The Greek community at UW-Platteville is working to increase enrollment during Rush, an event that takes place during the first three to four weeks of this semester.

Rush is another form of recruitment, Abby Felix, Kappa Alpha Sigma sorority member, said. Rush is when a sorority or fraternity plans events that help people get to know the organization, possible future sisters and brothers and gauge compatibility and interest.

When a person attends Rush events, the fraternity and sorority members try to find a connection with prospective members, Jeff Blum, Sigma Pi fraternity member, said.

“Rush isn’t about the fraternity, it’s about the people attending the rush events,” Blum said. “Much of what we try to do involves networking, getting to know people and introducing them to people we know.”

“Different organizations have different cultures, beliefs, or ideals so even if you are turned off by one fraternity, doesn’t mean you will be turned off by another,” Blum said.

Individual chapters and Greek organizations have their own specific dates of rush, Kelly Jo Aldworth, adviser for United Greek Council and Women’s Greek Council, said.

When choosing events, picking a broad range of ideas that covers different activities people are interested in and that will create good interaction are typically what is looked for, Blum said.

“I’m attending Rush events for Sigma Pi. I had met some of the guys before and became interested in what the fraternity had to offer,” Tim Cieminski, freshman mechanical engineering major, said. “They are a fun group of people and they can help with school when there are other members that share your major and can help with problems in homework and projects,” Cieminski said.

Overall numbers are down a little from the past 5-6 years, but the current members are very involved with their communities, Aldworth said.

It is a national trend that the numbers for recruitment are down, and there are multiple things that could be causing this, Aldworth said. One reason is students aren’t looking for larger commitments because they want the freedom to do a variety of activities.

“Fraternities and sororities can be a big time commitment, the best thing to do is research an organization that best fits your needs and ask questions,” Blum said. “Some organizations will place a large emphasis on academics, scholarship and organization and ultimately will help you to balance your involvements.”

A recruitment task force was developed to look at the possible causes for the recruitment decrease and find new ways to improve the numbers, Aldworth said.

The Greek community is involved in a one-for-one project, where each member of the Greek community has a goal of recruiting one prospective member for their organization, Aldworth said. A national group called Phired Up will also be coming to UW-Platteville during February to do a workshop with the entire Greek community, presenting on ideas for recruitment.

“We just want to show that we are another group of friends that you can hang out with,” Blum said.