By Megan Loock
Elm Staff Writer
This semester the rush process seems almost impossible following the transition to a virtual semester. Rush usually relies entirely on the physical student presence on campus.
What once was a clear and defined procedure is seemingly at a loss with a more socially distant future.
The brothers of Kappa Sigma, however, have innovated the seemingly stagnant process.
From Monday, Sept. 7 through Friday, Sept. 11, Kappa Sigma hosted a virtual rush week.
“[Rush is] fun at the expense of being online,” says sophomore and Kappa Sigma brother, Jonah Nicholson.
On Tuesday, Sept. 8, the brothers of Kappa Sigma hosted “Online Town,” an online program that mimics the meet-and-greet portion of rush.
After logging on, the user chose a generic character, allowing them to move the character with the arrows on the keyboard around the virtual room. When two characters are near each other, a video chat window pops up, allowing potential new members and brothers to interact.
“What’s really unique about this format is we can gather without gathering. We had to reinvent the way we operate so we can reach potentials, show them what we are all about and make it as personal as possible,” said senior Kappa Sigma brother Colin Levi.
Kappa Sigma hosted a week’s worth of events including Jackbox Games, trivia Kahoot games via Zoom, and more.
Conversely, Phi Delta Theta will not be recruiting this fall.
In a statement sent from their president, sophomore Mason Drummey, they said that they felt the virtual setting would “do a disservice towards new members if we said that virtual meetings were enough to grow legitimate friendships.”
Drummey can be reached via email at mdrummey2@washcoll.edu.
Instead they “encourage any member of the Washington College community interested in Phi Delta Theta or Greek Life in general to keep in contact with [them],” so they can “include you in any events that [they] hold throughout the semester.”
Despite those who decided to cease the fall rush, the brothers of Kappa Sigma have revolutionized the rush process, believing it will “change rush for the better,” Nicholson said.
Though rush week is now over, it is still not too late to show interest. For more information regarding the rush process you can visit Washington College’s chapter of the Interfraternity Council on Instagram @ifc_wac.