> CPW - Added discussion on its two largest purposes: it gives us first contact with freshmen and it serves as a marketing trial run for Rush.
> The Who, What, etc. - Currently a part on "when" is included here. I realized this is silly to include, since the answer to that question is the purpose of the entire work. But somehow I glossed over the question of "where" we recruit, which could be interesting to address (some discussion on the pros and cons of taking people out of your house for recruitment events). Then again, I touch on this under "how". We'll see what happens.
> Rush Special Topics - The first two sections have been outlined. They look like:
1. ClearinghouseAlso, what in the world am I going to do about Retention? I have written:
- Origins of
- Revival in '05
- Initial purpose
- Real vs. pretend purpose now
- Proper and improper usage
- Criticisms
2. Rush rules
- Purpose
- Purpose as an inverse prisoner’s dilemma
- Evolution (gag rule to the present form)
- Criticisms
Retention is keeping our new members, may they be pledges or newly initiated brothers (NIBs), engaged and excited about their chapter with the ultimate result of them moving into the house at the beginning of their sophomore year. […]But I'm stumped on how to tackle it. It's the most forgotten of the three R's (with the other two being recruitment and Rush, of course), which is why it deserves attention. But the trick is to handle it without going into detail on things like pledge period, which would be a total sidetrack. Ideas?
1 comment:
While I personally believe that retention is beyond what I understand to be the scope of your document, it is in fact intricately tied to what I presume your thesis to be (that is, that recruitment is an on-going, year-long process that culminates in Rush without ever really beginning or ending). Recruitment gives you the opportunity to remind every current brother just why they are a part of your house, by putting the onus on them to convince others of the house's merits. By initiating a conversation about recruitment to new pledges early in the process, you can establish a rah-rah mindset from the beginning - in determining how to sell the house to others, they will inevitably identify what they like best, and will be inclined to continue exploring aspects they know little else about (e.g. house leadership). If a pledge is unwilling or unable to partake actively in the recruitment process, and cannot find a reason to sell the house to someone else, then you will not retain him, and he was a poor pledge to begin with.
So the answer to your question is: you retain by instilling a recruitment mindset early. Convey the pros of the house by asking your pledges to explain what they like to others - you will then find that their dedication to the house will naturally strengthen, and they will want to move in.
- Reid
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