Two months after leaders of the Panhellenic Association decided that Zeta Tau Alpha’s inclusion in Duke’s greek system was a good call, Zeta representatives came to campus to make sure their sorority establishes a successful colony.
Before Zeta can be chartered as Panhel’s 10th sorority, it will have to get its foot in the door next semester by recruiting new members from scratch. Toward this end, three young Zeta representatives visited Duke this week to drum up interest in their sisterhood.
The representatives, who serve as traveling leadership consultants for their sorority, set up tables on the Bryan Center walkway as part of an advance public relations campaign.
While established sororities rely on younger students—especially freshmen—to fill their ranks when recruitment begins Feb. 14, Zeta will recruit upperclasswomen who would normally have not been allowed to rush, said Karen Mills, who leads extension efforts for Zeta’s national organization. The group of consultants will also make a brief presentation during formal recruitment in an effort to attract underclassmen who do not pledge an existing sorority.
“When they were on campus, they put the word out that they’re looking for women of all ages... I know so many older women who wanted to go through it,” senior Jessica Chilson, president of Panhel, said of sorority recruitment. “They will definitely get a lot of juniors and seniors.”
Women who join Zeta will then constitute a colony of that sorority. After a semester of meeting the national organization’s standards in terms of member education, grade point average and philanthropy, Duke’s chapter will be officially chartered. Zeta will then engage in formal Panhel recruitment during the 2004-2005 academic year.
“We’re just going to have to see how many interested women come through the process,” Mills said.
Chilson predicted the size of Zeta’s class will not be a problem, as the group’s ability to include older students will boost its numbers.
“New chapters across the country are looking for a different type of girl,” said Chilson, who predicted that Zeta’s recruitment numbers could rival or even surpass Panhel’s numbers based on the number of girls who will seek out “something new, something different.”
While difference from other groups might bolster Zeta’s numbers, Mills emphasized the importance of Zeta meshing well with Duke’s extant sororities.
“The Panhellenic Association and all of the groups have been very welcoming to us,” Mills said. “We’re trying to create a chapter that will fit in with Duke’s other groups.
Zeta’s numbers may be boosted by the early start of Panhel’s recruitment. This year, the process will begin for the nine member sororities three days prior to the start of the spring semester. Chilson suggested that students who do not return early but then decide to join a sorority are likely to join Zeta, as are those who participate in formal recruitment without joining a sorority.
“For those girls, I think Zeta will be great,” Chilson said.
Zeta was chosen to become the 10th member of Panhel Sept. 23, when Panhel members voted its inclusion in the greek system over that of Kappa Delta and Sigma Kappa. Zeta, a nationwide sorority with a strong presence in the South, has 233 collegiate chapters and more than 250 alumnae chapters, including one encompassing the Triangle area.
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