Rush, but Don't Hurry

If you were taking a stroll down Greek Row two weeks ago - or, more likely, driving in your car and basking in your air conditioning - you may have seen hundreds of sharply dressed young men meandering down the sidewalk.

These hearty freshmen endured heat, rain and many, many handshakes as they toured the many fraternity houses that dot the University of Oklahoma's surrounding neighborhoods. August 28th marked the beginning of fall formal rush for the 18 OU fraternities, and that meant the new male students who were interested in going through the rush process had a lot of walking to do.

Around 600 young men signed up for formal rush, and OU's Interfraternity Council divided them up into groups of 20-30 to tour each fratenity house. Each group went to a different house in turn, met the memebrs of each house and took house tours everywhere they went. Most fraternities provided snacks and drinks for the hot and tired rushees.

Sage Ranallo, a freshman going through rush, said he really enjoyed the process, even though it got kind of taxing toward the end.

"I met so many guys, they all kind of blurred together," laughed Ranallo. "But its been great. I'm really excited to find a house that I fit in to."

When asked which house had caught his attention the most, Ranallo was unsure, but optimistic.

"There's so many houses and guys, I'm sure I'll find a place (for me). It's just a matter of time. I can't wait."

Zac Corrales, another freshman going through rush, is excited about getting involved on campus and thinks fraternities are a good way to do just that.

"Everyone told me that fraternites do a lot of community service and philanthropy events, and I really want to do that kind of stuff," said Corrales. "I want to get the most out of college. I've heard greek life is the way to go."

Fraternites gave out bid cards to rushees last week, which means that those young men who received one became official pledges of their respective fraternities. Now, OU's Greek houses celebrate their new additions and eagerly await spring rush, when they get to do it all over again next semester.

If you're interested in finding out more about spring rush or OU's Greek system in general, visit the University of Oklahoma's IFC webpage by going to studentlife.ou.edu.