The Misunderstood World of Sorority Recruitment

Her last name starts with an M, placing her at about the center of the line that is forming outside the Alpha Alpha Alpha house. The girls in front of and behind her are checking their lip gloss, hair and make-up one last time, nervous about the first impression they are about to make. The line starts to move as the door opens and they are hit with a surge of overwhelming enthusiasm from the smiling, clapping and chanting sisters of Tri-Alpha.

His last name starts with a B, but that doesn’t matter. He heard about a barbecue that Beta Beta Beta was hosting from a flier in the dorm, so he and a few friends interested in rush decided to check things out. If he likes the brothers, he’ll go to an interest party the next night at the fraternity house. If not, he will drop them and venture elsewhere.

One of the numerous differences in fraternity and sorority life on the campus of Virginia Tech is the way recruitment is conducted. Fraternities have two and a half weeks to get their names out there and urge male students to “rush” their organizations while sororities have five days of formal recruitment to send the neutral message of “go Greek,” and to emphasize their organizations’ attributes.

One would think that the laid-back, no frills, come-as-you-go attitude that fraternity recruitment offers is much more ideal and should be adapted and applied to sorority recruitment, but I beg to differ. Making a judgment off of four days jam-packed with over 30 events trying to connect with girls you have barely just met sounds absurd; but I can think of no other way that executes the process as fairly or effectively.

I remember when it came time for me to make the life-altering decision of which college to go to. Where to spend the next four years of my life and which campus had the most to offer in terms of meeting my academic and social needs was an excruciating decision. I’m embarrassed to say that I wasn’t hooked on Tech from the get-go. It took a weekend visit to the campus, shadowing a friend and experiencing college life to fall in love.

This is what is seen through sorority recruitment and what I feel fraternity recruitment lacks. Stereotypes and rumors about Greek life, namely sororities, are an inevitable occurrence, but how can you know about something that you have never experienced?

Requiring that each new potential member visit all 13 Panhellenic sororities on campus during the first two days gives each chapter an equal chance of giving a good first impression. Talk of boys and parties are forbidden and conversations are monitored to ensure that emphasis is on the sisterhood.

The new girls get to meet and talk with a few girls of each organization and after that they are encouraged not to talk about their experience with fellow recruits. This way the only influence on the decision is the experience that was had, not what someone else has to say about the chapter.

A process that, when it comes down to it, is pretty much mutual selection narrows down each recruits list of possible sororities as the days go on. The parties get longer and there is more time each day to get to know the sisters as well as the specifics of each chapter.

Instead of picking two chapters that you heard were cool and rushing only those like with fraternity recruitment, each organization is given a fair shot by each new potential member. I believe that this plays a part in why fraternity membership numbers vary so vastly from chapter to chapter. Boys are not forced to go out and experience all that each has to offer, they just pick and choose whichever they please.

Sorority recruitment allows every chapter to play on an equal playing field. It truly enables girls to find where they are most comfortable and compatible. A lot of those girls who started off wanting one sorority don’t end up there. They are swayed by their experiences with other chapters and find their niche in the Greek community.

Just as Virginia Tech chose me before I chose Virginia Tech, because of the way sorority recruitment is held, my sorority chose me before I chose my sorority. I made the decision to accept the bid much like I accepted my place as a student here and I could not be more pleased with the combination.