By Emma Russell
Student Life Editor
On Nov. 19, Zeta Tau Alpha, Alpha Omicron Pi, and Alpha Chi Omega — in partnership with the Washington College Panhellenic Council — hosted the College’s first Meet the Greeks night.
Meet the Greeks night, gives students a chance to meet all the sororities in one go, and this year was they very first virtual Meet the Greeks night.
According to senior Hanna Flowers, who holds one of the recruitment chair positions for the Panhellenic Council, a typical Meet the Greeks night would consist of interested students hopping from different sorority house to sorority house but instead, students hopped from Zoom meeting to Zoom meeting.
“Each sorority kind of has their own free range with what they want to do, so you guys are gonna have fun doing something with all the girls,” Flowers said. “Remember to keep an open mind when you’re going through recruitment, we want you to have all of your options open.”
The night started off with students getting to meet and chat with the Zeta Tau Alpha sisters.
Sophomore Julia Totis, one of the membership chairmen for ZTA, welcomed students with a bit of history about ZTA.
ZTA was founded in 1898 in Farmville, Va. and their philanthropy is breast cancer education and awareness.
“We take our philanthropy incredibly seriously especially because 1 in 8 women will be affected by breast cancer at some point in their lifetime,” Totis said.
“Tonight you will learn about how sisterhood is one of the strongest bonds you can make, especially in ZTA where the foundation of Zeta Tau Alpha was love, the greatest of all things,” she said.
Students were put into small groups with at least two ZTA sisters, giving them a chance to get to know the sisters on a more personal level. The sisters created a welcoming atmosphere, getting prospective sisters to share their pets via Zoom and talk with one another about what shows they were binging. Answers ranged from “New Girl” to “Outlander” and “Mindhunter” all of which can be found on Netflix.
Alpha Chi Omega was the next Zoom room on the trip
“Whether you’re looking to expand your social circle, take on new leadership positions, or just try something new, Alpha Chi Omega is a welcoming sisterhood for real strong women,” Vice President of recruitment for AXO, junior Melissa DeFranceso said in her opening statement.
“In Alpha Chi we prioritize character, inclusion, personal development, enthusiasm, and kindness above all. We like to celebrate each other’s victories, pick each other up when we’re down,” DeFranceso said. “I count myself incredibly lucky to have found such a supportive group of girls, not only to call my friends, but to call my sisters.”
AXO’s philanthropy is domestic abuse awareness, and AXO’s Vice President of philanthropy junior Holly Shaffer said, “We wanna educate people on what a healthy relationship looks like, what sort of boundaries are healthy to set in a relationship, and also resources they can use if they find themselves in a relationship that is unhealthy. In addition to that we’re seeking resources to help survivors transition out of those relationships and find peace and safety in the future.”
Many students were curious about how the sisters were able to bond and stay connected with one another when everything is virtual and the sisters of AXO said they stay in touch by doing a hobby night.
“Each of our sisters picks a hobby they have and shares it with the rest of the sorority. We’ve had girls host yoga nights over Zoom, painting nights, one of our sisters is really good at makeup so she’ll do a makeup tutorial for us to follow along with…so we do a lot of fun little sisterhood Zoom nights to keep us connected,” DeFranceso said.
The last stop of the night was Alpha Omicron Pi.
“All of our sisters are very spread out in our community at Washington College. So tonight you’ll get to talk to girls who are on SEB, and SGA, and play sports, or focus on academics, and everything and anything under the sun,” said Chapter President of AOII junior Ellie Agatonic.
AOII’s philanthropy is juvenile arthritis.
“We get to visit AI Dupont hospital and go help out with the kids there. We do blue week, which is like one week of activities and fundraising for juvenile arthritis research. We also have strike-out for arthritis, and some of you might have participated in our juvenile arthritis walk last month. So we’re very involved in our philanthropy and our community,” Agatonic said.
Students then had a chance enter breakout rooms to have more personal conversations with the sisters.
“I just wanna say no matter where you guys end up going, you’re gonna figure out the place you wanna be when you stop fake smiling and you’re like genuinely laughing and feeling that kind of quirky embrace,” junior Alli Tran said.
“It’s really whoever you find to be your family, and who you’re most comfortable around, and I felt that with AOII, you know not everybody feels that way, and that’s perfectly fine. Just go wherever feels like home,” sophomore Erin Moran said.
If you are interested in registering to “Go Greek” visit the link for the Spring 2021 Sorority Recruitment: https://enroll.icsrecruiter.com/pan/WASHCO#!/enroll/enrollment-disclaimer
Featured Photo caption: The sisters of Zeta Tau Alpha, Alpha Omicron Pi, and Alpha Chi Omega, in partner with the WC Panhellenic Council encourage interested students to meet with all the sororities in preparation for next semester’s rush event. Photo Courtesy of the WC Panhellenic Council.