Story by Erin Hassanzadeh
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Advice for people going through recruitment:
“My biggest advice is to go through with an open mind. The stereotypes are easy to listen to, but people need to go through and choose what is best for them.”
What type of women they look for: “It’s such a hard question. The biggest thing we are looking for is a well-rounded person. We are not looking for a specific person but someone well-rounded who will get along with our chapter, fit in, connect and bring something to our chapter.
Work week:
The Women of Kappa Kappa Gamma had their older members help new recruiters during work week. They spent about 30 hours last week practicing philanthropy day, house tours day and talking to potential new members. They practiced singing, read reference letters and spent time getting to know each other.
“The biggest thing we focus on is making them understand how important recruitment is and then our members take it from there to find the girls we are looking for. They also learn more about Kappa as they go through the process,” Vivant said.
Sigma Phi Epsilon
Advice for people going through recruitment:
“I think everyone should go through recruitment. It’s a great way to make friends, and there’s a bunch of free food,” Simmer joked. “I think Drake Greek life is different than Greek life at any other school. It’s not your typical animal house with big parties because we stress school and brotherhood more than partying. ”
What type of men they look for: “SigEp is looking for people who hold true to their values, but also men who reflect our values of virtue, diligence and brotherly love. We look for men who appreciate the value of brotherhood and camaraderie.”
Work week:
The men of SigEp spent about three hours a day cleaning and landscaping their house. They re-mulched, planted flowers, washed windows and deep-cleaned the interior of their home.
“Our house is rented out to other tenants during the summer, so we use work week to get things back in order,” Simmer said.
After their dinner break, the men of SigEp talked about what type of men their house is looking for, how to recognize them and how to recruit them.
Alpha Phi
Advice for people going through recruitment:
“Be yourself, and try to picture living with the girls that you are meeting. Ultimately, they will be your roommates and closest friends. If you can imagine yourself hanging out with a group of girls on a Tuesday night in your PJs, then that is a good fit.”
What type of women they look for:
“We are looking for girls who mirror the values we have at Alpha Phi: scholarship, service, leadership, loyalty and character development. We want to find girls who will be proud to wear our letters.”
Work week:
The women of Alpha Phi focus on bonding with each other during work week.
“Our sisterhood activities are a great way to catch up with girls we haven’t seen over the summer. It’s an awesome way to start off the year and it makes us closer, stronger and even more excited for recruitment,” Opatz said.
Alpha Phis also spent the week making sure their house was looking its best, going over Panhellenic rules for recruitment and working on how to make their recruitment parties run smoothly and be as fun as possible.
Phi Gamma Delta
Advice for people going through recruitment:
“Keep an open mind. Don’t listen to stereotypes, and don’t join a house for the wrong reasons. Join a house where you would want to call up the guys to hang out.”
What type of men they look for:
“We look for well-rounded guys. We live our lives by the motto, ‘Work hard, play hard.’ We want them to work at school because that’s why we are here. At the same time, people are not going to be studying all the time, so we look for people who are chill, well-rounded individuals.”
Work week:
The men of FIJI individually met with a recruitment co-chair for 10 to 15 minutes to discuss things to keep in mind when talking to guys going through recruitment.
Kearney and his co-chair went around the house at 10 a.m. during the week with with a siren to wake their members up for practice. They split into teams to tackle interior cleaning, exterior improvements and landscaping. Depending on the individual, the men of FIJI spent four to 10 hours a day preparing for recruitment.
Panhellenic Perspective
Work week:
“I think work week is a time of intense sisterhood bonding, learning more about what makes your chapter special and then working on details that make recruitment go smoothly,” said Kathleen Diedrich, president of Panhellenic Council. “I think people going through recruitment don’t realize how much work people put into it. Everyone in the Greek community is working hard to give potential new members the best possible experience.”
Advice for people going through recruitment:
“Keep an open mind, take a deep breath and understand that everyone involved is just as nervous and as excited as you are,” Diedrich said.
