Spring recruitment starts strong in Greek life

Fraternities and sororities never rest when it comes to recruitment and a month into the spring semester, they aren’t close to slowing down.

Last week kicked off spring recruitment for Greek life on campus with the Interfraternity Council’s (IFC) Meet The Greeks event. IFC hosted all 12 chapters of Greek life in the Muenster University Center Ballroom for those interested in Greek life to learn more about the experience. 

Grace Hofer, a junior psychology major and vice president of recruitment for IFC, said Meet The Greeks allows recruitment to happen in a new setting.

“It is an opportunity for people who didn’t go through fall recruitment or perhaps didn’t think Greek life was for them to have some face-to-face interaction with our fraternities and sororities,” Hofer said. 

Hofer said she also sees a big difference between formal recruitment in the fall and spring recruitment. 

“(Spring rush) is a unique opportunity for people because there is much less stress involved and it allows for more conversation between the recruits and the fraternities and sororities,” Hofer said. 

Fall rush brings in many first-year students and is a relatively quick process that may not be best for some recruits, Hofer said.

“Formal recruitment has a lot happening with it and spring rush is much more intimate, which is a draw for some people,” Hofer said. 

Sophomore Ethan Young, a nursing major and co-recruitment chair for Pi Kappa Alpha, believes his fraternity puts in the same work for spring rush as they do during the fall rush, even with a difference in numbers.

“Most of what we do is the same with recruitment, but we are still seeking people out and people do come to us,” Young said. 

Dedication to possible new members is what Young said brings a lot of people to Greek life.

“In the fall, you have people coming to you, but I think that spring recruitment takes more work and dedication to the possible new members,” Young said. 

Young also said PIKE focuses its attention on recruitment into two categories: IFC events and networking.

“There is a combination of work through events like Meet The Greeks and our own brothers networking on campus with people in their classes or organizations,” Young said. 

For Kianna Thelen, chemistry major and director of new member development for Pi Beta Phi, spring recruitment offers a chance to truly connect possible new members.

“I think spring recruitment is a unique situation because you actually get to know the people and get to meet with them multiple times,” Thelen said.

For both sororities and fraternities, numbers are not a concern when it comes to the overall success of their chapter. Spring recruitment generally brings in less than half of the members fall recruitment does, Thelen said, but she sees the positive outcomes of a smaller new member group.

“A smaller new member group which allows for more bonding and for them to get more enveloped in the chapter,” Thelen said. 

Laura Anderton, director of Sorority and Fraternity life and leadership at USD, works to track the number of students who rush every fall and spring. She said there is a distinct difference between the two seasons of recruitment as shown by the number of new members.

“Across the chapters, we usually see about 50-75 new members each spring, compared to the 300 or more in the fall,” Anderton said.

Formal rush, especially for sororities, is a quick, structured process designed to get students into Greek life early in the school year, but IFC events allow for more connections to be made in different ways. 

“I really like events like (Meet The Greeks) where you get to go up to the people and develop a connection rather than spewing your information at them,” Thelen said. 

As spring semester continues, Greek life at USD keeps their recruitment efforts at full force, but their motivations do not change. 

“The biggest thing that our chapters are advertising are brotherhood and sisterhood and the community that Greek life builds,” Hofer said.