It is that time of the semester when SIUC students can try to get to know Greek life up close and personal.

The Greek system might stand for unity, but there are many individual differences between sororities and fraternities which are evident during rush week, Greek members say.

Ryan Flickinger, a senior in administration of justice and president of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, said this is the first semester the fraternities are going through four weeks of informal rush. He said past rushes had one week of formal rush and three weeks of informal rush.

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Flickinger said formal rush involves bus tours, Greek seminars and scheduled events, and informal rush offers a chance for people get to know each other on a more personal basis.

Flickinger said he thinks the revised rush system has worked better for his fraternity.

When we did the formal rush, we came across as being fake because we only had twenty minutes to meet the rushees, Flickinger said. The informal rush gives us more of a familiarity with the guys who rush with us, and it creates a one-on-one relationship with them as well.

Don Kraus, a junior in speech communications and vice president of Sigma Phi Epsilon, said he disagrees with the structure of the new rush because it makes recruiting more of a challenge.

It’s kind of easier for the guys who are quiet or shy to take advantage of a more structured rush because it pushes them to meet people rather than just walking in a fraternity house on their own, Kraus said. I also think it could hinder the houses with a smaller amount of members or houses with brand-new chapters.

Penny Pitch, a senior in biological sciences, member of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority and Inter-Greek Council president, said sororities have a condensed formal rush which lasts for only one week. She said she sees both advantages and disadvantages to the revised fraternity rush structure.

I can see the advantage in having rush last only a short amount of time, she said. Asking people to donate four weeks is a lot of time to ask. But there is more of a chance to meet people in four weeks compared to our seven days.

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Lindsay Tinn, a junior in elementary education and Delta Zeta sorority president, said sororities have a tighter, more structured rush than fraternities. She said rushees follow a planned schedule for the entire week.

Everything is less formal for the guys, she said. Guys have the rushees go house to house at their own pace, while the girls have only a half an hour in each house. Our rush is more regulated.

Pitch said the tight rush schedule gives the rushees a chance to sample each different house and decide where they belong.

Following a planned schedule is the only fair way to make sure everyone sees all the sororities at the same time, she said. You’re forced to check out every chapter.

Pitch said rushees are assigned to counselors, called Rho Chis, who explain and introduce Greek terms, escort rushees to parties and offer advice. She said Rho Chis are sorority members who are not allowed to identify or promote their own houses.

Chrissy Jenega, a senior in finance and Rho Chi chair, said she thinks Rho Chis benefit new rushees when it comes time for the rushees to make a final decision on which house to join.

At the end of rush, there are a lot of girls who are torn between two sororities, she said. We flat out give them advice. We aren’t there to benefit our individual sororities at all.

Don Raddatz, a senior in radio-television and a member of Sigma Pi, said everyone should go through rush.

Even if they decide they don’t like the Greek system, it’s a good way to meet people, Raddatz said. And if people choose to be in a sorority or a fraternity, Greek life will help them build character and achieve their goals in college.

The most important advice a member of the Greek system can offer to rushees is to remember to pick the house which makes the rushees feel most comfortable, Courtney Ellsion, a junior in English and Alpha Gamma Delta member, said.

Don’t follow your friends, she said. Go where it’s best for you.

Spring Inter-Fraternity Men’s Rush takes place Jan. 16 through Feb. 16, and Panhellenic Women’s Rush started Jan. 23 and runs through Jan. 27.