It’s the first week of school. The air is crisp, the coffee is fresh and the walk through the campus is peacefully quiet. That is, until you get to the Library Quad.

Bright booths line the walkway, colorful fliers litter the ground, overly-friendly faces bombard you every few steps. Yes ladies and gents, it’s that time of the year again when the Greeks come out for Rush Week.

Sororities and fraternities, girls and guys doing all they can to bring in potential “pledges” to join their respective Greek houses. They wave and smile, try to start small-talk, shove papers at you, throw out exaggerated perks and privileges and even stop you as you walk. We’ve all seen it.

But are we all interested? Yes, there are those few doe-eyed newcomers who come to college for the sole purpose of becoming a “Delta Gamma.” But for the rest of us rush-week veterans, we just don’t care. We have declined joining this long for a reason.

Kayla Cook, a junior criminal justice major, said she finds it more annoying than anything.

“I dread walking down the catwalk during rush week because I always seem to end up with a million unwanted fliers in my hand that I end up throwing away once I reach the nearest trash can.”

I think we can all admit this is what we do each time we walk through the Quad and end up with a fist full of unwanted fliers. I’m not sure why the Greeks haven’t learned this by now – handing fliers to people who don’t want them is simply a waste.

Greeks, take note: Instead of handing a flier to each and every person that walks by your booth, give one only to the people who show interest.

Instead of being so pushy, ask if they would be interested at all in joining. This way you don’t end up throwing away more than half the fliers.  

Not all the sororities and fraternities are as invasive. Some respectful Greeks understand no means no and politely let you on your way. 

Then again, some persistent individuals just won’t let up. Just because I have to pass by your stand twice a day does not give you an open invitation to ask me to join your sorority each time you see me.

Junior English literature major Pauline Taylor said, “I like being given the same flier by the same person twice in one day.” Sarcasm aside, she added, “but the aggressiveness is good, helping to get their word out there.”

Stu Carmichael, a member of Kappa Sigma, actually ran out of fliers toward the end of the day on Wednesday and had to send someone to make more.

When asked if the fliers were effective in bringing in new recruits, he said, “I never thought the fliers worked but yesterday we had a couple people come out and they said they got the info from a flier.”

For those Greeks like Carmichael, the fliers are their golden ticket into a world built around being a tight-knit community. But for the rest of us who can’t tell one Greek house from the next, the fliers prove to be more of a hassle than anything else. Good thing this campus recycles.  

Ashley Jung can be reached at [email protected]