Sorority recruitment has reached its highest level in more than six years due to an online registration system, officials said at a recruitment meeting Tuesday night.
More than 600 women registered for sorority recruitment this year, up from 531 in 2004, said Panhellenic Association Vice President for Membership Sarah McCracken.
“This is our first year offering online registration,” said McCracken, a McCormick senior. “We’re really excited to see the numbers increase.”
The system allows prospective pledges to register for recruitment quickly and easily online, officials said. Previously women wishing to rush had to fill out recruitment forms by hand.
“The online registration is amazing,” said Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Kyle Pendleton. “It’s in some sense revolutionized the recruitment process.”
Pendleton estimated that more than 400 women attended the first recruitment meeting, and said he expects more than 200 to attend the second recruitment meeting on Wednesday night.
Registration is still open, Pendleton added.
“This is the most exciting time of the quarter for the fraternity and sorority community,” he said.
Panhellenic Association President Kelly Shimizu, an Education senior, cited other changes to the recruitment process as a cause of increased recruitment numbers, such as changing the name of Rho Chi advisers to “recruitment counselors.”
Recruitment counselors have been trained in time management techniques, in order to help prospective pledges navigate through the lengthy recruitment process, said McCracken.
Sorority recruitment will begin on Thursday night and extend until Tuesday night. Prospective pledges will visit each of the chapters during the week, gradually narrowing down their choices according to their impressions of individual chapters.
Laura Riegel, a McCormick freshman, said the social aspect of the recruitment process appealed to her.
“A lot of my friends at other schools have rushed, and many of my friends here are rushing,” Riegel said. “I’m looking forward to meeting a bunch of new people, not just those in my dorm.”
Reach Joseph DeMartino at [email protected].
