By Miranda Parrish
Elm Staff Writer
Washington College’s sororities and fraternities have taken intiative in reaching out to the campus community, as this semester is the first that the Class of 2026 is eligible to participate in recruitment activities.
Kappa Sigma Omicron-Phi, one of the fraternities on campus, tabled in Hodson Hall from Jan. 23 to 27 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., offering all students and passersby munchkins and hot chocolate.
Junior Dylan Snow, a member of Kappa Sigma, said that the brothers decided to do this as a welcome back to campus gift.
“Every day this week we’re giving out munchkins and hot chocolate, just as a little welcome back present, because it’s been a chaotic time coming back to campus. So we figured we could start the semester off good and have a good time,” Snow said.
This is the first event that the fraternity hosted this semester, as they transition to a new executive board.
“We’re right in the middle of our transition so all of our new officers came up with the idea and we thought that this would be a great way to support them,” Snow said. “So this is our first time doing this. Hopefully this will turn into a tradition, but it’s been really cool to hang out and see everybody and welcome everybody back with a smile.”
Kappa Sigma isn’t the only Greek Life organization that has put on events this past week. The three campus sororities – Alpha Chi Omega Beta Pi, Alpha Omicron Pi Sigma Tau, and Zeta Tau Alpha Gamma Beta – all held different events to meet possible new members, as well as share their values and philanthropies with anyone on campus.
Each hosted a one-hour event where students could come meet the current members, as well as learn what each sorority was like.
Alpha Chi Omega hosted a trivia night on Tuesday, Jan. 24 and an ice cream information session on Wednesday, Feb. 1.
On Thursday, Jan. 26, Zeta Tau Alpha held a Meet the Zetas craft event.
Alpha Omicron Pi also hosted a philanthropy craft night on Friday, Jan. 27 and a game night on Thursday, Jan. 26.
In addition, Alpha Chi Omega also hosted a 90s party in the skybox on Thursday, Jan. 26 to welcome back students to campus.
Unlike the past, this semester has a different rushing structure for sororities, so the process to join is continuous.
Senior Kristina Curley is on the Panhellenic Council at the College, and is a sister of Zeta Tau Alpha.
“The biggest difference this year is that we are doing a continuous recruitment structure. This means that sororities host events all throughout the semester to recruit new members. It gives chapters more flexibility to recruit new members,” Curley said.
Those interested in recruitment had the opportunity to meet members of all of the fraternities and sororities on Monday, Jan. 30 at Meet the Greeks, which was hosted by the Panhel and the Interfraternity Council.
According to Kappa Sigma brother sophomore Quin Kaufmann, Greek Life is currently prominent when looking for new opportunities this semester.
Kaufmann joined his fraternity due to social-based reasons.
“I joined Kappa Sigma because I just became friends with all of the brothers and it became more of a family,” Kaufmann said. “And I really wanted to bond in a more formal way, and better be able to stay in touch with everyone after college, and formalize your friendships in a way, which feels nice since you stay in touch for longer.”
For fraternities, this year’s process for incoming members is similar to the past. They host a week of recruitment with events throughout and try to reach as many students as possible.
For anyone interested in Greek Life or the various events that will be hosted throughout the semester, reach out to any member or follow their Instagrams for new information – @ztawac, @axowac, @aoiisigmatau, @wacphidelt, and @kappasigwac.
Photo by Mia Snyder
Photo Caption: Members of Panhel hosted an orientation for recruitment on Tuesday, Jan. 24.