Submitted by Dusty Lacefield 12-F, Chapter Advisor
The Interfraternity Council (IFC) is the governing body over all 11 fraternities at Fresno State. IFC consists of a seven-member executive board, three of which are Sigma Chi’s this term. Each fraternity president attends weekly meetings on behalf of their chapter. IFC has many other functions, but for now our focus is on recruitment. The board is responsible for coordinating a formal recruitment process, designed to eliminate any potential dirty rushing or unfair practices, and ensuring each fraternity has an equal opportunity to recruit new members. Potential new members sign up for recruitment through IFC by providing their basic contact information and attending the IFC info night.
The IFC info night consists of a five-minute presentation by each fraternity held Monday night on campus. Tuesday to Friday include individual events planned by each fraternity. There are strict guidelines to these recruitment events, including no parties, alcohol or women at these events. Each event is monitored by IFC board members. Our events are generally held in the evenings and include events such as house tours, dodgeball, Downing Planetarium presentation, and bowling at Fresno State Bulldog Bowl, among others. Saturday is our invite only Steaks and Sigs, where the house chef prepares an excellent meal for the brothers and potential new members. Limiting this event to invite-only allows the brothers to focus on the potential new members most likely to receive a bid.
The chapter then provides a bid list to IFC. Potential new members review their bids on Sunday where they accept a bid on the spot. On average, around 60 to 80 potential new members attend our rush events, with around 20 to 25 bids extended, although we don’t have any requirements on how many or few pledges we take. We have a nearly 100% bid acceptance rate. This year, we extended 21 bids and 20 were accepted.
The basis for recruitment and pledging remains the same as it always has. Our brothers are trained to recruit potential new members based on our seven values. Potential new members need to express interest in the brotherhood first and foremost. If they only show a desire for partying, do not meet the GPA requirements, or overall don’t seem to fit well with our brotherhood, then they are unlikely to receive a bid. The brothers conduct a review meeting on Saturday. Over the course of a few hours, they debate each individual potential new member, and a majority decision decides who receives a bid.
Our new pledge program, Preparation for Brotherhood, was adopted by all chapters about seven years ago. The program was shortened to four weeks, therefore the brothers have very little time to prepare the pledges for brotherhood. During that time, they learn about our history, our values, and participate in several group events designed to strengthen the bonds of brotherhood. As mentioned before, it’s crucial we only extend bids to those with the greatest chances of being initiated, as the chapter is limited to the four weeks of pledging.
If you know someone interested in rushing, I recommend reviewing our history and values with them, in order that they have the best opportunity to receive a bid. Although recruitment can be very intimidating, it’s important for recruits to be themselves rather than attempt to be someone they think the fraternity wants to recruit. We encourage diversity among our brotherhood, having different temperaments, talents and convictions. I hope this provides clarity for those of you that had questions regarding recruitment. If you have any questions or comments, you can reach me by email at dustinlacefield@gmail.com or on my cell at (559) 283-3778.