Registration opens for formal sorority recruitment

Hundreds of IU women gathered at Alumni Hall on Sunday in hopes of learning about their future sororities.

Greek Opportunities for Women is an annual event established by the IU Panhellenic Association.

There, women can learn about the 21 IU PHA sororities available for recruitment, which begins in January.

Sunday’s event marked the official opening of registration for recruitment.

“This is an overview of what each chapter has to offer,” said junior Emily Gammon, IU PHA vice president of extension. “Here, girls will learn what to expect during recruitment and the outline of times of the different recruitment parties.”

Attendees also learned the rent prices for each sorority house should they choose to live in one during future school years.

There were two informational sessions, each lasting an hour.

The IU PHA council welcomed the women and showed them a PowerPoint slideshow that emphasized the various values of the greek community such as leadership and excellence.

Gammon emphasized the difficult process of going through recruitment.

“These women are taking on a lot,” Gammon said. “They don’t know what each chapters have to offer. They don’t know what the full package is.”

Gammon said this informational session sets the stage for the future recruitment process.

“This gives girls a better understanding of how they can fit into the greek community idea,” Gammon said. “This is so they can be prepared of what to expect. The recruitment process is days long. It’s a lot to take on.”

This year, the official recruitment process is Jan. 9-12.

The women get a week-long break and the process will end with two final days on Jan. 18 and 19.

A week after formal IU PHA recruitment ends, the newest sorority on campus, Delta Phi Epsilon, will begin its informal recruitment.

The sorority will not participate in IU PHA’s formal recruitment.

IU PHA’s extension committee had to decide between the establishment of two sororities, Alpha Sigma Tau or Delta Phi Epsilon, on the Bloomington campus, Gammon said.

“We had to decide what the sororities had to offer and how well they would fit with the IU campus,” Gammon said.

The main reason for the establishment of a new sorority was the high volume of interest, Gammon said.

“There just wasn’t enough space for all of the girls who wanted to join a greek organization,” Gammon said. “Ultimately, it came down to a vote.”

At Greek Opportunities for Women, three members from DPhiE’s headquarters promoted the new sorority.

“This is absolutely fabulous to be back on campus,” membership manager Melissa Reilly said. “We really want well-rounded women that are going to fit into the name and want to be involved with the community right away.”

After formal recruitment, the individuals from the headquarters will stay on campus and begin to recruit the colonization class.

They will have tables set up with information about their recruitment in addition to various informational sessions, Reilly said.

If students wish to participate in formal recruitment, they must register on www.iubpha.com.

Registration closes Nov. 24.

If a student does not register, she will not be able to participate in recruitment.

Each woman registering must be a full-time IU student and have a grade point average above 2.75.

With the establishment of the Delta Delta chapter of DPhiE, IU will possess 22 of the 26 national sororities.

“When students go to such a large university the women should be able to join any organization they’d like to,” Gammon said. “Letting more chapters join these communities will create more space and open so many doors for these girls.”

Follow reporter Tori Lawhorn on Twitter @ToriLawhorn.