Alpha Tau Omega - Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

T he Gamma Gamma Chapter of Alpha Tau Omega recently concluded a successful Rush campaign on "Bid Tuesday", October 24 th , 2023. The brotherhood welcomed in 37 pledges, the sec- ond most since the fraternity and academic institu- tion has recorded these numbers. In contrast to a down year for the freshman class's participation in Greek life, the Gamma Gamma chapter was able to secure 12 more pledges than any of the 7 other fraternities on campus. Of all the freshmen who signed their preference on Bid Tuesday, ATΩ pledged 26%. Emphasis on Alumni Relations: One of the main emphases in recruitment this year was the value of alumni connections through Al- pha Tau Omega. We cemented into the minds of the freshman class that our fraternity alumni are, in general, more successful and influential in their careers post-graduation. Every fraternity tries to sell this point, but we are the only fraternity that has concrete evidence through the beautiful new renovation of our house and experiences and obvi- ous success of our alumni and internships/ experiences that active brothers can share. It was evident that brothers who came through this house care and value their experiences in ATΩ so much that they are willing to come back and help young active members develop themselves in all aspects of life. Annually, one of the most successful recruitment events we host is the Alumni Rush Dinner. This year, 10 influential alumni joined 53 PNMs and 35 active brothers in the chapter room. It was a formal event where the PNMs were given a setting to converse with alumni who had a great mix of post- career wisdom, mid-career leadership, and early- career charisma. After the food was eaten, each alum had the opportunity to speak in front of all the PNMs about their experience with ATΩ and how it molded them into the men they are today. It is one thing for the active brothers to constantly talk about these sorts of matters, but it is an entire- ly different thing to witness it firsthand. All around, the general argument that won over many PNMs to pledge the fraternity was this: "In four years when graduation comes, you will have had a tough time at Rose-Hulman. Option A: You could join another fraternity, or not join at all and you will probably be generally the same per- son you are today, but it will still be tough. Option B: You can embrace the tough time you have at Rose, join Alpha Tau Omega, take advantage of the four years you have here to set yourself up best for success, and learn from influential individuals who were once in your same shoes." For many, that choice was an easy one! Demographics of 2023 Pledge Class: The 2023 pledge class of ATΩ is a diverse group of individuals who fit our ideals, and generally have a gritty and entrepreneurial spirit. This class represents 14 different states, with 2 international students from Spain and Singapore. They also represent 11 of the 18 primary majors offered at Rose-Hulman, with 4 of the pledges intending to pursue a concurrent Master's degree through the Rose Squared program. They are involved in a breadth of extracurricular activities and have shown they will increase our involvement and impact on campus. There are also 4 football play- ers, 4 track and field athletes, and a golfer as well. One of those football players recently received the HCAC Defensive Player of the Week award, and the golfer recently won a Regional Showcase by 6 strokes. Selection of New Members: In all actuality, the sheer volume of a pledge class is not a direct indicator of their contributions to the fraternity. This is why 70 potential new members (PNMs), including the 37 new affiliates, were stringently evaluated at our bid voting based on the STUDS profile (S-Scholarship, T – Temperament, U – Usefulness, D-Doing/Done and S-Standards). 45 bids were extended, which means that 8 indi- viduals did not accept their invitation from ATΩ. This sign rate of 82% is significantly higher than the past 5-year average of 66%. There were many strong candidates who we unfortunately had to turn away since we want sustainable, long-term growth, not the two-fold increase of the chapter size over- night. At the final Interfraternity Council- sponsored event, there were 31 PNMs who voiced their verbal commitment to sign their invitation to ATO just a few days later. In stark contrast, that metric was 10 PNMs at the same time last year. Catalyzing Organizational Change: The entire rush process from an organizational aspect was night and day from last year. What we learned from last year was that you cannot sell the fraternity to other individuals if you don't even know what makes it great yourself. The initiative to create change in Rush started this past Spring, where we conducted workshops to determine what the best aspects of our fraternity are, what we are looking for in candidates, and the strategies to best exhibit our ideals. In any organization, clear expectations and com- munication is necessary, especially in one where the members are balancing a multitude of other priorities. This was the largest factor in increasing brotherhood involvement in Rush. The Saturday before Rush began, we conducted a "Rush Bootcamp," where we discussed our learnings from the spring workshops, our expectations, our goals, and the strategies we had to take in order to reach those goals. We also installed an accountability framework where the Rush Committee of 6 brothers would constantly communicate with subgroups to track progress with certain PNMs and ensure every brother as involved. We also emphasized the use of ChapterBuilder, which is software designed to specifically track PNMs for fraternities. Starting with a pool of over 400 freshmen males, it is hard to track every single one. In this software, there was a picture of each individual, with the ability to write notes and grade them based on our STUDS criteria. This was vital throughout the entirety of Rush, but especially important in an efficient bid voting process. All around, this Rush was much more significant for the fraternity than just welcoming in a new class. It showed that we all are capable of organi- zational excellence and enabled us to be confident and take pride in the endeavors we pursue. It made brothers realize that, while ATΩ is a time commit- ment, the rewards we reap socially and profession- ally from it are the 2 nd largest return on investment we will get, behind the initial choice to enroll at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Fraternally, Jack Martin '25 Recruitment Chair \\\\\\\\\\\\ GROWING THE CHAPTER \\\\\\\\\\\\ A Successful Search for the Best Men

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