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Monday, August 27, 1990 / University Daily Kansan
Sorority rho chis help women cope with rush
By Yvonne Guzman
Kansan staff writer
Kim Hutton, a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, said she didn't enjoy rush as a freshman. She thought it was too stressful.
This year, as a senior, Hutton wanted to make the process easier for freshman rushes. She became a rho ch, an active who was a big part of her college life at University of Kansas and the Greek system.
"She was your sister, your friend and your mom." Kelly said.
Hutton was one of 52 sorority members at the University who worked as a rho chi during rush, Aug. 15-12. Each rho chi was assigned a group of 13 to 20 rushes to work with.
Hutton said applicants will be nominated by their chapters, complete a written application and be interviewed and selected by the editorial board. The body of sojourns, before being selected
Angie Kelly, Pi Beta Phi pledge, said her rho chi was like a counselor.
Rho still attend training sessions every other week after their selection to learn rush driving.
Rho chi applicants must be juniors or seniors who have been rushees and have worked on rush with their socrity, said Rita Spagnoli. This year's Rho chis were selected in Fall 1989.
During rush. rho chis help new sorority
members find their way around campus and go with them to pay fees, Woodard said. They also answer questions about the houses and relations between the actives and the rushes.
Rho chis are not allowed to reveal which sorority they are from. If the rushes were known which sorority a certain rho chi was from, she might automatically choose that sorority, said Sarah Stewart, rho chi and Sigma Kappa junior.
The anonymity encourages them to make decisions based on what is best suited for them, Stewart said. Rho this are known only by their first names, and during rush they
Kelly Whelan, rohi choi and Gamma Phi Beta senior, said it was important to support rushes and give them guidance without telling them what to do.
"We didn't make decisions for them, but we learned how to ask questions so they could answer us."
"You're being a member of Panhellenic and not Sigma Kappa," she said.
But there's a lot more to it than that, she said. Freshmen who are rushing have a lot to deal with. They are houseseek and unfamiliar with the rules of the school; houses can cause insecurity and confusion.
"You're like a real counselor," Whelan said. "If there was bad news, we were the ones who broke it. It's hard to see them disappointed, and you know how disappointed they are."
Rush counselor Lori Edwards, St. Louis senior, removes her outer shirt and reveals that she is a Delta Camma
Whelan said one of her biggest jobs as a rho chie was helping rushes understand that rejection did not mean there was something wrong with them.
Moreover, rejection is not a tragedy.
She said the rush system was the best it could be but was not perfect. House activities don't get to know the rushes in 15 to 20 minutes, she said.
Whelan said.
"Being greek is not a vital part of life at KU," she said.
Only two out of every 10 women at KU belong to sororites. Whelan said that the greek system had much to offer but that it only part of the experience available at KU.
She said being a rho chi was a positive experience for her.
"It was an eye-opening experience for a lot of us," she said. "We've been surrounded by a lot of these stereotypes. All of these stereotypes are so untrue."
Working closely with the other rho chis for almost a year helped her realize how similar all the sororites were, Whelan said. After several months of training and regular school activities, they figured out which house each rho chi was from.
Andrew Morrison/Kansan
Karen Langdon of Tulsa, Okla., shades her eyes as she watches her daughter, Becky Langdon, participate in bid day for sorority rush.
Anticipation
Fraternities decide to take 96 pledges; fall formal rush satisfies, disappoints
By Mike Brassfield Kansan staff writer
Prospective members endure frenzied schedule for four difficult days
On Aug. 15, 148 men began the long, grueling process of fall trifalterny rush on August 30.
"On Wednesday, we went to 11 houses,
on Thursday, we went to 10 houses," said
Sarah. "We were very excited."
Schneider, who pledged Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity, said the men began rush activities at 9 a.m. and toured fraternities all afternoon.
"We spent a half hour in each house," he said. "They were long, hot days, and it was confusing sometimes. It was hard to remember everything you liked about each house."
Joel Payne, Kansas City, Mo., freshman,
said, "You get tired of shaking all those hands as you come through the door. I must have shook about a thousand hands."
Payne, who pledged Alpha Tau Omega,
added. "You hear a lot of the same stuff over
the years," he said.
Clayton Hess of Pleasingon, Calif., a freshman who pledged Lambi Chia Alpha, said, "It was really hectic and confusing. IFC (Interfraternity Council) passed out two different flow charts, and thing got screwed up sometimes. There would be three groups in one house, and some of the groups ended up in staying at a house for an hour and a half.
"At the end, our group went back to the house we had already been at. It all worked well."
Jeff Risley, vice president for public relations for the IPC, and two schedules instead of the daily schedule.
"One schedule was the opposite of the other, so there were a few problems," he said. "So we made a few phone calls and fixed everything and added a session at the
end to make sure everyone had seen every house. It was no big deal."
Those who were already members of fraternities also found the rush process less laborious.
"It was almost hell the first day," said Brian Deworth, Wichita freshman and ATO pledge. "There's no way you can remember all those names."
'You get tired of shaking all those hands as you come through the door. I must have shook about a thousand hands.'
Joel Payne
Joel Payne Alpha Tau Omega pledge
Dewhirst pledged ATO during informal
work and did not have to go to
formal rush.
"The worst part was climbing all those stairs," he said. "When you like a tour every half an hour, it feels like you're in Allen Field House, climbing five flights of stairs."
Although the men spent Wednesday and Thursday touring the fraternities, each fraternity threw rush parties on only one of those days, Dewhrist said.
Jose Rife, Lenexa senior and member of AKL, said, "It got very monotonous going over the same things over and over again. You have to make it work to make the same speech over a dozen times."
"If all's part of the game, I guess," he said.
When you're looking for a few good guys.
Dave Weaver, St. Louis freshman, said the rush candidates had to pick 10 fraternities to
return to Friday.
"a lot of guys narrowed it down to six or seven, but we still had to go back to 10 houses," said Weaver, who pledged Phi Kappa Theta.
Rose said, "During the first day, we tell them all about our house. On the second day, they get a chance to tell us about themselves."
Paine said, "The second meeting was a little more laid back because we'd already seen the houses and everything. I wasn't sure until the last day, when we made our choices."
After Friday's rush parties the men had to choose five fraternities to return to Saturday morning, Payne said. Then on Saturday they went out to fraternities they were interested in joining.
Dewhirst said that at the same time, traynates were wrongly candidates which the committee rejected.
Pawee said, "A lot of guys got dropped out. Some of them were pretty angry, but mostly they didn't."
"The whole house had a hard time narrow-
down," he said. "We ended up adding six
pictures."
Schneider said that Saturday the men filled out their preference sheets at 2 p.m. and didn't find out what fraternity they would pledge until 7 p.m.
"I was excited and nervous and scared all at once," he said.
Chad Smith, Rogers, Ark, freshman who pledged AKL, said. "It was the longest five year
He added, however, "The best part about rush was that I met tons of people. I'm from out of state and didn't know anybody at all. I made a lot of new friends."
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