Greek rush moves from spring to fall
By Devon Wilkinson// News Editor
The Office of Greek Life recently announced it will no longer have a spring rush process for freshmen but instead, will allow freshmen to rush in the fall semester. The change will go into effect during the 2017-2018 academic year, with the fall being the primary semester for recruitment.
“Switching to a fall rushing process really benefits everybody,” said Teri Cugliari, director of Greek life at HPU. “From a university standpoint, we know that students will attain at a higher rate when they are able to be a part of fraternities and sororities.”
In previous years, fraternities and sororities depended on the first semester grades of potential new members (PNMs) to assist with the recruitment decisions for the chapter. This will not be possible with fall rush.
“Fraternities and sororities will be expected to utilize high school grades of the PNMs to ensure GPA requirements are met,” Cugliari said. “Chapters will still use the same standards that they set by their own bylaws.”
Although many schools currently offer fall rush for freshmen, the change will take some adjustment for HPU organizations which are long accustomed to spring rush.
“It’s going to be a quick turn around, but we expect a consistent schedule with the rushing process after the first year the change is in action,” Cugliari said.
Even with the quick turn around, Nia Page, Phi Mu recruitment chair, seems confident that a fall rush is the best thing for the Greek life at HPU.
“Incoming freshmen will have the ability to seek out a community on campus early on in their transition to life in college,” Page said. “The adjustment process can be difficult for some, so having the opportunity to join a community almost instantaneously may eliminate some of the stress and worry of securing a sense of belonging and connection to others.”
For further details on recruitment and additional updates, visit highpoint.edu/greeklife.