Students walk around campus daily seeing sidewalks chalked with statements like “Go Greek,” but rarely know what goes into the process.

As fraternities meet new guys around campus, sororities devote a whole weekend to recruitment. The first week of school, sororities had information nights in the Student Center.

Sorority recruitment

At info nights, sororities set up for potential new members to see what each sorority has to offer. Girls interested in rushing were able to see different sorority’s scrapbooks, pictures and letters.

“Recruitment weekend starts off at the Student Center where all of the sororities have a philanthropy-themed party,” Erica Rodenbaugh, Chi Omega sorority president, said. “Each sorority has their own philanthropy. Chi Omega’s party at the Student Center will be themed to Make-A-Wish and multiple sclerosis.”

Girls participating in recruitment weekend need to attend all their parties on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday in order to complete the process.

“The process ends with Bid Night on Sunday evening where all the girls find their new sorority home,” Rodenbaugh said.

Fraternity rushing

While sororities have pre-planned events, fraternities take a more laid back approach to recruitment.

“Sorority recruitment is much more structured, where the potential new members sign up for recruitment and all show up to the same event where all sororities are present,” Matt Fabinak, Interfraternity Council president, said. “Fraternities must go out and find their potential members through their own contacts or other student organizations they might be involved in.”

Matthew Malinowski, president of Phi Delta Theta fraternity, said they run their recruitment process on their own. They go out, meet new people and talk to random guys.

“We have a lot of cookouts at the house and flag football games that we invite people to come over and play,” Malinowski said. “We start inviting guys to hang out with us; it’s a mutual thing.”

Interfraternity Council has been trying to bring more stability and structure to the recruitment process over the years. Fabinak said that IFC has done this by sponsoring events on campus for guys who are interested in rushing a fraternity.

“We sponsored an event at Tri-Towers this year on August 28, called IFC Takes Over Tri-Towers and a presentation called The Relevancy of Greek Life on August 31,” Fabinak said.

Each fraternity has a different time process they use before giving a potential new member a bid. Active members vote on which potential new members should receive bids, but every fraternity has a different percentage of members that must vote yes for a new member to get one.

“Phi Delta Theta has its own recruitment secrets that other fraternities do not,” Malinowski said.

Recruitment is an on-going process and the main focus at the start of the semester. If fraternities do not put effort into recruiting quality members, they will not have the high numbers they do now.

“To make men better men,” Malinowski said, “is the overall goal of a fraternity.”

Greek Vocab

Brianna Lawhorn, Panhellenic Council president

Rush- Is actually called recruitment. It’s a mutual selection process between the girls interested in joining a sorority and the prospective members.

Bid- An initiation to membership of a Greek Organization.

Bid Night- The night in which women who go through the formal recruitment process receive their bids.

Panhellenic Council- The governing body of all 6 sororities located at Kent State.

Matt Fabinak, Interfraternity Council president

Rush- process of recruiting new members into our organization.?

Bid- bid card on thicker paper, with fraternity crest and signed by active members to become a full pledge.

Formal invitation to become a new member.

Bid Night- sororities do bid night, when you are officially accepted into sorority.

Interfraternity Council – governing and programming board of the fraternities at Kent.

Contact Nicole Gennarelli at [email protected].