Illinois Wesleyan fraternities and sororities wrap up fall rush

Illinois Wesleyan fraternities and sororities wrap up fall rush

Illinois Wesleyan University’s Fraternity and Sorority Life held their annual fall rush over the last few weeks. 

‘The Argus’ reached out to IWU’s three fraternities and four sororities to get insight into the rush process and how this year went.

Sorority rush:

Sorority recruitment took place over one week, with prospective new members (PNMs) starting with house tours at all four houses (Alpha Gamma Delta, Kappa Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Sigma Kappa)on Monday, September 8. 

Then, PNMs engaged in house events throughout the week, culminating in Bid Day on Sunday, Sept. 14, the day new members found out which sororities offered them membership bids. 

“I joined Alpha Gamma Delta through recruitment in the fall of 2022,” Molly Buscher said. “I had heard so many amazing Greek life stories as a legacy and knew that it was something that I would carry with me for the rest of my life,” she said.

One area where IWU sororities differ from other schools is that membership numbers between the houses must stay balanced, preventing any one house from dominating the others. 

One method used for this is an open recruitment period following rush called COB (Continuous Open Bidding.) 

Still, most houses’ focus will now shift toward philanthropic events in the coming months. 

In October, Kappa Delta will host their annual Shamrock Festival, raising money for Prevent Child Abuse in America and The BabyFold. 

Next semester, AGD will host their annual Casino Night for fighting hunger. 

Sigma Kappa recently volunteered at the Midwest Food Bank and is preparing for their annual philanthropic event later this school year.

“Working with Midwest was a really great opportunity to give back to the community as well as spend time together as a chapter,” Annaliese Huenecke said. 

“We’ll be participating in the Walk for Alzheimer’s this year to fundraise money to research finding a cure, and support individuals who have the disease as well as their families. It’s a topic we hold close to our hearts,” Huenecke said.

Fraternity rush:

IWU’s three fraternities (Tau Kappa Epsilon, Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) and Theta Chi) shook things up this year, debuting a two-week rush period. 

The Interfraternity Council felt that by spreading out events over a longer period, it would give PNMs a better chance to attend events for multiple houses and make informed choices on their selections. 

Events for the 2025 rush included TKE’s house basketball tournament, golfing at BloNo Pizza Co., Monday and Thursday Night Football watch-alongs, barbeques, and more. 

Rush ended on Sunday, Sept. 21, when new members went on stage at Hansen Student Center to announce their final selections and joined their brothers on the floor. 

“A few years ago, a friend invited me over to TKE,” Luke Alberstet said. 

“From there, I never looked back. This year, my team won the championship of our rush basketball tournament. It was a lot of fun,” Alberstet said.

Now, the fraternities begin planning for their own philanthropic events. 

Tau Kappa Epsilon is preparing for their annual “Pelt-a-TKE” event, where students can throw various foods at members to raise money for St. Judes Children’s Hospital. 

Similarly, Theta Chi will host Pie-a-Theta-Chi. 

“It’s one of our long-standing philanthropic events, and all proceeds go to our national partner, the USO, which supports military troops and their families,” Christian Schloneger said.