Sororities, fraternities enter recruiting period
Greek Life recruitment has been the focus for many students on campus this week and last.
Jordan Rosiak rushed for Beta Theta Pi, his first and only choice, last week.
“My roommate is a brother, and I've been around the guys a lot and thought that would be a smart choice,” he said.
He said he didn't really know what to expect with the process but came out of it with a greater appreciation of Greek Life.
“The more involved I got with it and the more I was around the guys, the better the experience was,” Rosiak said.
Brandon Merritt, an Alma freshman, said he was rushing for Sigma Tau Gamma because of the philanthropy efforts involved with the group and the bonds formed by the brothers.
“I've always been interested in Greek Life,” he said. “It's 100 people that become brothers with you for the rest of your life.”
Birmingham sophomore Alexa Johr said she is recruiting for a sorority to reap the benefits.
“Being a part of something that's nationwide,” she said. “Something that's big. Something that's meaningful. Something that's nationally known.”
She said the recruitment process itself has been fun and exciting.
“I was really surprised by how they have everything set up,” she said. “Going around to each and every house and slowly wittling away to who you want to be with. I kind of like it, but it's definitely different.”
The newfound closeness with fraternity brothers and sorority sisters is something new members come to cherish about their time in a fraternity or sorority.
“I like the network you can create. You can meet life-long friends and make connections,” Kayla Griffith said.
Griffith, an Illinois junior, is president of the Theta Theta chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.
She said although her particular sorority is not doing a recruitment event this week, she said she learns from how other sororities work, trying to improve her sorority.
“We want to be versatile and do things differently from past members,” she said. “We want to take the sorority in a different route.”
Inter-Fraternity Council Vice President of Recruitment and Parchment junior Steven Steele said fraternities in the IFC have a formal “Rush” week but recruit new members year-round, whereas sororities can only recruit during a certain time period of the year.
“We invite people to come out to events either on campus or at houses,” he said. “It's a lot less formal than the way the women do it. You're not required to come to events.”
He said 10 social fraternities make up the IFC and include Kappa Sigma and Phi Kappa Tau, among others.
People sometimes associate hazing with fraternities and sororities, but both he and Panhellenic Council President Melanie Smith said CMU has a strict, no-tolerance policy against hazing.
“As for hazing, we have a zero-tolerance policy for hazing at Central Michigan University, and any chapter that was participating in any such activities would be immediately removed from our campus,” the Flushing junior said.
She said sororities aroud campus are trying to break the stereotypes of women who join them and to make a positive impact on the community.
“I think our community does an excellent job of promoting ourselves positively around the community, and our daily behaviors exemplify our values and crush our stereotypes,” she said.
