For the past week, some freshmen bounced from one unsanctioned Greek party to another, occassionally collecting plastic cups filled with spirits. On Wednesday many of the same freshmen saw the same cups — now empty — as part of the first all-Greek activities fair.
The Freshman Freeze has thawed.
The Panhellenic Association, Interfraternity Council, Multicultural Greek Council and the National Pan-Hellenic Council sponsored an activities fair in the Louis Room of Norris University Center in hopes of informing new students about different chapters as well as the rush process in general.
It was the first time that all four organizations joined to host an informational event outside of the traditional Activities Fair, which is held today, Panhel President Kelly Shimizu said.
Shimizu, an Education senior, said her group decided last year to hold an all-inclusive Greek event early in the year, and every sorority and many fraternities signed on for Wednesday’s fair.
“Freshmen who come through can get a view of Greek life in total,” she said.
“We wanted to convey a sense of the Greek community to new students,” said Nate Linkon, IFC’s vice president of recruitment. “This is a great way for every organization on campus to start off on the same level.”
Roughly 160 freshmen circled around the fraternity and sorority tables arranged alphabetically throughout the room. Some tables were decorated with descriptive details.
For example, Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) arranged customized lighters to spell Skol, a brand of vodka. Others had more traditional posters telling freshmen about their history and philanthropies.
“It’s hard for us because the freshmen move (from table to table) so fast, but at least we can answer their questions,” said Carrie Kapnick, a Kappa Delta sorority member. “I feel this helps the freshmen because they can see all the houses on campus and break down some stereotypes.”
Though sororities have a regimented rush process, fraternity recruitment is much less formal. Prospective pledges are invited to activities and social events, and they usually end up joining the fraternities whose events they most frequently attended, Linkon said. He said the fair helped introduce the freshmen to every chapter, not just those that host the most parties.
“Because (fraternity rush) is a very casual thing, it’s easy to get caught up in the mix and not realize that there are many other organizations that they have missed and should check out,” Linkon said.
Fraternities will be hosting several dorm firesides this quarter, in which they will engage in “honest, frank discussions about the recruitment process,” Linkon said.
Weinberg freshman Mike Homer said his neighbor in Allison Hall — Greek contact and Beta Theta Pi fraternity member Andrew Xia –told him about the event.
“I’ve been going to a lot of frat parties,” Homer said. “I thought I should broaden my horizons.”
Homer said he was dissappointed that several fraternities — including Pi Kappa Alpha, Delta Tau Delta, Chi Psi and Chi Phi — did not attend.
Communication freshman Gabe Jewell said the event was informative and helped him narrow down which fraternities he will rush.
“I got a bit of a feel for the personalities of these guys,” Jewell said.
Reach Julia Neyman at [email protected].
