Panhellenic Council introduces changes to spring recruitment

By Miranda Parrish

Elm Staff Writer

The Washington College Panhellenic Council and campus leaders made several changes to the recruitment regulations for the upcoming season. 

Established WC Greek Life standards state that interested first year students are only offered eligibility to join one of the different sororities and fraternities that the campus offers in their second semester.

According to President of Panhel sophomore Lila Kenny, the spring ordinarily features a four-day formal recruitment process. This period was made up of sisterhood night, philanthropy night, preference night, and bid day.

This year, Panhel voted to hold a continuous recruitment process. Events will be spread throughout the semester for potential new members to attend. After the first two weeks of the semester, bids can be distributed.

Orientation for recruitment this year was held on Tuesday, Jan. 24 from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Egg. The Panhel executive board presented information about each sorority to the potential new members, including philanthropies, dues, and payment plans.

Individual recruitment events will be held throughout the following weeks by each of campus’ sororities.

Alpha Chi Omega held their first recruitment event, trivia night, on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. in the Goose Nest.

At 5 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 26, Alpha Omicron Pi has a sisterhood game night for recruitment in The Egg, featuring Jackbox, Mario Kart, and For The Girls.

Zeta Tau Alpha has a Meet the Zetas event on Thursday as well, at 6 p.m. in the faculty lounge.

Potential new members have the opportunity to attend each of these events and get to know the sisters. 

Vice President of Admin and Finance for Panhel sophomore Emma Parker-Watt said that the change was based on advice from each sorority’s advisors and the National Panhellenic Council.

“Since we are a smaller school with a smaller Greek Life presence, it only made sense to switch to a more informal recruitment style. We believe that this change will ring positivity and more people interested in joining Greek Life,” Parker-Watt said.

Alpha Omicron Pi sister sophomore Karli Oates said that with the changes to the process, there are many current members that are excited for the upcoming season and the new events.

“I think it’s good to have a change to informal recruitment because we will be able to meet potential new members in a less stressful environment,” Oates said. “All of the sororities seem to have fun events coming up this and the next couple of weeks, so potential new members have the ability to get to know us all. I am super excited to meet everyone.”

Conversations and events under the previous recruitment regulations were more structured due to the nature of formal recruitment. 

According to Oates, the new process will allow more time for potential new membeers to make decisions.

“The continuous open bidding events will hopefully be easier to ease into conversations with the current members of the sororities,” Oates said. “They also allow for the opportunity to experiment and see all of the sororities at your own individual pace. I want the potential new members to know that we are so excited to meet them, get to know them, and to see which sorority they end up in.”

This style of recruitment is entirely new to both Panhel and the sororities. However, according to Kenny, the change was made entirely with the potential new members in mind.

“It’s new and it’s not the process I went through, but I definitely have very high hopes. I am excited for it because I can’t wait for people to find their home away from home. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters,” Kenny said.

Information about individual recruitment events can be found on the sororities’ Instagram pages — @aoiisigmatau; @ztawac; and @axowac respectively — or on Campus Groups. Panhel also has an Instagram, which can be found @panhelwac.

Photo courtesy of Elm Archive

Photo Caption: Campus sororities tabled in Hodson Hall Commons during the spring 2022 formal recruitment process.

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