For the second year in a row many selective living groups saw a rise in applicants, although a few saw a dip.
In its second year of recruitment, Illyria's number of rushees decreased from 179 last year to 120 even though it extended roughly the same number of bids. The all-female SLG handed out 45 bids after giving out 52 last year, and is excited about its rush class.
“I adore them. They’re all really great. I wish we could accept more,” Illyria co- rush chair Kezia Matson said. “But since we’re new, we want to make sure everyone knows each other to make a stable foundation and then hopefully in the future, we can increasingly accept more members.”
Matson, a sophomore, said that all SLGs should have more events that cater to introverts and are less-alcohol dependent—something she said she tried to incorporate this year during rush. Rushees went on a hike in groups of 10, an activity that got rave reviews, she says.
“There’s still challenges, but that can make SLG’s more inclusive,” Matson said. “Being outdoors and walking and not necessarily having a drink in your hand makes things flow more easily.”
Other groups saw big rises in interest, especially Wayne Manor and Brownstone. After 243 students rushed Brownstone last year, 324 were involved with the SLG's recruitment. Brownstone also got more selective, having 27 people join its organization a year after letting 33 join.
All-male SLG Wayne Manor's jump was even more pronounced, with 250 rushing a year after 170 rushed. The group had 30 members join, nine more than in 2017.
Cooper House declined to release statistics on rush, but said that their numbers were similar to before. In 2016, the last time it released information on rush, 459 students registered for its rush process and 30 joined.
For the second straight year, the Arts Theme House had 13 register for its rush process and extended 13 bids. A similarly small organization, the Languages Dorm, or LangDorm for short, saw a dip in rushees, accepting 12 new members from 14 rushees this year after accepting 17 from 26 last year. It has started a new tradition of allowing out-of-section members—students who don't live in section—accepting one this year after letting in four out-of section members last year.
LangDorm is a themed house based upon interest in language and culture. Its members sometimes teach each other mini language lessons, Langdorm president Elaine Zhong said.
Although its rush class is smaller than last year's, Zhong, a junior, is encouraged by the quality of the new members that joined.
“We really like the rush class,” Zhong said. “Last year, we had significantly more rushees. We’re a little sad that there were less rushees this year, but we’re really happy that we had a great class. We feel that a smaller class with dedicated people isn’t necessarily worse than a lot of people rushing, but not a lot of them might be very active.”
Ubuntu declined to publish any statistics about their rush process.
Mirecourt, Round Table, Maxwell, Jam!, the Cube, Nexus, Black Cultural Living Group and Mundi could not be reached for comment in time for publication.
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Managing Editor 2018-19, 2019-2020 Features & Investigations Editor
A member of the class of 2020 hailing from San Mateo, Calif., Ben is The Chronicle's Towerview Editor and Investigations Editor. Outside of the Chronicle, he is a public policy major working towards a journalism certificate, has interned at the Tampa Bay Times and NBC News and frequents Pitchforks.