WMU fraternities and sororities begin fall recruitment

By Erin Kaplan
Western Herald

More than just a club, more than just an Registered Student Organization—it’s a community.
Western Michigan University has a diverse Greek life. As classes begin, fraternities and sororities begin recruiting and rushing for new brothers and sisters.

Sororities

“We have a very close community and we attend a lot of each other’s philanthropy events – it’s a home away from home,” Joelle Fundaro, vice president of Education for the Panhellenic Council, the governing body of the social sororities, said.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for woman and men to meet new people and learn a lot about themselves; there’s a ton of great leadership opportunities…lots of opportunities to help the community,” Fundaro added. “You’ll keep doing this throughout your entire life once it’s instilled with you. You go into a job field and you meet people who might have been Greek. Its not just a college thing- it’s a life-long commitment.”

Formal Recruitment 2009 for sororities begins Sept. 23 and will last until the 27. A $25 fee will be required to participate in formal recruitment.

What exactly is formal recruitment?

According to Jaimi Halfhill, the president of the Panhellenic Council, the five-day long process is “a mutual selection between the sororities and potential new members.”
Formal recruitment allows potential members to meet the sisters of every chapter to determine where they will feel the most comfortable. At the same time, sisters of each chapter look forward to meeting all the potential new members.

Kickoff is on Sept. 21 with an informational night in the Bernhard Center. Rushing girls will be guided by Ro Gammas, who are acting as Orientation Student Leaders or Resident Assistants for sorority recruitment.

“[Ro Gammas] are trained to be there for every new member to help make the decision process easier. They are being trained to make sure that they are unbiased about any chapter on campus,” Halfhill said.

“I think it’s an easy way to meet more people, through philanthropies; you’ll see Greeks in your classes, and you know your part of the same Greek community,” sophomore Melissa Miko, who joined Alpha Chi Omega last year, said.

“The longer I’m in it, the more I’ll experience; I’m excited to see how it impacts my college career,” Miko said.

Under the Panhellenic Council, in addition to the eight social sororities hosting the upcoming formal recruitment, is a ninth sorority, Sigma Lambda Gamma – a multi-cultural sorority. They work with the Panhellenic Council during the Greek carnival. While they are considered to be under the Panhellenic Council, they operate under their own rules, and their recruitment and programming is completely separate.

“I like that we are a smaller organization it really gives us the chance to know all of our sisters and were a multicultural sorority so we learn about different cultures and we are culturally aware,” President Zenaida Jimenez, said. “The sisterhood, were always here for each other, we know everything about each other.”

Jimenez explained that SLD is a bit smaller than the rest of the sororities, making the experience more intimate. SLD holds informational meetings where prospective members learn about the sorority, such as grade point average requirements. Soon after, socials are held, where the perspective girls can get the chance to get to know the sisters of SLD.

Fraternities

For men, recruitment is more informal. The most noticeable difference is that fraternities recruit individually all year long.

“Traditionally rush begins for guys at the start of every semester. There’s generally a fall rush and a winter rush class,” Kirk Lonsway, President of the Interfraternity Council explained.

“However, in each semester we continuously invite guys over to meet them and then generally at the very start of it the new members, or perspective new members, go to a couple events just hanging out with us; [there’s] no pressure, just to meet the members of the fraternities and they decided whether or not they like the guys, the core values of the house. All those events are run by each individual house.”

While the way of rushing may be different, the reasons to join are the same.

“The benefits of going Greek are endless,” Tau Kappa Epsilon rush chair Amit Harris, said. “You have the opportunity to be a part of an organization that contributes to your personal growth, the well-being of the university and it offers you endless opportunities. The opportunities can be in networking, or service, or philanthropy, but above everything the life long friendships that you make when you go Greek are unmatchable.”

Rushing in a fraternity begins with an informational night hosted by the IFC. Future brothers can check out as many houses as they like, and if both the chapter and the perspective member get along, a bid is extended to them by the fraternity men, offering them a chance to the join the house.

Examples of rush events for men include TGI Friday’s or go-carting. This differs from sorority rush, where girls visit the individual chapter.

“I’m looking forward to getting more Western students involved in Greek life. Its not for everyone but everyone is welcome to rush to see if they like it,” Harris continues, on the upcoming fall recruitment.

Lastly, separate from the Panhellenic Council as well as the Interfraternity Council is the National Pan-Hellenic Council. Under the NPHC there are five fraternities and four sororities.
Andrew Crowe of Kappa Alpha Psi has enjoyed his Greek experience thus far.

“My experiences have been pretty good. Typically in Michigan we’re very close and we visit other chapters on different campuses. Its basis is philanthropy; we really push for that and community service, even with our alumni members,” Crowe shared.

The NPHC is very unique. “The NPHC is generational influenced, we really encourage our members to become life time members, and to continue to do more in a fraternity after you graduate,” said Crowe.

Upon joining NPHC fraternities and sororities, members go through four steps: informational, interview, test preparation and initiation. Each fraternity and sorority rushing period varies. Kappa Alpha Psi, for example, holds the rushing period for six to eight weeks.

For more information, and a list of the sororities and fraternities, visit www.greeks.wmich.edu

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Sep 7 2009. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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