Phi Psi 500!

JoeW — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:08:00 GMT

The Phi Psi 500 graced campus this past weekend. It is one of the last social events of the year and as one of the largest put on by a Greek house.

Phi Psi 500 is a celebration of all the service that Phi Kappa Psi does through out the year. Last semester we completed 813 hours of community service and are on track to pummel that amount this semester. We also complete 500 hours of service the week of 500, which is where the name originates.

It was a large and eventful day. The main festivities began at 3:00 with our beach volleyball tournament; which continued well into a free dinner for all at 5:00 and go-kart time trials at 6:00. (500 has a racing theme.) Then at 7:00 our lipsync competition started. I was in charge of organizing the days events. Because of Butler’s passionate and rhythmic student body these lipsyncs were FANTASTIC- not a bad one in the bunch. However, because this event also showcases our days stiffest competition it was very stressful for me.

After the Lipsyncs were finished on the rise hip-hop artist Krypton Flo took our stage by storm. Keep in mind, this entire event was outside, free, and open to all of Butler- so there were tons of people there. K-Flo was out of this world and you should check him out.

http://kryptonflo.com/HOME.html

The last thing on our agenda was our closed party at 11:00. This was really the only VIP event, but with over 400 people on the list it couldn’t have been too exclusive. 500 was an amazing end to our year, and I’m sure all of the participants agree. 500 let me spend the entire weekend outside in fabulous weather. It was the perfect prelude to my exam week.

Tips for Formal Recruitment

JoeW — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 04:08:00 GMT

I am writing this because I wish someone had given me a little advice before I went through recruitment.

Take things with a grain of salt- Keep in mind that everyone loves their own house and you should not get caught up in how much they like their house, it is how much you like it. Also, please, please, please be wary of some of the theatrics of Rush week. Keep asking yourself if people are being real with you. If you think people or a certain house are not representing themselves truthfully- do your best to sift through the façade. Don’t allow them to shuffle you around.

Ask good questions- When I was rushing I had new (and difficult) questions prepared each day. You need to do this before you leave, if you don’t think of them beforehand they won’t come to you. As someone on the other side of Rush, I can verify that we love questions. It shows you are really thinking about your decision, and you care. You should also not be afraid to ask difficult or touchy questions. Remember, this is a huge decision and if you don’t ask questions like “Do people in your house do drugs, Do you haze, is there binge drinking” they won’t volunteer the answers. There is no reason to ask difficult questions just to try and stump people. Ask questions that you think will yield good answers or reveal things about the house and please, listen to the answers. (something I forgot to do)

Be Yourself- If you act/dress/talk differently than normal and a house gives you a bid-they gave a bid to the person you were pretending to be. Once rush is over and you stop the act- both you and the house will be disappointed. During rush Greeks are looking for the people who are being fake, if you aren’t genuine you will not get a bid. If a house isn’t crazy about you- that’s fine, you would not be happy there anyway. Remember, you can only get into one house after all.

Think it over- It is tempting to go with the house most of your friends like, the house your family members are in, the house with the prettiest colors, etc. but all of these reasons are not enough. Make sure the houses you are visiting are for you. And again, make sure the house you join is one you will be happy in for a long time, not just rush week. While I do not often hear “I like my house, but I should have gone (insert house)”, it is said more than it should be. We schedule recruitment before classes so that you have all the time you need to make a good, focused decision- use your time.

Keep in mind what you want- Each house has lots of positives, but they are not all for you. If a house offers lots of help with your studies but you don’t need help, don’t view that quality as a plus. If a house helps you get involved but you are already involved, you don’t need their help. Lots of rushees find themselves excited about things they don’t even need.

All of that being said my last tip is to have fun. Rush week is fun. It is. But only if you make it. Going into recruitment may seem daunting, but thousands of less friendly, dumber, more boring, angrier, and lamer people have gone before you. Everything will be ok! I promise.

Good Luck!

Joe's Blog : recruitment

Phi Psi 500!

Tips for Formal Recruitment