<p>^ITA - the rush process is so brief that there really isn’t time to get to know every pledge well so the refs requirement makes sense - it’s really just a letter of introduction. While the process seems very elaborate, I suspect there is a lot of good reasoning behind it. For example, the dress guide they give to the girls at son’s school makes sense to me and if I had a daughter who planned to rush, I would be grateful to have that information prior to the start of rush. Women of all ages frequently feel anxious about what to wear to events where we don’t know many people and are even more anxious when we show up wearing something wholly inappropriate. Having such an organized rush process is probably designed to put pledges at ease.</p>
<p>The fraternities, on the other hand, generally aren’t that organized during rush, though their pledging period seems to be much more structured (and can be very time consuming and physically demanding on the pledges.) My son reports that the girls have a much easier time once they get through rush.</p>