What Should I Join?

It’s a good feeling to be wanted and it’s flattering to be asked to join a group. Now that you’re in college, you’ll find yourself being invited to spend your time with lots of organizations: fraternities, sororities, intramural teams, and clubs of all kinds. Your membership in these groups will rely on your free choice and is an important part of your college experience.

What Is a 'High-Pressure' Group?

These are other groups that use persistent recruiting efforts to win you over. They try to change your beliefs, opinions, and values. Even if you say you’re not interested, the recruiters may become offensive through incessant phone calls or harassing behavior. The members often use deception in their recruitment. You may be invited to fun events such as volleyball or picnics, but the recruiter won’t tell you that everyone in attendance will be from the same organization. These virtual strangers will want to spend huge amounts of time with you. These are predatory groups who wait for times when you are vulnerable. Freshmen are particularly targeted because they are experiencing a transitional time in their lives. The focus can be religion, moneymaking ventures, politics, or therapy. Their methods and beliefs may include homophobia, sexism or racism. To avoid recognition, the group may change its name frequently.

Why Are High-Pressure Groups So Harmful?

They tend to isolate you from family, friends, and other groups. They may ask you to give up control of your life, thoughts, and decisions. They tend to focus on guilt and shame. They may promote crises with school, your career, or your relationships. They may resort to frightening you to the point that you stop making decisions and asking questions for yourself.

How Can I Identify A High-Pressure Group?

Observe the group’s responses to you and how you feel around them. If you can answer “yes” to any three of these statements, you may need to seriously reconsider your involvement:

The group seems perfect.
Everyone agrees and follows all orders cheerfully and without question.
The group claims to have ‘all the answers’ to your problems.
You are required to recruit new members soon after joining.
You begin to feel guilty and ashamed, unworthy as a person.
The group encourages you to put their meetings and activities before all other commitments including studying, family, and friends. The group speaks in a derogatory manner about your past religious, social, or political affiliations.
Your parents and friends are defined as being unable to understand or to help you with religious, political, or other matters. Associating with them is not encouraged.
Doubts and questions are seen as signs of weak faith or commitment.
You are invited on a retreat with the group, but they can’t give you an overview of the purpose, theme, or activities before you go.

When Will I Be Approached?

College is an adult world with many decisions, anxieties, and pressures. There are times when you may feel homesick, unloved or overwhelmed. These feelings are very normal; learning to cope with such feelings and keeping them in the proper perspective is an opportunity college provides. Yet, it is at these times that high-pressure groups tend to seek you out and begin recruiting.

Members don’t “join” a high-pressure group, they are “recruited.”

When Am I Vulnerable?

When You Are Having a Tough Time Socially
You don’t have a date for an important social event. You feel as if you aren’t a part of anything. You’re bored with the same, dull routine of classes, dinner, studying and bed.

When You Are in Trouble Academically
You feel like a failure because you are not meeting your personal academic standards. You are under pressure to improve your grades.

When You Are Hurting
Your friends forgot to get you a ticket to a concert or to invite you to eat dinner with them. You just had a fight with your family. You are grieving over a person or relationship.

When You Are Lonely
You are homesick for familiar friends and places. Your roommate is always out with other friends. You miss your significant other who is at another school. You are searching for a spiritual connection.

What Should I Know?

Feelings of fear, hurt, and loneliness are reactions that can be confronted, put into proper focus, and overcome. They are, however, uncomfortable if left unattended...and they are a clear invitation to high-pressure recruiters.

Reach out and get the opinion of someone you trust who is not a member of the group, such as a friend, professor, parent, counselor, residence hall advisor, or a member of the clergy.

Find out about new religious groups from your church or synagogue back home.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions! Be skeptical!
Don’t accept evasive answers.
Don’t be afraid to take a stand.
Remember that it is okay to say “No.”
Examine yourself: Are you vulnerable?
Check out organizations before you attend meetings.
Call the phone numbers in this brochure for help and more information.

Do not give your telephone number, email address, or home address to any group unless you are certain they are trustworthy.

Register complaints of harassing behavior with the appropriate authorities.

Who Can Help?

If you want to talk about High-Pressure Groups or you have questions you would like to ask, below are people you can contact on campus who will listen to you.

 

Deans
Mark Schuster, Senior Dean of Students	(732) 932-2300
Camden Campus	(856) 225-6043
College of Engineering	(732) 445-2687
College of Nursing	(973) 353-5293 x611
College of Pharmacy	(732) 445-2675 x605
Mason Gross School of the Arts	(732) 932-9360 x508
Newark Campus	(973) 353-5800
UC - Newark	(973) 353-5800

Published by the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs. Materials adapted from a brochure originally developed by Jim Hoppe, Northwestern University Division of Student Affairs.

Last Updated: 09/26/2007