Fraternity Recruitment

Twice a year there is a haze of smoke rising above Bowman Field which marks the beginning of fraternity recruitment. Tents with Greek letters of campus fraternities pervade Bowman. Brothers recruit potential new members and share conversation while grilling various dishes. The smoke from the food grilling outside is what gives these gatherings their names of “Smokers”.

Recruitment starts on Sundays usually in Tillman Auditorium with “Rush Convocation” where the executive board of the Inter fraternity Conference speaks about what it means to be Greek. Then an advisor will speak about the benefits of joining a fraternity. Afterwards, Smokers begin on Bowman Field and last usually about two hours per night for Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. On Wednesday, invitational parties begin. Fraternities invite selected potential new members to a private party at various locations. These parties are usually a dinner and provide one-on-one time for the potential new members and the brothers to get to know one another. Then on Friday, fraternities pass out bids to those whom they feel would be a valuable addition to their fraternity.

Fraternity recruitment is primarily where the vast majority of pledging begins. However, Clemson University’s Inter fraternal Conference uses the “Open Rush” policy where chapters have the option to give bids to potential new members at any time. The most conventional way to join a fraternity is through fraternity recruitment.

For more information and calendar events about Clemson fraternity recruitment, visit:

http://people.clemson.edu/~ifc/

For information about North American Interfraternity Conference, visit:

http://www.nicindy.org/index.html