Taking a future ISU student out to dinner, to amusement parks and traveling hundreds of miles just to meet him seems like a lot to do for a potential roommate.

However, members of Iowa State’s fraternities will be doing just that all summer to recruit new brothers.

Each summer, chairmen coordinate fraternity recruitment, also known as Rush, said Josh Boelman, Rush chairman of Beta Sigma Psi.

Boelman said his responsibilities include arranging transportation and sending out information about his fraternity.

Rush duties are not fulfilled only by the Rush chair, however.

Everyone in Alpha Kappa Lambda gets involved, said Rush chairman Jason Horner. All men spend at least one night a week going out with “Rushees,” or potential members, he said.

Boelman said all fraternity members of a house are responsible for calling potential members.

“Everybody really takes a lot of pride in rush,” said Brian Ziebell, Rush chairman of Beta Theta Pi.

Each fraternity receives a list of students accepted into ISU, Ziebell said. In Beta Theta Pi, chairmen narrow the list by asking fraternity members for names of potential members.

Fraternities also receive a list of students interested in greek housing, said Jeremy Kaeding, Rush chairman of Phi Kappa Theta.

Several hours a week are spent calling future students to gauge interest in the greek system. Horner said he spends three hours a night making appointments with Rushees.

If future students are interested, they meet with fraternity members and experience various trips and activities. In addition, special trips are made to the hometowns of Rushees. Some members of Phi Kappa Theta will travel to Omaha, Chicago, and Kansas City to meet Rushees, Kaeding said.

Phi Kappa Theta also hosts three Rush events during the summer. Fraternity members camp at Ledges State Park, as well as Lake Panorama located outside Panora and Apple River, Wis., Kaeding said.

Ziebell said Beta Theta Pi members will hold barbecues and will take Rushees to an Iowa Cubs game. Members also accompany Rushees to Great America, an amusement park in Illinois, he said.

Thousands of dollars are spent to bring the young men into a specific brotherhood.

“I’ve heard of houses that spend up to $10,000 on Rush,” Horner said.

Beta Sigma Psi has a Rush budget of $5,000 for the year, Boelman said.

The special treatment seems to work for the fraternities.

Ziebell said his Rush experience was “rewarding.”

Kaeding said taking interest in others takes a lot of time, and that being a Rush chairman is a “test of endurance.”

“It’s basically a part-time job,” Horner said.