Council (IGC), Romero-Aldaz has helped to reform the spring 2008 rush process, or recruitment, for the Greek system. The process begins tomorrow for sororities and on Monday for fraternities.
The Greek system will have to be completely dry during rush, according to Romero-Aldaz. "The [r]ecruitment period is supposed to be alcohol free and we are intending to abide by that this year," he told the Daily in an e-mail.
This year's changes reflect the Greek life director's focus on a stricter enforcement of national Greek recruitment rules. "Some [n]ational rules are governing changes [to] processes in [r]ecruitment," he said. "These will be enforced using the mechanisms given through those national bodies or through our own policies."
Another change this year will be that recruitment is set to be more formal and better coordinated with Romero-Aldaz working to oversee the system. Romero-Aldaz was hired last March to fill the spot that Todd Sullivan left vacant when he departed in 2006.
The absence of a Greek director in the 2007 spring semester left the burden of managing the rush process largely resting on the students. "Recruitment is earlier [this year], women will likely see a few less decorations, and chapters are trying to educate the community on what it's like to really be Greek," Romero-Aldaz said.
"We're fortunate to have the help of the administration with this," said junior Dave Libardoni, president of Delta Upsilon. "Last year, a lot of the burden fell on the officers."
According to Libardoni, rush occurred later in the semester than usual last year, and it was uncoordinated. "It was more like the students trying to organize the dates," he said. Adding to the problem, a notably lower number of students participated last year than the year before.
An initial Greek recruitment open house will be held today. "Potential new members will have a chance to meet members from Greek organizations at Tufts," said junior Per Sandell, president of both the (IGC) and Sigma Epsilon, in an e-mail.
Recruitment is the process by which freshmen choose a house to join and the houses decide on which freshmen to recruit. "The recruitment process provides an opportunity for potential new members to meet chapter members, as well as have a chance to see exactly what all of our chapters are about," Sandell said.
The IGC has also done its part to step up efforts to prepare for recruitment this year. "The recruitment process is more organized because the Inter-Greek Council started planning for spring recruitment earlier this year," Sandell said. "We expect to see a rise in the number of students joining the Greek community. Additionally, we have taken a few steps to help inform the community about recruitment."
Libardoni is optimistic about this season's rush. "I think we have a better chance of getting more Greeks from all the houses," Libardoni said. "I think we have a good, positive outlook on the entire season."
Sandell had similar hopes for the improvement and expansion of Greek life in the coming semester. "I think that the campus can expect to have many more Greek sponsored events, and projects with visible results," he said. "I am excited for the next semester and cannot wait for a great recruitment."
Romero-Aldaz shared this enthusiasm. "I am welcoming the forward movement with open arms as it will only lead to a stronger Greek community," he said.
