Fraternities and sororities on campus welcomed about 60 students to the Greek community this quarter during Spring Recruitment, said the vice presidents of Panhellenic Association and Interfraternity Council.
Four sororities and nine fraternities participated in Spring Recruitment, an informal and casual alternative to the more structured recruitment period in Winter Quarter for Northwestern Greek chapters.
“Spring Recruitment was a big success,” said Paige Mackey, vice president of membership for the Panhellenic Association.
Mackey said she couldn’t compare Spring Recruitment this quarter with last year’s event because Panhel does not track those numbers.
About 30 women pledged a Panhel chapter this spring, said Mackey, a Weinberg sophomore. Many sororities are still in the process of initiating their spring pledges because each chapter has different national pledging periods, she said.
Chapters are allowed to participate in Spring and Fall Recruitment only if their member total after Winter Recruitment falls under the quota, set at 100 members, said Panhel President Ashley Lorenz.
During informal recruitment periods, chapters are only allowed to give bids until their house numbers reach the quota, which is adjusted each year.
“Once you’re above 100, you’re not allowed to give out bids in the spring or the fall,” said Lorenz, a Communication junior.
Fraternities also participated in IFC’s Spring Recruitment.
Various fraternities — including Sigma Chi, Phi Kappa Psi and Lambda Chi– looked to increase their chapter sizes in the spring, said IFC President Jay Ward.
This spring marked the re-colonization of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Its 21 new pledges were recruited by the fraternity’s national headquarters, which is based in Evanston.
As a new fraternity to campus, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is working on gaining prominence around campus, said Brad Greenawalt, SAE president.
The Weinberg freshman added that it is encouraging to see recently chartered fraternities, such as Sigma Chi, becoming involved on campus.
Pi Kappa Alpha had the second-largest spring pledge class, welcoming 12 new members, said JC Longbottom, vice president of recruitment for IFC.
Participants in Spring Recruitment tend to know what fraternities they want to join, said Longbottom, a Weinberg sophomore. He said this is because they tend to pledge the fraternities their friends are in.
Because fraternities do not have a quota to fill like sororities do, chapters are allowed to expand their membership size at any time, although chapters have an inclination to recruit only in the winter and spring, Longbottom said.
Panhel leaders said they felt the success of Spring Recruitment was positive for the Greek community, as an increase in the number of participants in informal recruitment helped battle the negative connotations often associated with spring membership.
“Sometimes there’s a stigma (associated with participating in Spring Recruitment),” Mackey said. “Chapters have an emphasis on the quantity, not quality.”
Ward said IFC is also supportive of informal recruitment.
“IFC tries to hammer the belief that recruitment is a year-round process, not just the first week of Winter Quarter,” he said.
Reach Marcy Miranda at [email protected]
