Women seek out opportunities to go greek on campus

Greek Opportunities for Women started with a challenge.

“I challenge all of you to learn what it means to join a chapter at IU,” Annie Raeder, president of the Panhellenic Association, said. “We are not Animal House or the TV show ‘Greek.’ We are about sisterhood.”

Raeder addressed more than 1,200 women who flooded Alumni Hall in the Indiana Memorial Union on Sunday to learn details about fall recruitment. The PHA led the informational meeting, Greek Opportunities for Women, and emphasized the importance of rushing for a reason.

“I am looking for a house that has some high academic standards,” freshman Jessica Povlinski said.

Scholarship is one of the reasons to join a sorority, Anna Berg, vice president of recruitment for PHA, said. Others include leadership, philanthropy and sisterhood.

“We want to encourage any women who can to go to the Greek Means series to learn more about what it means to be greek, especially if they are unsure,” Berg said.

Greek Means is a series of informational panels focusing on scholarship, sisterhood, service and leadership, designed to educate potential new members.

The meeting outlined the rush process, which began Sunday and ends on Bid Day in January. Women’s recruitment is a process of mutual selection, where potential new members and the individual chapters essentially end up picking each other, Berg said.

Women’s rush is considered a formal process and tends to incite strong emotions in the thousand or so female students who plan to go through it.

“I have heard it’s very intimidating,” sophomore Nicole Marcotte said. “I’m kind of just crossing my fingers and going in head first.”

Confusion seemed to be a common emotion from the potential new members at the call-out meeting. Many were unsure of what to expect as well as what is expected of them.

“We are looking for girls who want it for the right reasons,” said junior Robyn Gould, recruitment chair for Alpha Epsilon Phi, “Girls who want to take leadership roles and girls who have a positive attitude.”

Berg pointed out that only 20 percent of the IU campus is greek and that those who decide greek life is not for them should not feel like all doors of opportunity will immediately slam shut.

“Being greek is not everything,” Berg said. “There are plenty of opportunities for success outside the greek community.”

THINKING ABOUT RUSHING?
All women interested in recruitment must register on www.iubpha.com before Oct. 31.