For many Stevens students, the third week of the semester marks a return to normalcy. Classes are in full swing, classes can no longer be dropped, and the countdown to graduation has begun for many seniors. For the four sororities on Stevens campus, these past two weeks have been intense as the sisters of Phi Sigma Sigma, Sigma Delta Tau, Delta Phi Epsilon, and Theta Phi Alpha educated, socialized, and hoped to impress one of the largest recruitment classes the campus has ever seen.
For those who are not familiar with the Greek life processes, Formal Recruitment is a time for women on campus to learn about sorority life and ultimately find a home in the Panhellenic community. Greek Adviser and Associate Director of Student Life Thea Zunick describes the recruitment process much like dating. “You’re going to go on a lot of dates. Some you’ll enjoy more than others. Some dates, you’ll find compatibility with, others you won’t. Ultimately, you’re going to want to find your lifelong partner.”
The activities of sorority recruitment occur in a series of events called rounds. “Meet the Sisters” is a preemptive event that is not required for potential new members, but is a way for current sorority members to introduce those who are interested in sorority life. “[The sisters] don’t wear letters or reveal their affiliation,” said Zunick. The first official night of formal recruitment is Orientation, which is when prospective sisters learn the rules of recruitment and the expectations that sisters are held to as members of the Greek community.
Out of all the potential new members who registered for Orientation, 123 women were eligible to attend, which according to Zunick is a 44% increase in eligible women going into the first round, as compared to Spring 2015 data. “I think as our sorority community grows, there are more options for women to join,” said Zunick. “Because our [Panhellenic] community is larger and more visible, people are noticing that being in a sorority is a great way of being involved on campus.”
Following Orientation are the rounds, which include Round Robin, Philanthropy Night, and Preference party. At Round Robin, potential new members have the opportunity to see each chapter. Marielle Jankowski, Membership Recruitment Chair of Phi Sigma Sigma, finds Round Robin to be the most difficult aspect of recruitment. “This is the event we all put our time and creativity into. With the presentation of our house, we are putting our best foot forward [by] inviting the potential new members into our home to give them a feel as to who we are and why they’d want to join our sorority.”
At Philanthropy Night, the sororities present the causes they are most passionate about, including Anorexia and Associated Disorders, Women for Women International, Glenmary Home Missioners, and School and College Readiness. After Philanthropy Night comes Preference Party, which is an invitational round. Potential new members can receive a maximum of two invitations and a minimum of zero. After the three rounds, each of the sororities conduct bid matching, which Zunick describes as a “mutually selective process.” Zunick works alongside a Release Figure Method Specialist, who comes directly from the National Panhellenic office. “The [Release Figure Method Specialist] is specifically trained to determine how many women can be invited back for each round to maximize the number of women who can join a sorority,” said Zunick. While the potential new members attend rounds, both the interests and the sororities rank each other on a system called CampusDirector. It is with the aid of the Release Figure Method Specialist and the CampusDirector software that enables sororities to offer bids to potential new members. “There is a scientific method to recruitment,” said Zunick.
The recruitment process is an underlying theme in many of the sororities’ initiatives. “Recruitment is always at the back of mind for our women because everything they do represents their organization,” said Zunick. “Most often our [Panhellenic] community is just trying to get women interested in joining a sorority. It is not until these two and a half weeks where the individual chapters start recruiting for themselves.”
Of the 123 women that attended Orientation, not all will find homes in sororities this year. “For our sorority, it is extremely exciting that there are so many women that are coming out, but it makes the decision even harder,” said Jankowski. As of Thursday, February 4, all 102 women who participated in the Participation party received bids from a sorority, according to Zunick.
The sheer number of women interested in joining a sorority might suggest changes in the near future. As recruitment comes to a close, the Panhellenic community will vote to decide whether to bring on Alpha Phi as a new sorority, as a continuation of its extension, or initiative to bring on new sororities to campus. “Should Alpha Phi come as planned, that will be this fall in 2016,” said Zunick.
Whether or not Alpha Phi comes to Stevens, the Panhellenic Community is excited to see that women are joining sororities at higher rates as the campus continues to increase the number of women who attend Stevens each year.
