Pictured from left to right Bridgette Carberry, Maggie McMullen, and Kenzie Freeman, all of whom are members of the sorority Alpha Sigma Tau, attend Bid Day, the concluding celebration of Spring formal recruitment. / PHOTO COURTESY OF ALPHA SIGMA TAU
Morgan Huber
Opinion Editor
The Spring semester is officially in full swing, with stress, excitement, and homework filling the air. However, for as many as 300 individuals, the onset of the semester is even more of a whirlwind, with these particular female and nonbinary students looking forward to the biggest event of the year – Sorority Recruitment.
Each spring, the Panhellenic Council, an organization overseeing social sororities, arranges recruitment, where as many as 100 Millersville students learn about each sorority with the hopes of finding their second home on campus. All four of the Panhellenic Council’s social sororities – Alpha Sigma Alpha, Alpha Sigma Tau, Alpha Xi Delta, and Delta Zeta – plan to recruit individuals this upcoming February. With roughly 30 to 40 members in each chapter and as many as 100 people packed in the Student Memorial Center, the campus runs abuzz with excitement and anticipation for one of the biggest decisions in one’s college career.
For the prospective new members (PNMs as they are often called) interested in recruitment, joining a sorority is a chance to make friends, serve the community, and find one’s purpose as they come of age. Knowing this, and being in PNMs’ shoes before, the recruitment officers for the council and each of the chapters work tirelessly for months to provide the best recruitment experience possible.
Erin Olson, Vice President of Membership for Delta Zeta, stated, “planning for recruitment has definitely been a whirlwind of emotions, but the most powerful emotion is excitement … definitely a stressful time, but I know it will all be worth it in the end.”
Formal recruitment takes place over the course of a three-day weekend; the first day, PNMs are divided into groups, where they get to meet each of the chapters and their members. Once the sororities and PNMs mutually rank each other by preference, they may come back for a second day, this time learning about one or two sororities and their philanthropy. On the third and final day, PNMs have a formal preference day, learning further details about chapters of their interest. Concluding on Sunday, known during recruitment as “bid day”, students officially get to decide which group of remarkable individuals they choose to call home. While creating such a huge event for the Greek life community can be daunting, recruitment officers relish the opportunity to create everlasting memories and friendships.
With this semester being the first in-person recruitment in two years, the growth teams for each chapter on campus now face a variety of challenges and experiences previously unfamiliar to them:
“With the current climate of COVID-19 spreading rapidly, the biggest challenge has been to essentially prepare for two forms of recruitment; in-person and online. While we would love to perform recruitment in person to enhance the experience, safety is our number one priority,” said Brianna Hileman, Vice President of Recruitment for the Panhellenic Council, “my team and I are working hard to ensure safety, open communication with potential new members and chapters, and creating amazing recruitment. We are so incredibly excited to see girls run home to their new chapters, finding their forever home. It truly is the most rewarding part of the recruitment experience!”
“The closer we get, the more real it feels,” says Kayla Parkhouse, Vice President of Growth for Alpha Sigma Tau, “I am looking forward to meeting everyone and forming new connections. I can not wait to see where everyone runs home!”
Formal recruitment is set to begin on Friday, February 4, concluding on Sunday, February 6, with bid day. Prospective new members can sign up online through ICS Recruiter, or by clicking on the link in @villepanhell ‘s bio on Instagram. For questions, concerns, or comments regarding recruitment, readers may reach out to the Panhellenic Council’s Vice President of Recruitment, Brianna Hileman, at vprecruitmentmupanhel@gmail.com .
