Little Chapter, Big Recruitment: Spring 2009
 

This is a different kind of recruitment story – one told not by a PNM, but by a chapter. Or rather, by one sister in a chapter for which this Recruitment is very important. I know there are many of you who have been in my shoes, and some who are right now. I also know there are a lot of PNMs who automatically write off the smaller chapters because of tent talk or preconceived notions. This is a story of one small chapter with a lot of potential, and our live journey through Recruitment over the next few weeks. As you read it, hopefully you'll enjoy the view into what it's really like to be the newer, smaller chapter going into Recruitment with a lot of bigger, larger chapters. Right now it feels pretty scary, but exciting because we know what we can accomplish!

I am a sister in a PHC chapter at a medium sized college somewhere in the United States. Greek life at my school isn’t huge, but is still something a fair number of students participate in (about 25%, to be exact). Fraternity and sorority life tends to be pretty laid back, and so does recruitment. Most of our chapters are unhoused, so parties are held in various buildings around campus. I won't be revealing my school or the names of the chapters on our campus. If you figure it out, please don't tell! I want to protect the privacy of our members and PNMs.

My chapter, which I will call Venus, is one I love and am extremely proud of. We are the newest PHC group on campus and though we’ve been here for a number of years we’re still working up to equal footing with the others, who have been here longer and are larger. When I first joined as a freshman, I wasn’t sure Venus was the place for me. I had gone into formal recruitment with my heart set on another group – “Minerva”. When I was cut from Minerva, I began to consider Venus, and eventually found my home. My initial reservations were due to the fact that the Venuses were considered the “losers”, with the awkward, unattractive, overweight girls no one liked. Though the sisters were sweet and seemed like genuine friends, like most impressionable freshmen I didn’t want to be “labeled”. After all, to be completely honest, some of the sisters really were awkward, unattractive or overweight. But as I went through the New Member program, I grew to love them as great sisters and friends. I learned that someone’s looks don't matter as long as she's a true sister. Despite my happiness, I slowly began to learn other problems existed in the chapter. There was a rift between sisters who wanted to grow the chapter and those who didn’t want to change anything, and Nationals was putting a lot of pressure on Exec to bring our numbers up.

Fast forward to one year later. Going into recruitment as a sophomore, I was excited and hopeful. My pledge class, though small (about a third the size of the other groups’), had worked extremely hard and was slowly turning the chapter around. All but a handful of us had recently been elected to officer positions and we were essentially running the chapter. I was honored to have been elected to a position in which I could do a lot to change our “image” on campus. Many of the women who resisted change had graduated, though a fair number were still left in the senior class. We went into Recruitment optimistic and worked very hard, trying to make up for lost time – since our recruitment is deferred, we need to do a lot during the fall to recruit freshmen, but our some of old exec board had fallen off the wagon (so to speak) and little had been done all fall. It was in our first Recruitment on the “other side” that my pledge class first experienced the disappointments and joys that are a part of the experience. Our biggest competition, Minerva**, made quota-plus on Bid Day and pledged many of the girls we had our hearts set on. My pledge sisters and I shared our despair when some of our favorite PNMs – a number of whom had told us they definitely wanted Venus – sailed past us on Bid Day in their new Minerva Bid Day shirts. One of them, “Kate”, was a truly sweet, involved and bright girl whom the entire chapter had fallen in love with. She had sworn she wanted to go Venus because she had so many friends here, but had Preffed Minerva and pledged there. She stopped speaking to most of our sisters after Recruitment.

On Bid Day, our New Member class was tiny, and a few girls who had accepted their Bids never showed up to celebrations (probably due to pressure from their friends not be a “loser Venus”). Though shocked and disappointed at the low numbers, we celebrated the fact that the girls we had gotten were excited, sweet, fun and would make great sisters. Not having made quota, we immediately went into COB and were able to more than double our pledge class, bringing the class up to around half the size of what the other groups had bid (and more than double what we had bid the year before!). After COB, our pledge class was the biggest we had ever recruited, and we were ecstatic. Not only did we have quantity, we had quality – these girls were amazing young women who were every bit as determined to turn Venus around as my pledge class was.

This last fall, our chapter has worked exceptionally hard to make Venus into an incredible group. Though Nationals is still pressuring us on a few issues, we have created a stronger sisterhood and bettered our image a great deal. Our Fall COB went well and we drew a small but really exceptional class of sophomores who will be great assets to the chapter (including some who were being heavily recruited by Minerva and some top tier groups!). We have worked exceptionally hard at promoting Venus. We have been at every freshman event wearing our letters, we have had as many events as allowed by Panhellenic and we have personally befriended many freshmen who are very interested in becoming our sisters (though many are torn between us and Minerva, our old rival).

I have heard from alumnae that Venus is better than it has ever been. A few years ago, most students didn’t know Venus even existed. Now, not only do they know about us, but the trash-talking by the fraternities and unaffiliated students has gone down considerably. All the sisters who strongly resisted change and progress have graduated, and we are a solid, committed group. Our sisters are involved on campus and are popular, outgoing, friendly and amazing, kind and caring sisters. Though there are still students who say we’re “fat, ugly losers” and that our “pretty girls” are the exceptions, it’s getting harder for them to make that accusation because it’s just not true. When we’re all together in the Recruitment room, I don’t see how any PNM could think we’re a bunch of losers. I find it disgusting and disheartening that even now GLOs are judged by the attractiveness of their members, but I include these observations because they are somewhat important to our story.

This Recruitment is extremely important for us, both for our growth and for our morale. If we can double the size of this year’s pledge class from last year’s (the way we did last year from the previous one!), we’ll make quota. Though we’re still planning to COB, we have high hopes for Formal Recruitment Bid Day. We’ve worked hard, and this will be a tangible measure of whether all that work has paid off. If we fail, missing both quantity and quality, it will be extremely difficult for our chapter – it’s very hard to keep on working hard when there’s no payoff.

I’m optimistic. I believe my chapter is on the brink of taking off and becoming just as great, if not better than our rivals like Minerva. This Recruitment will be a strong litmus test for the direction this chapter will take, and for how I will leave it when I graduate next spring. I think we can prove to ourselves how great we really are.

** Don’t get me wrong, “Minerva” is a great org with many really wonderful sisters. A few of my close friends are Minervas! I only mention them because they are our biggest competition because they are most like us. Their sisters tend to be similar to ours and many of them are friends with our sisters, so naturally there is some competition. Most PNMs who are interested in Venus also Pref Minerva, and vice versa. However, Minerva has been more successful than we have in the past in terms of Recruitment.

Best of luck, sisters of Venus! You're doing all you can do. Having a larger chapter after you did such a great job at COB'ing should help a lot, but don't be too disheartened if tent talk stays the same. It can take years to overcome those ugly stereotypes even when there is no one left in the chapter who fits the stereotype.

Wow, I really hope your recruitment goes well! Your story is compelling and I can feel the emotion and effort that you have put into a successful rush.

Keep us updated! I truly wish you and your sisters the best!!

I don't usually post in these threads, but I felt compelled to because while I was reading it I thought I was reading the story of my chapter (with a few exceptions of course)! I feel, through my experience, that actively improving my chapter was so much more rewarding than if I'd joined a strong chapter in the first place. I've graduated now, and I feel like my pledge class has sort of left a legacy of initiative, hard work, and exceptional sisterhood. The only regret I have is not being there to see the best days of my chapter.

All that being said I wish your chapter all the best. It sounds like you're on your way!! Keep us posted!

I'm looking forward to hearing your story! Best of luck with recruitment!!

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone! It's really great to have such positive feedback. :)

Because this is the story of a chapter, not a PNM, I thought I'd add a little info on some of the girls I know who are going through Recruitment to make it a little more personal. I've gotten to know quite a few PNMs because of deferred recruitment and the fact that we've done a lot of recruiting this fall. Some are close friends, and others I don't know as well. Here are a few key players (their names have been changed):

Kelly – This girl is a good friend of mine. Thus far she hasn't been 'discovered' by the other sororities, but I really worry other groups will fall in love with her (like I have!) during Recruitment and she'll be snatched up by someone else. She's very excited to join a sorority and seems quite interested in Venus but doesn't know much about the different groups and hasn't met many Greeks.

Lily – Lily is very interested in both Venus and Minerva. She has a number of friends in both – she is probably the most outgoing person I have ever met and almost everyone on campus has at least heard of her. She's very involved in performance arts and has met a lot of upperclassmen that way, and has admitted to me that she's heard some "trash talk" about Venus. She has a good head on her shoulders, but I'm worried that what she's heard could influence her decision. Luckily, she's good friends with Kelly, so I'm hoping they'll go Venus together.

Danielle – I don't want to get over-confident, but I really think Danielle is going to be a Venus. She has tons of friends in the sorority already and doesn't really seem to like the other groups. She and I really clicked because we have a lot of the same interests, and I miss not being able to talk to her because of Strict Silence. She wouldn't strike anyone as a 'typical' sorority girl (she's kind of quiet and artsy) but if I've learned one thing from going Greek, it's that sororities are mostly made up of women who don't fit the 'sorority girl mold' – at least at my college!

Ashley – I first learned about Ashley because she is a legacy and we received a notification form. She came to a few of our events and though she's a little shy, she seems quite interested. She's very sweet and a great athlete who is on one of the varsity teams at my college. She's heard a lot of great things about Venus from her family member who was a Venus at another college and she seems excited start Recruitment.

Elizabeth – I met this girl early in the semester and she seemed to have absolutely no interest in Greek Life. I tried to get her to come to our events but she avoided them, giving excuses as to why she couldn't make it. However, she became close with Ashley and ended up coming to one of our booths later in the fall. She and Ashley are very excited about going through Recruitment together and I have high hopes that they'll both go Venus.

Sasha & Tasha – I put these two together because I never see them apart! I don't know them very well, but they've become close with a few of our sisters. They strike me as party girls and I have a suspicion they'll go to one of the other chapters who tend to attract that type of PNM, but I could be wrong. They're very sweet from the few times I met them and I think they'd make great sisters.

Zoe – Zoe's story is a sad one. She's a sophomore and went through Formal Recruitment last year. She pledged one of the top chapters, but soon found herself very unhappy there. By her account, she felt many of the upperclassmen were not very welcoming to the New Members, especially Zoe (for reasons she's not sure of). Though most of the NMs decided to tough it out for the privilege of being in a top chapter, Zoe de-pledged after a week because she couldn't see herself becoming close with her new sisters. Many of her good friends had pledged Venus, but of course she had to wait a full calendar year before she was eligible to receive another bid. She will be going through Recruitment again this year and has her heart set on Venus.



So, now you know some of the players. I'll be sure to keep you updated as to where everybody ends up!

Poor Zoe. I have seen other chapters behave in this way. Not really "hazing" per se, but treating the new members like they haven't "earned the older members' respect yet". I hate to see members behave this way. I hope she finds a great home, and it sounds like your chapter can offer that to everyone!! Good luck, and I love hearing your story!

I am really loving this story. Seriously, this could have been MY chapter. We weren't able to turn it around quite as quickly as you all seem to be doing, but turn it around we did! We went from having a NM class of 2 on Bid Day of my sophomore year (Spring '00), to having the largest NM class on campus 2 years running last year and this year (so 5 years after I graduated?) We had been getting progressively better and better every year leading up to it) Even down to the COB skills (we used to double our NM class through COB too) this really could be the same story! I wish you SO much luck and hope you have a great recruitment!

I love this story! It's nice to hear the other side of the story. What type of COB events do you guys hold? My sorority has some similar issues with people calling us the "fat sorority" too, though the majority of the people that they remember have either dis-affiliated or gone alum.

Thanks!! I really appreciate the support. :)

In terms of COB, we usually hold about 3 or 4 events starting the week after the end of Formal Recruitment. Each sorority kind of does their own thing for COB, and it's not really monitored by Greek Life at all. Sometimes different sorority's COB schedules overlap, but its not a big issue since PNMs usually know which house they want going into it. We do low-key kind of events like watching a movie or baking cookies, with a formal event at the end to kind of simulate Pref.

Go silverpearls Go!!
 

I too am very excited to follow your chapter's journey ~ your passion for your organization and positive attitude are indeed inspiring and contagious!! Looking forward to your updates.

Best wishes :)

I've heard that my chapter is "ugly but nice." Lol! Anyway, your story is familiar to me, too. Go Venus!

Before Recruitment begins, I thought I'd explain my college's Recruitment format. It's pretty standard deferred recruitment, with all events held in campus facilities since most chapters are unhoused. Even though some do have houses, the college feels its more equal if everybody has their events on campus.

The first night of Recruitment isn't really Recruitment at all – it's a big Info Session on how Recruitment works. I remember finding this very helpful because as a PNM, I knew absolutely nothing about Greek Life. The only people I knew who were Greek were my Dad and my Aunt, neither of whom had been very involved or had much to say about the process. At the Info Session, the Director of Greek Life discusses the basic format of Recruitment and introduces the Rho Chis.

The second night of Recruitment is No-Frills. No decorations or sorority-specific items are allowed, though every sorority has its own room. PNMs visit all the sororities, but do not rank. They are required to attend all the sorority parties, and because we do not have a very large number of orgs and the parties are short, this is done in one day.

The third night is Philanthropy round. PNMs again attend parties for all chapters, though the parties are slightly longer and involve a craft for the group's Philanthropy. After this round, PNMs rank their choices and chapters make their first cuts.

The fourth night is Sisterhood round. PNMs are cut from one or more orgs, and must attend all parties to which they are invited (they cannot decline or 'regret with interest'). At the end of the night, PNMs rank again and chapters make the second round of cuts.

The fifth and final night is Preference. PNMs are cut from two or more orgs, and must attend all Prefs to which they are invited. Suiciding is not allowed. After Pref, all PNMs sign a Preference card (unless of course, they choose to drop out) and chapters draw up their Bid lists. Bid matching is done that night.

Bid Day takes place the day after Preference. PNMs may receive only one Bid. Should they accept, they attend Bid Day celebrations with their new sorority that evening, after attending a short presentation where Rho Chi affiliations are revealed and Recruitment is officially closed. They then enter the New Member period and are initiated 6-8 weeks later, towards the end of their freshman year.

I apologize if this seems obvious to most of you! I know some readers may not be very familiar with Recruitment.

In general, Recruitment at my college is not very competitive for PNMs. Recs are rarely used, but legacies are taken very seriously and almost always get a Bid to their legacy chapter. However there is often very steep competition among chapters for certain PNMs. Since as small percentage of women go through recruitment, there is a lot of competition to get the "best" PNMs. The PNMs are usually totally oblivious to this (even though it often goes on all Fall!). Because Recruitment is deferred, many chapters have a good idea of which PNMs they hope to pledge and which PNMs they want to avoid.

The cuts are usually not very harsh and it's not unusual for many PNMs to have a "perfect rush", with a full schedule each night. Generally not too many PNMs drop out, and those who do often receive snap bids.

It is very rare that a PNM would go unmatched – usually it only happens to a handful of girls every year. If they do go unmatched they often pledge one of the local sororities on campus, though occasionally they will re-rush as sophomores (usually with a similar degree of success). PNMs are often cut because of age. Recruitment is almost all freshmen, though a small number of sophomores do participate (usually because they participated last year but did not get a bid from their top choice). Though the sophomore do often get bids, it is usually not to the "top" chapters.

Overall, our Formal Recruitment tends to be a pretty positive experience, and even if it's not – well, it only lasts a week!

How many participating sororities are on your campus?