Potential new members will return to Bloomington early from winter break and attend a PNM orientation Jan. 7. This will start the week-and-a-half long recruitment process.
In an effort to focus on the core values of sisterhood rather than the number of bids a PNM receives, PHA has added new rounds in addition to renaming existing rounds. The recruitment process goes as follows: skit round, philanthropy round, sisterhood round and ?preference round. These rounds are modeled off of the five greek Pillars of Excellence: values integration, intellectual development and academic support, brotherhood and sisterhood, leadership development and civic engagement.
For new additions such as the philanthropy round, some chapters have decided to show PNMs videos featuring their charity. Alpha Xi Delta, for example, hopes to give PNMs an intimate look into how their national philanthropy, Autism Speaks, has affected their sisters.
“Every chapter is going to be showing a video or some type of informational slideshow,” senior AXiD member Leah Tibber said.
Tibbet directed AXiD’s philanthropy video with interviews from AXiD seniors Alyssa Gurerri and Kelsi Bowman , who have family and friends affected by ?autism.
Bowman’s friend Adria Nassim has high-functioning autism and speaks publicly about her diagnosis. Nassim, a former Indiana Daily Student reporter, has visited the AXiD house to speak and give the members new perspective on the disorder.
“It was really cool to have someone who has autism come in. The girls could see a different perspective of it,” Bowman said. “I think it is a lot closer to everyone’s heart now. I think when you get touched by someone like that, it makes you think different, and so she’s made a really big impact on a lot of the girls.”
Nassim participated in AXiD’s Color it Blue philanthropic run for Autism Speaks last semester and will be introduced to PNMs in the AXiD recruitment video.
“I think it will give girls the perspective that it’s real and it’s prevalent and it actually is very close to our heart here at AXiD,” Bowman said. “I think it’s a positive outlook that we have, and we’re so excited to share that with others.”
PNMs who are selected by one of their top-three choices will receive their bids Jan. 20. Last year, 1,319 women went through the final-preference round. Of those, 317 women did not receive a bid match, according to the Panhellenic Association website.
