The Interfraternity Council Barbecue kicked off Recruitment on Wednesday in front of Frog Fountain in an attempt to encourage participation.Senior George Ferguson, Jr., vice president of Recruitment within IFC, said he is excited about the semester ahead.
“We’re trying to give fraternities a good, positive image this year,” he said.
Ferguson said Greek organizations often do not get credit for the good they do at TCU.
“A lot of people don’t know that Greeks have a higher GPA than non-Greeks,” Ferguson said. “Last year, we did over 25,000 hours in community service. We also gave over $250,000 in philanthropy.”
The event marked the official beginning of fraternity Recruitment while serving as a meet-and-greet between potential candidates and the 10 fraternities in IFC . Recruitment ends Sept. 1 with Bid Day, where fraternities select new members.
Although the barbecue initiated fall Recruitment, fraternities have spent the past few months looking for new members.
Junior Matt Foust, president of Pi Kappa Phi, said Recruitment is an ongoing process.
“Since early summer, we’ve been taking guys out to dinner and baseball games, as well as a Jack Johnson concert,” Foust said.
Randy Horne, IFC vice president, said the barbecue was a success because it convinced students who otherwise might not be interested in Greek life to get involved.
“We organized this event to increase the number of people going through Rush,” Horne said.
Jonathan Elder, IFC adviser, said the event was intended to be an informative session, as well as an informal way to publicize IFC.
“This is our first official event,” Elder said. “On Saturday, we’ll have an orientation in Ed Landreth Hall to go over the basic information, as well as rules and regulations of Rush.”
Associate Dean of Campus Life James Parker said that while the number of students participating in Recruitment is low, he expects numbers to rise.
“We have 225 guys going through Rush, and we expect more by the end of the week,” Parker said.
Even though the barbecue was the first event of Recruitment, Elder encouraged students to get involved with the Greek system at TCU.
“It’s not too late to Rush,” Elder said. “You don’t have to be a freshman to get involved.
