Recruitment week sees high numbers
Laura Howell
Issue date: 10/3/08 Section: News
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Throughout Recruitment Week, the fraternities and sororities got a chance to get to know the potential new members through scheduled events and activities.
The Inter-Fraternity Council and the Panhellenic Council are responsible for much of the overseeing of Recruitment Week.
"IFC serves as the overseeing council for all [six] social male fraternities at this campus," senior vice president of recruitment Bryant Manning said. "We organize all Greek judicial accountability, recruitment efforts, help fraternities with philanthropy efforts and allow all chapters to come together once a week to understand what each group is doing."
The Panhellenic Council is the administrative body of the FSC Panhellenic sororities.
"Their responsibility is to all business related to the overall welfare of the Florida Southern College Panhellenic Association," said junior Jenna Lynn Halk, the vice president of recruitment for Panhellenic.
For the past two years, women held recruitment in the fall semester, while men rushed in the spring semester. This year, FSC switched things up so that both recruited during the same week.
Amanda Dunivan, the director of Greek life and student organizations, said that the change seems to have positively affected the recruitment process, especially for the fraternities.
On Bid Day, after running down a hill their new houses, both boys and girls met for a Greek wide barbecue in Babcock Gardens. This was the first time all week that the men and women were allowed to mingle.
The barbecue ended formal Recruitment Week events, but many sororities and fraternities got together individually for their own bonding events.
Combined, about 200 students rushed and about 180 of them joined a fraternity or sorority.
"I think so many people want to go Greek because it provides a sense of friendship and connection," Manning said. "It gives the student the opportunity to instantly plug in to a positive place of leadership and belonging on this campus."
The Greek system and Greeks have an active role on the FSC campus and in the community at large.
"Greek life at Florida Southern provides many of the campus leaders. For instance, at least the last three SGA presidents have been Greek, as are many of the presidents and executive members of many organizations on campus," said IFC president senior Chris Corbin. "Greeks provide a key component of the social scene for Florida Southern Students."
"The Greek system impacts the campus and community by not only providing leadership, but also providing service and stewardship towards the outside community," Manning said.
"The Greek system provided close to $30,000 and 4,000 to 5,000 community service hours last year in hopes of making this world a better place."
Halk said that Greek Life at FSC has a very positive impact on the community and the campus.
"Every chapter works closely with their philanthropies to give to the Lakeland community and provide events on campus that allows Greeks and Independents to get involved in," she said. "They focus on service and giving and encourage others to do so as well."
FRATERNITIES
This semester, close to 90 men rushed, and 84 of them were welcomed into fraternities. The numbers are up from last year, when only about 50 men went through the Recruitment process.
Sigma Chi got 21 new members, the most out of all the fraternities. Lambda Chi Alpha got 16 new members, 16 men joined Theta Chi, 15 joined Kappa Alpha, eight joined Alpha Gamma Rho and eight joined Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
Dunivan said that numbers may be higher this year because students are looking to get involved on campus. She said that by the spring, most boys are already involved, so fraternities are "put on the back burner."
She also added that many fraternities have had pre-recruitment events, and many resident advisors and orientation leaders are Greek, so new students could see their involvement and roles on campus.
Manning said that the changes to men's recruitment have improved recruitment possibilities dramatically and greatly increased numbers so that about a sixth of the freshman class rushed.
"It has helped recruitment numbers beyond all expectations, and our hope and prayer is that being involved in Greek Life will provide support and accountability for scholarship. The Greek system is set up so that all of these things work in harmony," he said.
Recruitment Week for men began on Sept. 21, when potential new members walked through each house and spent about 15 minutes in each meeting with everyone.
The rest of the week, Sept. 22-Sept. 26, the boys could attend whichever events they wanted to. Each fraternity put on one event per night. In the past, women were able to come to these events to help the boys with the recruitment process, but this year, only current members and men rushing were able to attend.
"[The change] gives them a chance to reaffirm their vales and why they chose their fraternities and share [the reasons] with potential new members," Dunivan said.
The six different fraternities each held one event per night, often with food and fun activities so that potential new members could get a feel for the fraternity.
Dave Moser, sophomore recruitment chair of Sigma Chi, said that best events his fraternity held were a barbecue catered by Sonny's and their "Sigmaritaville," complete with hamburgers, hot dogs and a dunk tank.
Kappa Alpha junior, Jeff Jensen said that their "Band and BBQ" and the KA Olympics were his favorite events.
"The KA Olympics include[d] hilarious events such as the VHS Tape Discus Throw and the Soup Can Shotput," Jensen said.
Theta Chi recruitment chair, junior Jacob Bonne, said that Dessert Night, featuring home-made ice cream from junior Drew Weseman, was a popular event.
"Our Red and White Formal Dinner is [also] an awesome time for both brothers and potential new members [because it gives them] a chance to hear from our alumni, including Dr. Waite Willis and others," Bonne said.
Senior Josh Sweeney said that the top events for Lambda Chi Alpha were the Redneck Olympics and the White Rose Dinner.
Matthew Pallay, junior, said that Sigma Alpha Epsilon's top events included "a very successful BBQ" and a cookout catered by Shane's BBQ with ribs and pulled pork.
Alpha Gamma Rho had a poker night as part of the week's activities.
"There was a large turnout," senior Tyler Jacoby said.
After the weekday events, each fraternity invited the men that they felt were a good fit into their fraternity. Unlike sororities, men don't rank potential new members. Each male could theoretically receive a bid from each house, and then choose which one he wanted to join, or none at all.
After the Greek-wide barbecue, many fraternities planned brotherhood retreats.
Kappa Alpha went to the beach, Sigma Alpha Epsilon went on a chapter retreat to an alumni's home for food and an information session and Theta Chi went to the home of a brother.
"This is a really cool experience for all, as it gives the new members and older members a chance to bond, and have some fun after a long week," Bonne said.
Other fraternities chose to stay on campus or around Lakeland to get to know new members.
Sweeney said that Lambda Chi Alpha did their "circle with Magic Carpet Ride playing and the good ol' Alpha in the lake." After that the brothers played football and then ate dinner together.
Some rushees knew from the start which fraternity they wanted to join. Freshmn Julian Blunt joined Kappa Alpha, and knew that he was going to rush KA from the beginning.
"I knew most of the guys before," Blunt said. He added that he thought Kappa Alpha will be a fun, support system for him.
Others were not entirely sure which fraternity they were going to join when they started the rush process.
Sophomore Alex Wachter said he decided to rush this semester instead of in the past because he wanted to get to know the reputations and the people involved in Greek life before making a decision to rush.
Wachter joined Theta Chi.
"I am really excited about Theta Chi and the opportunity to be a part of a fraternity that is just getting started on campus," he said. "It was a hard choice to make as two of my best friends went with Lamda Chi Alpha, but I am excited to make a change on campus under the name of Theta Chi.
Bonne said that he is very excited about the new members that will be the "Founding Fathers" of the Theta Chi chapter.
With the number of men who joined Theta Chi on Saturday, they will now have enough members to offically charter their chapter.
"FSC contains some of the best leaders I've ever seen, and the thought of uniting under the same goals with some of these men is an awesome experience," Bonne said.
Sweeney said that the Greek system gives him the opportunity to get to know people at the "level of brotherhood."
"What bonds the brothers of Lambda Chi is our ritual and to know these guys will see and be a part of ritual is exciting," Sweeney said. "I love our ritual and it's great that these guys have the potential of seeing and being a part of the bond that we have."
SORORITIES
This semester, about 130 girls went through the Recruitment process, and 105 of them joined a sorority. Alpha Chi got 25 new members, Zeta Tau Alpha got 23, Kappa Delta got 22, Alpha Delta Pi got 20 and Alpha Omicron Pi got 15.
Halk said that Greek Life gives people a sense of belonging.
"I believe that people want to join Greek Life to find a home away from home and to build life-long relationships," Halk said.
Recruitment began on Sept. 21 with an information session during which the potential new members meet their recruitment counselor, known as a "Gamma Chi."
Gamma Chis help the potential new members with the recruitment process by answering questions and serving as a non-affiliated members of the Greek community.
Katie Cox, Panhellenic president, and member of Kappa Delta said that one of the most rewarding things she experienced as a Greek was watching the Gamma Chi's council the girls going through recruitment with one of the biggest decisions of their lives.
"It was a very cool thing to be able to be a part of," Cox said.
Sept. 22 was Values Night. New members learned about the history, values, and general information about all five houses.
Emily Paladino, junior Zeta Tau Alpha member, said that Monday night is the first big night of recruitment.
"On this night we give the girls that are going through a better insight on Zeta. We really get to know the girls and answer any questions they have about Zeta," she said
Sept. 24 was philanthropy night. The girls went to up to three chapters' events and focused on service projects and hands-on activities.
Senior Alpha Chi Omega member, Sarah Price, said that Wednesday is the night where they really explain what their philanthropy is and what they do to get involved in the community.
"Our philanthropy is victims of domestic violence, so during the parties we show what we do for our charities," Price said.
Senior Alpha Chi Omega member Kaitlin Murray said that the girls painted flower pots for the women and children of the Peace River Center on Wednesday night.
Sept. 26 was preference night. The girls went either one or two houses and took part in more ceremonies and one-on-one interactions.
"This is the night that we show these girls what our sisterhood means to us and how important Zeta is in our lives," Paladino said.
Saturday was Bid Day where women receive one invitation to join a sorority.
"It is tradition at Florida Southern for the girls to run from the
place where they get their bids to their brand new houses," Price said. "All the sister stand outside with banners and balloons to great them."
Halk, member of Kappa Delta, said that Bid Day is her favorite tradition of the week.
"Seeing the new members run down the hill to their houses and everyone celebrating with each other is something so unique and special," Halk said. "It is a wonderful day for all of Greek Life."
The girls also went to the Greek barbecue and then onto events within their new sororities.
The process of selection is also different for girls; it is more of a
mutual selection process. On the first night, the girls rank their sorority choices one through five. Chapters also select their top choices, basing it on GPA, extracurricular activities, personality and other aspects. A computer system is then used to assure that each girl always gets invited back to at least one house.
On the second night, the girls go to three houses, and rank their top two choices.
The third day, the girls rank the final two houses, and the chapters rank as well. Once again, a computer system is used to make sure that each girl a bid.
On Bid Day, the girls accept or decline the bid that they get.
Sarah Conklin, freshman, said that she rushed because "it's great way to meet friends that I'm going to have forever."
"I want to give back to the community and what's a better way to do that then with your best friends," Conklin said.
Conklin joined Zeta Tau Alpha.
"I'm going to have sisters that are always there whenever I need them," Conklin said.
Freshman Tonda Wooten also rushed Zeta Tau Alpha.
"It's a way to get involved on campus and be a part of a community of people," Wooten said.
Melissa Rodriguez, freshman joined Kappa Delta.
"I think all of the other new members are fabulous and I can't wait to do awesome things with them," Rodriguez said. "I love being a Kappa Delta."
Danielle Carr, freshman rushed because she wanted to be involved. She joined Zeta Tau Alpha.
"I am so excited for the rest of the year now and I can't wait to start getting involved around campus, both in service and social environments," Carr said. "I feel my involvement in Zeta will enhance my college experience as well as open opportunities for me."
Many upper classmen rushed as well. Ashley Miller, junior, joined Zeta Tau Alpha. She choose to rush this year instead of in the past because she said that she now had the funds, and want to be involved in the campus somehow.
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