By Emma Reilly
Opinion Editor
Washington College’s sororities are kicking off the spring 2022 semester with formal recruitment. Feb 3 through Feb 5, students interested in joining one of the College’s three sororities can participate in activities and attend presentations related to Greek life on campus, which are being held in-person for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Vice President of Membership Recruitment for Zeta Tau Alpha junior Julia Totis, although recruitment — also known as rush — is certainly intended for sororities to expand their membership, it is not all about numbers.
“It’s honestly about a connection,” Totis said.
WC’s sororities see recruitment as a chance to build up their chapter’s philanthropic efforts and meet like-minded individuals. Recruitment — although it includes formal elements — is intended to inspire excitement and forge interpersonal relationships.
According to Vice President of Recruitment and Vice President of Chapter and Standards for Alpha Chi Omega junior Erica Eckholm, her sisters’ passion for their philanthropy, domestic violence awareness, and their connection to one another is what inspired her to join her chapter.
“Everybody just seemed to be very close-knit and having fun. [Sorority life] is a good way to get involved in a good cause and make friends,” Eckholm said.
Recruitment is closely tied to the philanthropic involvement of WC’s three sororities.
“I feel like one of the most important things Greek life adds [to campus] is philanthropy. Through [philanthropy] events, a lot of money gets raised for our causes,” Eckholm said.
According to Vice President of Membership Recruitment for Alpha Omicron Pi senior Haley Royce, the second night of recruitment week activities is centered around philanthropy.
“Alpha Omicron Pi’s philanthropy is juvenile arthritis, so we make little panda bears and the kids can freeze them or heat them up to help their joints when they are in pain,” Royce said.
In addition to learning more about the philanthropic efforts WC’s sororities are involved with, potential new members can also immerse themselves in a community of peers from a range of different backgrounds during recruitment.
“It’s a good way to volunteer for and help a philanthropy, but on another level, it’s just a good way to meet people that you wouldn’t have met before,” Eckholm said.
According to Totis, the importance of common values was something that shaped her own recruitment experience.
“I loved that people wanted to know just as much about me as I wanted to know about them,” Totis said. “I felt like I could really resonate with [Zeta Tau Alpha], that I could really connect with them and talk to them easily.”
Each sorority operates recruitment with specific values in mind.
“As a chapter [Alpha Omicron Pi’s] goal nationally is to find girls with a lot of ambition who are really dedicated, really driven, and who stick to what they sign up for. [Ambition] is something we really admire in our organization specifically,” Royce said.
The value-based nature of recruitment allows potential new members to find the sorority that is the best fit for them by putting them in contact with peers with similar interests, motivations, and goals.
Formal recruitment will conclude with “Bid Day,” where potential new members who have received bids from sororities will “run home” to their new sisters in a symbolic ceremony that precedes formal induction.
Photo by Emma Russell
Featured Photo Caption: The Panhellenic Council sets up a table in Hodson Hall to educate potential new members about the three sororities on campus, Zeta Tau Alpha, Alpha Chi Omega, and Alpha Omicron Pi.