Primary Panhellenic Association recruitment is the time when the Greek Life community gains new members before the school year. There are 18 recognized sororities who use the recruitment period, also known as rush, to choose students who will represent their philanthropy, or message. 

Sororities have many different philanthropy missions on campus, such as breast cancer or Alzheimer’s research. This is the main appeal for incoming freshmen applying for sororities such as Alpha Chi Omega, Sigma Kappa and Gamma Phi Beta. 

“They [Alpha Chi Omega] really want to help women with their domestic violence,” freshman Andrea Callison said. “And I just think their sorority is just really low-pressure girls that care for each other and want to be friendly with everybody.”

This year, rush took place in person from Aug. 15-21. For sororities, it has five rounds: Open House, Philanthropy, Sisterhood, Preference and Bid Day. Recruits and sororities use each round to visit and decline each other when one of the two parties is not interested. 

“Preference round is really special,” freshman Jordan Smith said. “You only can go to max two houses and you get to see a really special part of their chapter.” 

Each round had a dress code; the attire started out casual, such as a Greek Life t-shirt. As the rounds progress, however, the new recruits have to wear nicer attire as they get closer to Bid Day. Many freshmen, including Riley Selby, had mixed feelings about the requirement. 

“I was a little embarrassed just because the day we had the preference round was also move-in day,” Selby said. “I felt totally out of place. But it was nice though, because you could point out who was rushing. Then again, I like wearing a dress and heels. I felt confident.”

On Bid Day, houses reveal where the new recruits were invited to. Recruitment is called rush because when new members get invited into a house, they all run to their house during the ceremony.

“They were all doing cheers and each sorority was lined up around the football field and then once 9 o’clock hit, everyone opened up their card and a lot of girls made videos of their reactions,” Callison said.

The new recruits have to follow all the requirements and go to multiple events. There is no guarantee that a recruit will get the house they want on Bid Day. However, for those who get the sorority they wanted, the process can be worth it.

“You’re so happy and everyone’s opening it up at the same time,” freshman Emma Hall said.  “It’s a good feeling, especially after the whole week, doing all the dressing up and waking up early … it’s a feeling of relief.” 

Thousands of new members went through rush, but not all who initially applied. They could drop out at any time for any reason, such as their preferred house dropping them first. Most recruits go through the formal recruitment process, which allows them to visit all the sororities during rush.  However, other recruits can go through informal recruitment at any time, where the recruit has to reach out to their desired sorority. Continuous Open Bidding is a process in the spring that allows Greek Life members to try again at the house they want. However, not all sororities and fraternities participate.

“It definitely was very stressful. And I definitely think that there are pros and cons to formal recruitment,” Smith said. “A ton of girls get into a chapter in so many different ways that you don’t have to do the formal recruitment. Especially if you know that it is not going to be for you, or if you think it’s going to be too much because it’s definitely overwhelming.” 

The recruits were put into several tiny groups during the rush process, called PI groups. The goal was to let new Greek Life members create bonds and relationships with their future sisters. 

“Greek Life helped me because I made so many new friends,” Callison said. “If I would have moved in at the same time as everyone else, I would have just known my roommate. But going through the whole week-long recruitment, I met so many girls in my PI group that I still talk and hang out with.” 

Edited by Namratha Prasad | nprasad@themaneater.com