Rush week at Millikin is an annual event in which students are able to experience Greek Life and see what it is all about. During rush week, each fraternity and sorority holds events in which students are able to attend and meet members of that house and find a house that they feel would be a good fit for them. At the end of the week, there are two events hosted: the plunge in which men who got a bid announce which fraternity they are pledging with which is held on Friday and the dive which is where women who got a bid announce which sorority they are pledging and that is held on Saturday. This year, I was able to participate in rush week and go through the process of pledging with a fraternity as a freshman, with this week came different experiences as well as new opportunities to learn about Millikin’s Greek Life.

Last semester, the IFC (Interfraternity Council) reached out to male students with informational meetings about Greek life. In those meetings, students were able to get a peek at what fraternity life would be like as well as hear about the different fraternities on campus. After attending several meeting I knew that I was wanting to pledge next semester. When this semester came along I was waiting for rush week to take place. The first night of rush week was the house tours night where we were taken around to all the fraternities to meet some of the members of each fraternity as well as tour the houses that TKE and SAE had on campus. With each tour I was able to meet many new people and see a bit what each fraternity has to offer here on campus.

After house tours night for the rest of rush week, students were able to attend events that different fraternities hosted of their choosing. You were able to attend which ever one you wanted and get a chance to learn more about the fraternities and know the members better. These events included a variety of events and activities such as game nights, laser tag, casino night, and food from around the world. With each activity, you were able to see what life would be like in that fraternity and how it would feel to be in that fraternity.

After two nights of activities, Thursday was a night in which you really got to discover what it would mean to be part of Greek life. It was also the night that most fraternities saw who all was interested in joining which would help when it came time to decide bids. Most fraternities had alumni and current members speak on their experiences with that fraternity as well as opportunities that they had. They shared experiences that I could relate to a few times as well as stories about brotherhood that made me excited to be part of Greek life. With this night I really got the feeling of where I would belong when it came to Greek life.

Then Friday came, the day where the bids were announced to the student. If they got a bid they were able to pledge with a fraternity and if they got multiple bids they had to decide on which one they would pledge with. After a day of suspense I got a call from the IFC saying that I got a bid. It was a moment I was waiting for a long time so I felt a sense of accomplishment upon getting the call. Later that night it was time to take the plunge in which I would be allowed to announce which fraternity I had chosen to pledge with as well as get to know my pledge class. This has been an experience that I enjoyed and I feel as if rush week is a chance to try out and be part of something bigger such as Greek Life