Hundreds of freshman boys can be spotted around campus wearing khakis or jeans with coordinating tucked-in polos. Some bring back trends of elementary school, donning matching Velcro-strap shoes or jean shorts. And some can be seen walking in straight lines or studying together in one of the libraries. It’s that time of the year again – the season of fraternity pledgeship at Alabama.

Fraternity rush and pledgeship is a 150-year-old tradition at the Capstone, according to the Greek Life website. Fall rush for fraternities entails potential members visiting all of the houses to decide which one is the best fit for them. From there, formal pledgeship begins around Sept. 7 and continues for eight weeks.

Jacob Adrian, Sigma Pi president, said he feels the process of pledgeship is important to every fraternity.

“It’s an eight-week period in which all the new members learn about the history and ideals, and also get to know the active members of the fraternity,” said Adrian, a senior majoring in economics.

Adrian also cautions men who are interested in pledging a fraternity to be aware of the time commitment for those eight weeks, saying pledges must be completely devoted. However, he said he believes pledging a fraternity can actually be beneficiary to a freshman.

“At first it seems really daunting and a lot of people, especially parents, are worried about juggling the introduction into college as well as joining a fraternity,” Adrian said. “But pledging a fraternity eases your introduction into college because you have study hours you have to complete and are around lots of guys who have been here a while.

“It’s different being around a lot of older guys who have been here, rather than just freshmen.”

Adrian went on to say that a man’s fraternity brothers will be his best friends for the rest of his life. For many freshmen, brotherhood is the reason they decide to pledge a fraternity.

For accounting major JT Summerford, joining a fraternity helped to broaden his group of friends.

“Since I’m from Tuscaloosa, it helped me to meet people from many different backgrounds,” said Summerford, a senior in Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.

Junior Levi Cook, who is part of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, said he believes the friendships he has made through his fraternity will continue beyond college.

“I joined [a fraternity] just to make lifelong friends, and that’s what I’ve done,” Cook said.