In a return to pre-2009 numbers, the nine Panhellenic Association sororities offered bids to 311 women Sunday—51 more than last year.
Registration for sorority recruitment also increased from 367 women last year to 434 this year. And throughout the day, sorority sisters could be seen marching down academics quads en masse, many chanting “Best Damn Pledge Class!”
“I think we had a more formalized [public relations] plan and we held information sessions on East Campus which I think were really successful,” said senior Margaret Morrison, Panhel vice president of recruitment and membership. “We made a much more concerted effort to answer questions about the recruitment process before it began.”
In previous years, recruitment was conducted over a consecutive five-day period and required that registrants return to school early. This year, the recruitment process was spread out over two weeks and took place after classes started Jan. 13. In addition, recruitment events were spread out over both East and West Campuses as opposed to past years, in which the events were held exclusively on one of the two.
Morrison attributed this year’s Winter Forum—which took place immediately before the start of the second semester—and the limited availabilty of space as reasons why Panhel made these changes.
“There wasn’t anything Panhel could do about the schedule because we needed to have the recruitment events on the first two weekends of school,” she said.
Delta Gamma President Becki Feinglos, a junior, said she was generally content with this year’s recruitment, but noted that it may have been difficult for women to travel back and forth between East and West in a limited time frame for recruitment parties.
Alpha Delta Pi President Alyssa Dack, a senior, said Panhel maximized its use of available resources.
“It’s really just that the Panhel office is doing the best they can to work with the space they have,” Dack said. “I think that the [Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life] staff worked with the situation as best as they could.”
Morrison initially said the quota for each sorority was set for 35 members, but later retracted the statement. Krystal Clark, program coordinator for fraternity and sorority life, declined to release quota numbers, noting that it was “personal information” for sorority chapters.
Chi Omega gave out 27 bids, eight fewer than any other chapter.
“It was just decisions we made that were best for the chapter,” said Chi Omega President Page Krugman, a senior.
Pi Beta Phi President Casey Miller, a senior, said that in spite of regular recruitment challenges, the process usually yields a favorable outcome.
“I think the process always has its way of working out,” she said.
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