All fraternities have an equal chance to get new members through three formal Rushes held during the year. Only 58 men decided to rush this winter and only 44 joined chapters, according to information supplied by the Inter-Fraternity Council. Numbers have dropped about 10 percent. However, with plenty of new ideas and goals, Champaine expects to see an increase in rushees within the next couple of years. Inter-Fraternity Council Vice President Brian Jarrard believes the decline in numbers might be due to the costs of fraternity life.
Times are tough and few are willing to invest the time and the money into social organizations.
This does not include the basic expenses of all students, such as tuition, rent, utilities and entertainment. Bill Gould, president of Sigma Nu Fraternity, wonders whether the media has played a role in the lack of men willing to join fraternities. Hazing incidents have headlined newspapers and movies make fraternity boys look evil, preppie and extremely wealthy. Gould recognizes that trends come and go and perhaps the popularity of fraternities is just in a rut and may get out of it in the next few years. It's almost unfashionable to join a fraternity nowadays.