Under 30 Five years ago, the University of La Verne in California announced that the rush process for fraternities and sororities would be delayed to later in the school year. In response, La Verne's chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity commenced legal action.
All rush is is speech.
It's trying to convince people that you're a good organization that somebody would want to be a member of. Rush is pure speech, and the Supreme Court has said that a delay in speech of even a minute is a denial of your free speech rights. Threatened with legal sanction, La Verne quickly abandoned its plan to delay fraternity rush. The students won. Before students in Hanover rejoice, however, it should be noted that students at private schools in California enjoy greater civil liberties protections than do students at similar institutions in New Hampshire and Dartmouth is largely responsible for that situation.