During October 13-14, fraternities and sororities held a rushing event called “Round Robins.” In this event, fraternities, and sororities at Austin College introduced themselves to students who are interested in joining. Unfortunately due to COVID, there had to be some changes in how Round Robins, and the rushing process, works.
This is Travis McSwain-Shaw. He is a junior and has been part of the Rho Lamba Theta fraternity for three years and joining it in the spring of his freshman year. He states that joining the fraternity was the best decision he ever made. When being asked what was the difference between last year’s rushing format and this year’s, he said, “Last year we could have a lot more events and it was a lot easier to reach people. This year was really hard for freshmen to get us and it is hard to get us to you.” He explains that last year, the Round Robins was held on the 2nd floor of the Wright Campus Center instead of the chapel. They also held an opportunities fair instead of having a presentation. When asked if it was possible for the Round Robins to present them better under COVID procedures. He stated that he didn’t blame the school for the way they made the Round Robins this year and they did all that they can. He also added that the school could’ve helped the fraternities/sororities to make the Round Robins a bit better by reaching out to the freshmen more.
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next person is Evan Preston. He is a freshman and attended this year’s Round Robins. The first question he was asked was how well this year’s Round Robins presented the fraternities. He said, “Well considering COVID-19, I think they did the best they could under the circumstances they were given. I still personally feel like I’ve had a good time with the fraternities and getting to know them and I appreciate the effort some of the fraternities, more specifically Rho Lamba Theta have put forth to really include some of the kids trying to rush.” He was then asked whether there are things that could be changed or added to make the Round Robins experience to be better. He said that there isn’t really anything else to do since COVID is a big deal, but the school could’ve advertised the event better.
The third person interviewed is Megan Goyal. She is a senior and has been part of Omega Zeta for three years. 
When being asked about the difference between this year’s rushing format, she said, “The biggest difference from last year’s rushing format to this year is being very COVID conscious. Therefore, we needed to brainstorm rush events that could be held outdoor while requiring masks and providing sanitation.” Next, she was asked if anything could be changed or added to rush format under COVID procedures. She states that the COVID adaption of Round Robins was efficient enough to give the freshmen the opportunities to be introduced to the sororities and fraternities.
The last person interviewed was Rebekah Perales. She is a freshman and also attended this year’s Round Robins. She was asked how well this year’s Round Robin in which she responded with, ” I think it was most likely an 8 out of 10 and I would only give it that low because it wasn’t very interactive, it was more just videos from the sororities and also just them talking and I feel like if it was more interactive like asking questions or even asking them opinions on the people might’ve been a little better instead of the sororities only speaking” She expanded her point by saying that they could’ve incorporated more interactive elements such as giving a poll because just listening and sitting isn’t very appealing.
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