Making Deferred Recruitment Work

A recent trend in the Greek world is moving toward deferred recruitment. That is, more and more colleges and universities are establishing regulations that determine that first-term students cannot be extended a bid or initiated until a designated time, which is a certain period after the beginning of school.
 

There are different variations of deferred recruitment. Some campuses allow men to be extended bids at any point during the fall, but do not allow candidates to be initiated until the second term, once they have met a minimum grade requirement. Some campuses do not allow bids to be given until the second term or, in some extreme cases, until the student's second year at school.
 

There are some significant arguments involved with deferred recruitment from both the pro and con side. As an International Fraternity, Tau Kappa Epsilon does not support deferred recruitment, but we do support the institutions that have made the decision to move to a deferred system. To best illustrate the problem with deferred recruitment, an analogy is most appropriate. Deferred recruitment is like moving to a new city and deciding you want to buy a new car. You have seen all the cars on the market, you have decided that you would like to buy one, and you are comfortable with your decision. You understand that buying a car is a major decision and commitment, and you are ready to make your purchase. Except the city tells you that you can't buy the car for six months. Deferred car buying, they tell you, and if any dealership tries to sell you that car without telling the city, it will be slapped with fines and penalties and placed on probation.
 

It sounds kind of ridiculous when you look at it that way, doesn't it? But the argument is not simply a freedom of association issue. The fact is that on most campuses where there is deferred recruitment, the Greeks have earned it. In many cases, a school has made the determination to go to a deferred system because of unreasonably low grade point averages for new member classes that consistently fell well below the all men's average, unreasonably high drop-out rates for new members of Fraternities, and an intolerably high rate of hazing incidents. The quite understandable argument is that if students cannot join Fraternities right away, they cannot be sucked into the seemingly glamorous Fraternity lifestyle that so often leads to the abuse of alcohol, they will have time to establish themselves academically, and they will have the time to get used to college life and gain the necessary perspective and experience to make wise decisions. In addition, it is presumed that students who have been in school for at least one term will be less likely to put up with the ridiculous and sometimes dangerous abuse of hazing.
 

So now you're asking yourself, "How can we possibly make deferred recruitment work?" The first step is to make a change. Unfortunately, the facts speak for themselves. If we ever want to get to a point where the college will trust us with first-semester freshmen again, we must prove that we are capable of providing benefits to them. We must raise the overall GPA of the chapter and, in particular, we must pay close attention to the academic progress of our new members. The new member GPA should be equal to or higher than the chapter GPA as well as the all-men's GPA, not below it. This means developing an academic program that puts an emphasis on scholarship, provides resources such as tutoring and scholarships for the chapter members, and raises the level of academic expectations. It means incorporating academic training into the candidate education program and teaching our new men how to excel academically, all the while providing a good role model for them to emulate.
 

We must not tolerate alcohol abuse. The behavior is simply inexcusable. Yes, college students drink. There is no argument with that fact. But when that drinking leads to physical illness and academic failure, it has gone too far. Unfortunately, alcohol abuse is rarely just an individual thing. People's inability to handle alcohol is often taken out on women in the form of rape and sexual assault, or on candidates in the form of hazing. We must grow up, Fraters. For one, the world no longer accepts this childishness. And two, the continuation of these types of behavior is not leading us to greater personal growth and development. It is leading us to destruction.
 

If we cannot change the meaning of Fraternity from an organization based on beer, women and hazing to an organization that aids college men in mental, moral and social development, we will soon become like the dinosaurs; extinct, with no place left for us on the Earth. That may sound unrealistic, but the facts remain. The number of Fraternity and Sorority chapters closed in the last five years is staggering. The challenge is before us, Fraters. We must rise up to it.
 

As we make these changes, we will become more prepared to recruit quality men to become members of Tau Kappa Epsilon. This brings us back to deferred recruitment. Recruitment is the process of making friends, and you can make friends every day and introduce them to the Fraternity. Deferred recruitment is actually deferred bidding or initiation. Nothing can stop you from meeting new people and making new friends.
 

With that in mind, take advantage of the extra time you have in the fall to convince even more people that joining a Fraternity is a worthwhile investment. Do this by demonstrating your sterling character, by actively participating in community service and telling people about it, by excelling in academics and showing potential members how you can help them academically, and by developing the kind of member education program that you are comfortable telling people about, one that will help men grow and learn by challenging them and pushing them to achieve to the best of their abilities.
 

When we address the real issues of what we are all about, we can begin to turn the tide and shift the momentum in our favor. But complaining about deferred recruitment will not change anything. We must simply do something about it.