A peek into Greek life’s stringent pre-street dance policies
By Catharine Runion · Community Editor
The Street Dance may have marked the end of the Orientation Board’s season, but it heralded the beginning of the Rush season.
This past Friday, sororities, fraternities and housing groups took turns storming into the middle of the dance. They were loud and proud, all wearing their letters and colors. Their main goal was to make a scene. That was the first impression freshmen would have of Greek life.
The groups’ hype followed two weeks of silence. The Pan-Hellenic Society at Grove City College expects participants in Greek life to keep quiet about their groups for a little bit in order to allow the freshmen to acclimate. Members are not permitted to wear their letters and all are prohibited from talking to freshmen about sororities or fraternities.
Greek groups are perhaps best known for their letters. Each group is named with a unique combination of Greek letters, which members wear on crewnecks, t-shirts, hats and even necklaces. These are prohibited, of course, as are any lettered paraphernalia.
Even fall party or spring formal t-shirts are a no-go.
This silence extends even to the Organization Fair. Greek groups are allowed to set up tables just like any other on-campus club. They can even wear their letters at the tables. However, there are strict rules against talking to freshmen about the groups, and members must cover their letters unless they are actively at the table.
According to Alpha Beta Tau president Natalie Zook, the Org Fair being before the Street Dance only complicates things. “We can’t talk directly about the groups even when we’re at our table,” Zook said. “We just have to give people vague answers.” Groups have to say something to freshmen, though: the Pan-Hel rules allow them to talk a little bit about the rush process. There’s an upcoming Greek interest meeting and the college even puts on a separate “Greek fest” at a time when sororities and fraternities are allowed to say more about their groups.
While these rules seem strict — and feel even stricter for members — they ultimately serve to benefit Greek life, not to police it. The prohibition of letters before the Street Dance is intended to prevent something called “dirty rushing.” This could be as simple as an older student vocally encouraging a freshman to rush a specific group, but it could be as complicated as bonding with a freshman so that they would be obligated to rush a certain way.
“Dirty rushing is doing anything that doesn’t follow the Pan-Hel rush rules,” Zook said. “You can’t under-the-table mentor a new freshman. Rushes are allowed to visit the hall, but they have to leave by a certain time. You can’t invite rushes to any parties, and you especially can’t promise bids,” she said.
Some of the stricter rules, such as the hall curfews, present challenges to socials and siblings. Situations have come up in which someone who is rushing wants to visit or spend time with their sibling who is already in a group.
Zook says that though the rules can be stringent, they’re ultimately for the good of Greek life. “These rules are in place for a very good reason,” Zook said.
