The Interfraternity Council met last night to talk about fall rush.

The group approved a $10 rush fee that students will need to pay to participate in recruitment activities. Registration, which officially begins today at 5:00 pm, can be completed here. Members of the IFC say that the funds will be used to purchase wristbands and t-shirts for potential members.

I’m torn on this change. Simple microeconomics is enough to predict the outcome: raise the price and fewer people will participate. This in itself could be a good thing. It will reduce the tendency of freshman to participate in recruitment activities simply to attend the parties.

But that’s a questionable tactic. Sometimes, those freshman on the margins are precisely whom the IFC should be going after. As much as my new media proclivities might suggest otherwise, I was very interested in the Greek life last fall. I had been part of something similar in high school (boarding school FTW), and knew the brotherhood that naturally arises out of living, working, and playing together. In a last minute decision, I participated in fall rush and ended up pledging at ATO. (It didn’t last long though… the frat was not the best fit for me and my time was scarce due to things like this blog.)

My point is that the freshman who will decide not to rush because of the $10 fee might include the very types of guys that the IFC should be actively recruiting. In short, people who aren’t sure that Greek life is for them because of the social stigma it has developed in recent years.

The second policy change to come out of last night’s meeting was to not allow potential members to attend social events during the first and second week of school. In a press release issued last night, Vice President of Communications Zachary Meli said,

The intent of the revision is to prevent potential new members from believing that membership is not required to enjoy the benefits of being in a fraternity.

In other words, if you want to drink our beer, you gotta drink the Kool-Aid too.