19 Party kicks off sorority recruitment

This weekend, North Jordan Avenue and Third Street will be a temporary home to more than 1,500 women as they carry out the first stage of sorority recruitment.

Women’s rush begins with the Open House round, commonly referred to as 19 Party.

This two-day social event is the first of four rounds that will be held over the next five weeks.

During 19 Party the potential new members must visit each of the 19 chapters.

Anna Berg, vice president of recruitment for the Panhellenic Association, said that while at each house, the women are introduced to three or four active members and are given a house tour. She said that first-round conversations and activities tend to be short, with potential new members just getting a glimpse of the chapter personality.

“We start off very general, and as each round progresses we go more in-depth,” Berg said. “The first goal is to make sure the women are confident that going greek is for them.”

At the end of the weekend, rushees rank their top 14 houses and at the same time are ranked by the houses themselves. The next three rounds will be determined by these rankings that will decide to which houses the potential new members will return.

Fourteen party, Eight Party and Three Party will take place the weekend of Jan. 6.

In previous years, recruits visited 12, six and then three houses during the last three rounds, respectively. This was changed this year in order to make the initial cuts less drastic, Berg said.

“Before, women were getting cut very early in the process,” she said. “We want to give the chapters and the women more time to get to know each other to ensure we are getting more quality women.”

Recruitment comes to a close on Jan. 11 for Bid Day, when some of the potential new members will be asked to join one of the campus sororities.

Berg said the recruitment process is a type of mutual selection that aims to pair the right women with the right houses for them.

To prepare for 19 Party, potential new members have been meeting weekly with their Recruitment Counselors, or Rho Gammas, to discuss details like what to wear and how to conduct themselves when meeting active members.

“Our Rho Gamma has helped everyone relax about rush,” freshman Stephanie Watson said. “She’s answered a lot of our questions and made everyone, including me, really excited about going greek.”