SAE Invites Men To Pre-Rush Event

In the last week, several dozen Harvard men found invitations to a Sigma Alpha Epsilon invitation-only event slipped under their doors—a custom typically associated with the final club punch process, not fraternity rush.

When the selected male undergraduates opened the envelopes, they learned that they had been asked to attend an event hosted by the Harvard fraternity on Wednesday, one night before the group kicks off rush on Thursday.

“We were people that someone in SAE already knew personally,” said Keenan Monks ’15, who attended the event after receiving his invitation on Monday.

Monks said the event was casual, adding that “it was about meeting the guys. All the brothers were there, talking, getting to know each other.”

Though SAE held the exclusive reception before rush kicks off, all male undergraduates are welcome to attend the initial rounds of its rush process. The fraternity’s website states that “the first and second events [of rush] are open to all.”

SAE has mounted an extensive recruiting campaign for its open events, hanging posters in freshman dorms and upperclass Houses. A number of freshmen also said they received a small yellow flyer slipped under their door advertising the organization’s first open rush event.

SAE president Samuel W. Peterson ’13 could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening. Several SAE members—including rush director Gabriel Trevino ’14 and former president Phillip Morris ’12—declined to comment.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one of Harvard’s three fraternities that held an invitation-only event this semester before the start of its formal rush process. The presidents of Alpha Epsilon Pi and Sigma Chi both said their fraternities have not held such events.

All three fraternities, which run separate rush processes, will hold their first-round events on Thursday.

AEPi President Elliot J. Stein ’13 said that the initial rounds of his fraternity’s rush are open to all.

“If you see a flyer about our rush event, you can bring your roommates and friends,” Stein said.

During its two-week rush, AEPi hosts approximately seven non-committal events that are designed to help prospective members determine if the organization is a good fit for them.

As rush progresses, AEPi winnows the pool of potential new members by holding invitation-only events for those “who will probably continue on and join the fraternity,” Stein said.

Maxwell D. A. Dikkers ’13, consul of Sigma Chi, said that his organization has an open rush process that allows all male freshmen, sophomores, and juniors to attend the first events.

“It’s an opportunity for rushes to get to know the brothers and learn more about the organization,” Dikkers said. “We have an open rush until the end when, like any other organization, we ask those whom we got to know the best through the rush process to join Sigma Chi.”

Jack C. Smith ’15, a member of Sigma Chi who rushed in the fall, said his organization holds open rush events in the first rounds of the process to foster an inclusive social environment.

“We definitely value the open character of rush, and we don’t want to come off like a lot of final clubs,” Smith said.

“I know Sigma Chi has been really hesitant to do invite events. We don’t want to establish that kind of character for ourselves.”

—Staff writer Rebecca D. Robbins can be reached at rrobbins@college.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Jane Seo can be reached at janeseo@college.harvard.edu.