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Fewer Recruits Join Fraternities

The number of Boston University students placed in fraternities and sororities dropped slightly this year, according to Seth Rosenzweig, an adviser at BU’s Office of Greek Life.

After last week’s rush, 110 students joined sororities while 40 entered fraternities, Rosenzweig said.

Rosenzweig said he is not alarmed by the slight decrease but wants to market Greek life in a better light.

“There are a lot of negative stereotypes when it comes to Greek life,” he said. “Very few times are the positive components highlighted.”

Jen Chan, president of Alpha Delta Phi, said she was disappointed with the decrease in the number of girls that joined the sorority this spring.

“Not as many girls came out in general as we expected,” said Chan, a junior in the College of Communication.

According to Chan, the promotions the sorority did for rush week were the same as in past years, including posters and advertisements on the tabletops of dining halls. However, she said more awareness was needed.

“Everyone could promote more in general in the future,” Chan said, suggesting that sororities are important at a school the size of BU.

“It makes BU smaller and gives it a more campus feel,” Chan said.

Greg Chisholm, Student Union vice president of student affairs and the president of Lambda Chi Alpha, said fraternities are beneficial in a variety of ways.

“It is valuable that freshmen and sophomores have upper classmen to look up to as role models and keep them motivated,” Chisholm said.

Chisholm, a COM junior, said the number of new members joining the fraternity has remained fairly stable over the past three years, but the spring rush season is always a slower time than the fall rush season.

Rush week for Lambda Chi Alpha consists of three or four group events that stay the same every semester, and one event that varies each time. This spring, the fraternity went to a Celtics game for a rush event.

According to Rosenzweig, fraternities and sororities are an important way for students to get involved in the community and find people with similar interests.

“I think it is a way to build a smaller community inside a larger community,” Rosenzweig said.

Rosenzweig said that especially in times of misfortune — namely events such as the Sept. 11 attack on America — fraternity and sorority members support each other. “In time of the tragedy, people had a collective unit of brothers and sisters there for them in a support network,” he said.

Although minor infractions usually occur every rush week, last week passed with no large violations, Rosenzweig said.

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