600+ students participate in 2016 Greek recruitment

The formal rush process for students looking to join Greek organizations began in January, and approximately 360 men and 330 women signed up for the process. Of those students, about 250 men and 275 women signed their bids to begin new member education within their chapters, according to the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs.

According to Lehigh’s Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs trend analysis report, the number of students who showed interest in joining Greek life has gradually risen over the past four years as the number of undergraduate students has also risen. This year’s numbers were in line with last year’s numbers, according to Elizabeth Shayler, assistant director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs.

Wesley Michaels,’16, member of Phi Sigma Kappa and recruitment chairman for the Interfraternity Council, said there was no quota or specific number of new members that IFC were looking to recruit.

“For my chapter and for most other chapters, we have a size we like to keep,” Michaels said. “We will set targets, but the most important thing is brotherhood.”

Shane Wolfe, ’17, the president of Alpha Epsilon Pi, agreed with Michaels and said bids are given to male students who will fit in with the current chapter members.

“We give bids based on quality,” Wolfe said. “We look for kids who take interest in our chapter and take interest in us and our values. We look for gentlemen who treat people with respect and good people who can carry on the morals and traditions of our chapter.”

Fraternity recruitment had a kickoff in Rauch with speakers who talked about their excitement for the new members joining the Greek community and meet and greets with the Greek fraternities, Michaels said. For the rest of the week, fraternities participated in Values Week, which is the second time Lehigh has conducted men’s recruitment in this way. Values Week focuses on the core values that define the chapter, thus making recruitment a more values-based process, according to Shayler.

During the second week of recruitment, fraternities held open events so potential members interested in a chapter were could get to know the members. In the final week of recruitment, chapters sent invitations to recruits that they had a strong interest in and believed were a good fit for their chapter. At the end of that week, bids were offered and signed.

Sorority recruitment, which is more formal than fraternity recruitment, began when potential new members arrived early before the start of the semester. The four-day process began when every potential member visited every house and then visited fewer houses each day, according to Panhellenic Council President Ellen Weich, ’16. Each chapter had a designated academic space on campus on the first day to use as an open house for potential members.

“It was in an effort to remove the frills from the process and make it centered around the conversations you are having around the values of the organization,” Shayler said.

Sorority recruitment is based on a mutual-selection process, Weich said. Potential members rank the chapters they would like to return to, and the chapters have a selection process in which potential members select the houses to which they would like to return to. The mutual selection process determined which chapters’ potential members would visit the next day and was used for the remainder of the week until bids were given.

Weich also said the quota per sorority chapter depends on the number of women who went through the recruitment process and is determined in accordance to the National Panhellenic Conference’s release figure methodology, which Lehigh’s Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs follows.

“Joining a sorority is an opportunity for students to find another community within Lehigh, a place where they can feel a sense of belonging, a sense of affiliation,” Shayler said.

Shayler said this year’s quota was 30 women per chapter, but some chapters gave as many as 36 bids. The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs maximizes the quota so as many women possible can be introduced to the Greek community.

“It’s a big decision for anyone that goes through recruitment,” Wolfe said. “It’s defining a large part of their college experience. Every chapter is really individualized with something different to offer. The recruitment process is so important because it allows the students to see what they’re really going to be joining.”