The Inter-Fraternity Council (IFC) is sponsoring fall rush for the next two weeks for those interested students who want to find out what being in a Greek fraternity is all about. West Chester University has eight national fraternities that belong to the IFC and all have something great to offer. With almost one thousand students involved in the Greek system, it is easily the biggest student organization on campus. The benefits to join are tremendous. Fraternities push the agenda of academics, philanthropy, community service, athletics, and brotherhood. There are often stereotypes that are mostly negative to be assigned to the Greek community. However, time and time again the results show that going Greek is positive. Last spring the fraternities were well above the all male average GPA. It is an emphasis on academics as well as a strong peer support group that produces higher grades. Another aspect of fraternity life that is great is athletics. There are seven sports that are all highly competitive and IFC crowns a champion for each sport. It has a feeling of high school sports since you are regularly playing for your own fraternity and the crowd is pretty intense for playoff and championship games. The sports offered are football, basketball, soccer, softball, dodge ball, volleyball, and hockey. Over a full year’s time the fraternity with the most championships gets the IFC Cup trophy. Many people who miss the four years of athletics they played in high school find the same competitiveness and fun in fraternity sports. The fraternities in IFC are considered social organizations. All plan date parties and most have formals over a weekend at hotel resorts. They also take beach trips together at the start of summer or ski trips during winter break. The social calendar is always full, but it is always done in a safe and lawful way that complies with FIPG regulations.
Besides academics, the biggest part of being in a fraternity is to spread goodwill to the campus and community at large. All fraternities have national philanthropies that they raise thousands of dollars for each year. In addition, they all participate together in raising thousands for Camp Dream Catcher, an organization that offers a summer camp for children infected with the HIV virus. Participation in other student activities is always a hallmark of fraternities, as many student government representatives belong to Greek organizations. Community service events such as campus cleanups and helping promote awareness of sexual abuse are common activities that they take part in.
Joining a fraternity means that you are a member for life. The networking possibilities are so great that it is hard to even really know how many people would be willing to put a foot in the door for you just because you are a brother of their fraternity. So if you would like to check out what each organization has to offer, than the next two weeks are crucial. Everything kicks off this Monday with the Round Robin rush meeting in Sykes that has all fraternities presenting. Then there are rush meetings from 7-10PM at Sykes in the ballrooms on Tuesday the 15th, Wednesday the 16th, Tuesday the 22nd, and Wednesday the 23rd with bids going out at midnight.
Kevin Roman
VP of Communications, IFC