The word itself is a good indicator of what you are going to expect from this type of event. It gives fraternities the opportunity to get to know a number of potential new members during a somewhat brief social gathering such as a beach party, a concert, or any kind of situation that allows for casual networking.
There should be music and the environment should be set in a way that allows rushees to feel comfortable. This serves various purposes and helps make this process more relaxing. With that said, it is very important to be able to create an event that will go as planned.
Now that we got the basics on how to do a successful rush event, we can start working on the details on how it should be planned. There are also some pointers on how you should engage this process if you want to achieve the best results with rushees.
Should you allow alcohol to be consumed during rushes?
Some fraternities do not allow alcoholic beverages during their rushes, but this could prove to be a mistake. The reason why you should bring alcohol into the mix is to see which of your rushees is going to reveal any type of behavioral issues related to alcohol consumption.
There are many fraternities that provide alcoholic beverages to the rushees just to discover how they behave. This is a good test because many individuals act in a completely different way when they are inebriated.
Make sure that you create an event schedule
You need to treat rushes as events that help you gauge the level of commitment and responsibility of the rushees. If you set a specific time for arrival, they should all be there at that time. If anyone is late, this is a red flag that you may want to consider unless they have a truly compelling reason for being late.
You should always announce the entire duration of the event so that rushees can make sure that they are able to attend without issues. You should calculate how long it would take your fraternity to socialize with each of the rushees.
You can’t really consider a rush event to be a success if you are not learning as much as you can about each rushee. This is the reason why you need to assign several fraternity members to this task simultaneously.
How to plan the RUSH EVENT
Sometimes the biggest issue with rush events is that fraternities don’t plan them properly and this leads to setbacks. The ideal way to do this is to plan the event at least a few weeks prior in order to ensure that you will have everything set up and ready to go on the day of the rush.
This is similar to studying for an exam and the last thing you want is to be learning everything on the last day. Think of your rush event as an investment to bring in more quality members. Don’t see it as a party, see it as a way for your fraternity to grow and expand. The bigger it becomes, the more it benefits each member.
Some good ideas for your rush events include:
- College sporting events
- Beach party
- Bowling night
- Pool and darts
- Outdoors barbecue
- Formal dinner
While all of the above ideas are great, the most common are the BBQ cookouts and the bowling or game night type of events. These are great because they don’t require any extensive planning.
For example, for the BBQ day, you just need to decide on a good spot, acquire a grill that allows you to cook a large amount of meat at once, a sound system for music, and the food you will be cooking. This is as simple as it gets and it will provide a perfect environment for the rush event to take place.
The budget for a BBQ can be quite low as you are able to get discounts on bulk cuts of meat, sausages, and BBQ sauce at most grocery stores. This has become one of the most reliable ways to rush and it can be done outdoors, which makes it even easier
Pool and darts are similar as you only need to worry about providing snacks and beverages as the night goes on. You could decide to run the event at an hour that allows the rushees to attend after they have lunch and before they have dinner.
Events should always reflect the philosophy of each fraternity
When creating an event, you need to ensure that the food served and the setting are ideal for your fraternity. For example, if your fraternity emphasizes healthy living, you can’t serve pizza, Cheetos and soft drinks to the rushees. You should serve healthy food and promote healthy living even as they are just being rushed. This is just one example of how the fraternity needs to adhere to a specific way of handling their events.
What is the average cost of rush events?
There are too many factors to consider when you are looking to calculate expenses. Most top fraternities can spend between $5K and $10K on their summer recruitment efforts for an approximate of 40 members.
A small fraternity could spend as little as $1,000 on a small rush event, but this would require that the expenses are carefully planned in order to avoid going over the budget. Rushees should never be asked to bring their own food and beverage as this is not going to look good for the fraternity.
You can definitely run a successful rush event if you are creative with a small budget. The main thing to keep in mind at all times is that rush events will reflect on the perception that potential members are going to have regarding your fraternity.
Just keep these factors in mind and you should be able to run a successful rush event.