After a summer of letter writing and personal calls, the men of Theta chapter of Beta Theta Pi came back to school with a new enthusiasm which had never been shown before. In the spring when they left school, there were nine future freshmen who were wearing Beta pledge pins. These boys represented the finest of the ideals of the fraternity. However, for various reasons, only three of them were able to enter Ohio Wesleyan last fall.
Realizing they did not have the great head start on the other fraternities they expected to have, the Betas were ready to get the largest and finest pledge class in Theta’s history. They were not willing to sacrifice quality for quantity, but they knew that a large class would be needed in such a crucial year.
Rushing got under way on Saturday, officially. But rushing for the Betas had started much earlier at football camp. Since freshmen were eligible to play varsity ball, there were many freshmen at the camp. When football camp ended on Friday, the Beta football men brought the best boys up to the house to get acquainted with the non-athletes of the chapter. Several of the boys were pledged that night.
Once the ball got started rushing, it was hard to get it stopped. With alumni recommendations and tips, and with information gathered from other sources, the Betas knew which of the boys they wanted. And although they found trouble in locating many of the rushees, because the ones on the Beta list seemed to be the top ones on the lists of other Greek organizations, the men of Theta pledged all but four of the men on their list of special recommendations.
On Monday night a meeting of the actives was called to see when they would stop rushing. There were only fifteen actives who had been able to return to school, and they had already pledged fifteen fresh men. It was decided that no more bids were to be offered, and the rushing season closed. A few days later, one of the boys who had been offered a bid earlier came back and said he would like to accept it. So the Betas finished rushing with sixteen pledges several days before the other houses. This was the largest pledge class of Theta chapter in many years, and whispers about “the excellent pledge class of Beta Theta Pi” could be heard all over the campus.
They represented the third largest pledge class at the Ohio Wesleyan.
The unity and cooperation of the chapter, as well as the realization of the need of a strong, revitalized chapter, were the elements largely responsibile for the great success in rushing. Much credit can be given Rush chairman Bill Bartels and his assistant, Bob Barr, who took over when Bartels did not come back to school, and to President Bob Best.
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