For the last two weeks, the six interfraternity council-governed fraternities on the UW-Whitewater campus have been advertising and pushing for new members of their chapters. One fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha, or “pike” has been putting a very strong effort into the recruitment process. Pi Kappa Alpha has the largest amount of members out of any fraternity on the Whitewater campus, but recruitment is still one of their main focuses each and every semester. “We always try very hard to increase our rush class size every semester” says Pike chapter president Tyler Kobussen. “We have had some guys that have left the fraternity over the past couple semesters, so we are at a crucial point in time right now where we need to have a big spring rush class.” Each semester, all the fraternities host individual rush events. These events are held at their respective houses, or other places on campus. UWW’s Career and Leadership development department is the faculty department that plays a large role in overseeing campus Greek life. On “bid night” the night where all fraternities extend their invitations, or bids, to men on campus trying to join. When doing this, they have to report the names of all men receiving a bid to Career and Leadership Development, as well as the IFC. Pike’s recruitment chairman Nick Trossen, is the one who makes sure that his fraternity is abiding by all the recruitment rules set by CLD and the Interfraternity Council. “We like to say that recruitment is the lifeblood of our fraternity” said Trossen, “if we don’t successfully recruit, we don’t grow our numbers, and the fraternity suffers.”
Pike Health and Safety Director Alex Schmidt (middle) and chapter President Tyler Kobussen (right) fill out bid cards for their new members
During the recruitment period, Pi Kappa Alpha hosted events such as a card night, a Portillos dinner, and a root beer keg. These fun, social events give the fraternity a chance to mingle with interested men, and find out who is worthy of receiving an invitation to join the brotherhood. In addition, it gives interested potential new members a chance to learn more about the fraternity and meet the brothers. While the Greek community at UW-Whitewater may be small, it continues to grow each and every semester, and it provides great social and learning environment for those involved.