1,500 hopefuls attend 19 Party, narrow choices

Sisters Stephanie and Erica Eads huddled together for warmth, helping to prepare each other for the next round of 19 Party.

“You try to think of something to say that will make you stand out,” sophomore Erica Eads said. “In every house they are going to ask you what your major is, but I try to tell them personal stories that will make them laugh.”

Erica Eads is going through recruitment with her younger sister, Stephanie Eads. The two hope to get bids from the same chapter, though they are keeping open minds.

“We mostly just want to make sure we both find chapters that are a good fit for us,” Eads said. “So far we have ended up liking the same houses – the older, historical ones.”

This weekend the 19 Panhellenic sorority houses on campus opened their doors to more than 1,500 women to recruit new members for the upcoming year at 19 Party, the first of four recruitment rounds occurring during the next month.

The first round focused on introducing the chapters to potential new members.

Cheers erupted from inside the sorority houses as members showed spirit for their chapter and encouragement for potential recruits.

“I think that when people in the house are really excited about it, it gets the girls really excited and more likely to remember the house,” said Elizabeth Adamo, Pi Beta Phi recruitment chair.

During 19 party, potential new members are split up into groups and visit each of the 19 sorority chapters, said PHA President Annie Raeder. While at each house the women are given a tour and a chance to speak with three or four active members.

The two-day event began at 10 a.m. Saturday and ended at 7 p.m. Sunday. Each round was 30 minutes long, and in between rounds the potential new members spent time lined up, waiting to be let inside the houses.

“It’s very nerve-wracking,” freshmen Courtney Dunlap said. “You think about everything: what you’re going to say, if they’re going to like you, but mostly you just think about how badly you want to get inside the house because it’s so cold.”

Much of the stress that potential new members feel during rush is curbed by the Rho Gammas, who act as recruitment counselors for those going through rush, Raeder said.

During 19 party Rho Gammas lead the groups of 80 women from house to house and serve as a morale booster for rushees and offer them any help they might need, said Rho Gamma Cameron. All of the Rho Gammas have been disaffiliated from their chapters, adopting aliases, since August and will remain that way until Bid Day on Jan. 11.

Recruitment is also a very trying and crucial process for the sorority chapters themselves as they attempt to select women that will represent them in the future, said Alpha Chi Omega recruitment chair Jessica Biagioni.

“It’s just as hard for us,”  Biagioni said. “We’re just as nervous because we want to bring in girls that will fit in at our house.”

At the end of 19 party, the potential new members are asked to rank their top 14 houses, while the houses rank the women. Each sorority has a different confidential means of ranking.

“It’s a values-based recruitment,” Adamo said. “This year there has been a big push from PHA to select girls based on the values of each chapter. Our focus is on intellectual growth and philanthropic service to give back to the IU community.”

The next three preference rounds take place Jan. 7 through Jan. 10, with the number of houses potential new members visit decreasing from 19 to 14, 8 and then 3.

Pledge class sizes will range from 30 to 65 members, depending on space in the house, Raeder said.

“Numbers of women that will get a bid are totally up in the air,” said PHA vice president of recruitment Anna Berg. “Girls could drop out and decide greek life isn’t for them.”

The process is set up to be one of mutual selection, where each woman is paired with the house that is the best personal fit, Raeder said.

“I try to think just be yourself,” Dunlap said. “Not every house is going to love you, so if you don’t get a house try to remember you’re not a failure.”