A Guide to Fraternity Recruitment 2023
Hello!
Friends, welcome to the best time of the year. This year’s formal recruitment process will run from Tuesday, September 5th through Saturday, September 9th. For those 5 days, you’re invited to meet the chapters at their residences and get to know the men of each chapter. We refer to it as formal recruitment because all the chapters are focused on collaborating for recruitment events that are held at the same time.
If you don’t decide to join a chapter during formal recruitment, all the chapters offer the chance to get to know and join them in an informal setting (known as informal recruitment) for the rest of the school year.
Either way, we’re excited to have you here. Whether you’re here to meet lifelong friends or maintain academic excellence, I’m confident that you’ll find what you’re looking for in our vibrant community.
We welcome you regardless of your interest level, political affiliation, age, race, and any other distinct qualities and experiences that you may have. Enjoy this guide to recruitment and gear up for a great week!
The Terms
Many of the FSL chapters on campus will refer to certain things with lingo that you might not understand. Here are a few of those terms. Please email or text me with any other questions that you have about our jargon—I know there’s a lot, and this is by no means a comprehensive list.
Potential New Member/PNM—This is what you are! Any person who is interested in joining a fraternity/sorority.
Rush/Recruitment—The process of recruitment in which potential new members find their new homes.
Bid Day—This is the day that you join your new chapter! For us this year, it will be on the night of Saturday, September 9th.
Bid—A formal extended offer of membership from a fraternity to a potential new member.
Pledge/New Member—A new member that has joined a chapter (accepted a bid) and is not yet fully initiated. Some houses do not have a new membership period, so please ask the specifics of each chapter.
Initiation—varies by house, but the action of acceptance of a new member into a chapter.
Dues—The monetary amount paid by members to be members in their chapters. Varies by chapter, and even varies within chapters based on age, where you live, and other factors.
The Dates
Tuesday 9/5 5:00pm-9:00pm— house Rotations
This is the very first event of Fall Formal Recruitment. It’s one of your first opportunities to meet the chapters. Once you arrive, you’ll be assigned a random group number, and your group will rotate from chapter to chapter for 35 minutes per house. This is the only time during recruitment when you’ll be asked to go visit each chapter. You’ll see each chapter once, tour their house, and will be given an opportunity to learn about chapter operations, social life, and the details of life within the brotherhood. It is a great way to get your feet wet and learn about all of the houses to better set yourself up for the next couple days of recruitment.
Wednesday 9/6 5:00pm-9:00pm—Recruitment Day II
This is an opportunity to visit in depth with chapters and build on what you learned on day 1-- day 2 of formal recruitment. This is a day to jump in and visit the houses you liked from day 1.
For the entirety of day II of recruitment, you’ll be able to visit all of the chapters in specific time slots. (Sigma Chi, TKE, SAE, FIJI, Phi Delt, and Sig Ep)
From 5:00pm-7:00pm, you will be able to visit the following chapters: TBD
From 7:00pm-9:00pm, you will be able to visit the following chapters: TBD
Thursday 9/7 5:00pm-9:00pm—Recruitment Day III
From 5:00pm-7:00pm you’ll be able to visit the following chapter houses: TBD
From 7:00pm-9:00pm you’ll be able to visit the following chapter houses: TBD
Friday 9/8 6:00pm-9:00pm—Recruitment Day IV
This is usually the day that potential new members have narrowed down their choices and typically only visit their favorites. It’s three hours, and you’ll be able to go to visit any of the seven chapters.
For the entirety of day III of recruitment, you’ll be able to visit all of the chapters (Sigma Chi, TKE, SAE, FIJI, Phi Delt, and Sig Ep)
Saturday 9/9 10:00am-1:00pm Recruitment — 7:00pm-9:00pm Bid night
Saturday Morning: You’ll be able to visit any or all chapters (or none) from 10AM till 1PM.
At night, you’ll meet up with us at Pom Stage (on the main floor of the Olmsted Center in front of the bookstore) at 7:00pm, and you’ll be given copies of bids that you receive from the chapters that you’ve met with. You can take the entire time to decide, and/or wait to decide until later. After you choose which chapter you want to join, you’ll be escorted by delegates from that chapter to the chapter house.
The Process
For each of the four days of formal recruitment (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday), I will bring a group of potential new members from campus to Greek Street (34th Street between Forest Ave and University Ave). Everday, we will meet up around 15 minutes before the start of the first timeslot outside of Olmsted center in Helmick Commons.
If you miss the group walking, no worries! There is no specific place that you’re supposed to be during recruitment, so you can show up and/or leave as you please from any specific chapter. It’s always fun to walk as a group, but it’s not mandatory.
Be ready to answer some questions about yourself and come prepared with questions for the chapters. Some good questions to ask are:
-How many members live in the chapter house?
-What are your favorite experiences as a fraternity man?
-Why did you choose your chapter?
-How much are dues?
-How many social events do you typically have per semester?
What to Wear
Whatever you want. There is no dress code for fraternity recruitment, but I do recommend wearing something that you are confident and comfortable in. I’ve seen people rock everything from t-shirts and Birks to business casual. Just so you know, business casual gets a little bit hot.
FAQs
I’m out of town or Will be unable to attend specific days?
Our recruitment is fully in-person this year for those that want to attend. Yet, if you are unable to make specific days or times. Please be sure to reach out to the VP of Recruitment Charlie Galloway. If you communicate with him, we will easily be able to make sure that you are able to rush!
Where are the chapters?
All chapters are within a 5-minute walk of Drake. If you’re putting them in GPS, they’re all in Des Moines, IA with a zip code of 50311.
Phi Delta Theta—1245 34th St.
Sigma Chi—3212 Forest Ave.
Theta Chi—1320 34th St.
Sigma Phi Epsilon—1243 34th St.
Phi Gamma Delta—1236 34th St.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon—1235 34th St.
Tau Kappa Epsilon—1316 34th St.
Do I have to sign a bid during recruitment?
Nope! You can choose to wait, or learn more about the fraternities if you’d like.
What behavior is not allowed?
We’re pretty laid back, but we have zero tolerance for harassment, intolerance, or disrespect for others. This is self-explanatory.
Drake IFC Recruitment is a dry process, so please do not bring, consume, or accept any alcohol during the recruitment process. If it is offered to you by a chapter, please bring it to my attention immediately.
Please be respectful at all times of other students on campus, staff, and sorority members/potential new members. Firstly, that’s just the right thing to do. Secondly, specifically in the case of sorority members, their recruitment is far more rigid than ours, and it can be extremely stressful. It takes lots of folks a lot of time to make things go right, so don’t be that guy and ruin it.
Between Day I of Recruitment (Tuesday, September 5th) and Bid Night (Saturday, September 9th), you should not be meeting with any of the fraternities or their members outside of the specified recruitment times. Any communication between PNMs and chapters should remain virtual during this time, and we ask that you not attend any events that are not officially listed. If this policy is not followed, there will be consequences for the participating fraternity and your eligibility for recruitment could be jeopardized.
Contact Information
Reach out to us if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. If you’d like to contact an individual chapter, let me know and I can facilitate that.
Charlie Galloway (Vice president of recruitment)
773-383-7619
charlie.galloway@drake.edu
Cody Butenhoff (President)
815-302-7558
cody.butenhoff@drake.edu