Thoughts and observations on virtual recruitment
 

I have talked with PNMS, active members, and advisers from several large and mid-sized totally virtual recruitments in the South this fall.

My observations:

Active members who have done recruitment on both sides do not miss standing lined up with 50-75 others as an PNM in 98 degree heat or afternoon thunderstorms. They do not miss having to practice door stacks for countless hours, losing their voices during open house rounds singing or screaming chants, or worrying about messing up their bump group by not finding their next PNM or bringing in the wrong PNM because they lined up incorrectly. They loved feeling like they were able to connect on a personal level and talk naturally with PNMs on day 1.

Women as PNMs this year were nostalgic that they missed out on a "real" recruitment with decorations, songs, etc, especially for pref round but overall were very happy with the process. They felt like they made personal connections easily. They were not subjected to constant "tent talk" while standing in line for parties and thus were more motivated to rank houses where they felt connected rather than listen all day to some other PNMS trash talk the chapters they liked.

Advisers were somewhat split....I think due to the huge stress of finding ways to make virtual work on their campus while trying to stay within the campus Panhellenic and local Covid rules, especially for selection sessions. But they all felt that the majority of chapter women enjoyed the process and were more rested and less stressed mentally and physically.

So, what is your opinion? Hopefully our world will look different at this point in 2021. Should some type of virtual hybrid be used in fall 2021, especially for open house rounds? That gets my vote!

I dislike the idea of making cuts without anyone talking to a PNM. at some universities, the PNMs watched videos and then ranked and the chapters watched videos/read profiles and then ranked. All without an actual conversation. I know that for many chapters, grade cuts are usually made after this open house round but not all cuts are grades.

Tent talk is still happening and choosing without even having a conversation just seems odd.

My daughter, as a first time active, thoroughly enjoyed the recruitment process. I do think she did not miss the summer heat by doing it virtually those first rounds. But I think she did miss having an in person preference and bid day. Bid day is such a celebration and that was harder to replicate it all being virtual.

I think my campus found a good middle ground for the first round. It was split into two parts -- Part 1 required all the PNM's who registered for recruitment to watch chapter videos. Campus move-ins and orientation were on a phased schedule, so all the PNM's had a few days to watch the videos. Once everyone had finished moving in, they moved to Part 2, which was a round of 30-minute Zoom meet and greet sessions. Each chapter selected a group of actives to meet with the PNM's; after about 10 minutes of general intros and info, they broke off into small group conversations for the remaining time. It worked quite well, but it's a small campus with chapter sizes of 40-50 women, and between 18 to 20 PNM's assigned to each first round session, so it was manageable. Certainly wouldn't work everywhere, but it was nice that both chapters and PNM's got a little time to connect before making the first cuts.

Preference round was where things got a little odd. At the last minute, due to a spike in the state's COVID infections, Panhellenic decided to make the Philanthropy round virtual-only, which was fine. But it refused to come down one way or the other on Preference, ultimately leaving it up to each chapter to decide if it wanted to do in-person or virtual-only. A couple of chapters opted to do virtual Preference parties, while the majority did in-person preference parties. I guess it all worked out for the best (everyone made quota), but I think it would have been great if our campus Panhellenic had opted to demonstrate a united front given the circumstances (something that it has struggled with over the years).

I think that virtual recruitment is beneficial for some and a nightmare for others. Southern Methodist has committed to a fully virtual recruitment today and I don't look forward to seeing how that will work. I truly believe that there are some schools where recruitment is so competitive that it becomes truly unfair and I don't think that virtual will make it any better, in fact, I think that it'll make dirty rushing much easier and much more likely to happen.

They're a terribly competitive school and some girls are already heavily being recruited in the fall, I hate to see that they're going online because I feel like some houses and some girls just won't have a chance. In person recruitment is hard enough, virtual is brutal and there's no real way to gauge a person over a screen, much less an entire sorority. Alabama and Ole Miss are competitive but I truly believe that rushing at SMU is an entirely different league, especially since rush happens during second semester.

Was UT virtual this year?

Via the Texas Panhellenic website, all rounds were virtual and bid day was a hybrid of virtual and in person :)

My daughter went through virtual recruitment last Fall and was happy with the process, but I had mixed feelings about it. I thought it was a benefit that pnm's were able to have quiet one-on-one zoom calls without traipsing from house to house in heels in the extreme heat. However, I think there's a benefit to actually visiting each house in person and observing the members, as well as the girls returning for each round. Virtual recruitment took some of the superficiality out of the process but I feel like the pnm's had to base their ranking on the few members they spoke with rather than their overall impression of each chapter as a whole.

I am happy that your daughter found this new virtual rush process to be ok, but I see what you mean. Ideally, it would be best for the PNMs to schlep house to house and see the entire chapter. Hopefully we will be able to get back to that this fall. And as alien as this procedure is to me, I have to remind myself that this years fall/winter PNMs and last winter's PNMs don't know any different and are very tech savvy. And I know that I am glad I hung up my advisor hat a while back-the logistics of this new type of rush has got to be mind boggling!

I found virtual recruitment so much more disability friendly. I physically could not have spent all day/night in a crowded, hot room with a lot of standing. I also wouldn't have been able to hear one girl try to talk in a room of 100 girls talking at the same time.

I missed out on decorations, literally running 'home,' and some of the memories that in-person creates. But I doubt I would've had the health/confidence/etc. to do in-person.

I really like the idea of virtual first round. Saves lots of time, plus everyone avoids the heat and sweating and exhaustion from that.
I DON'T like the way they did it this year - PNMs submitted a one-minute video of themselves addressing certain questions that the sororities supposedly watched, and the PNMs watched a video for each sorority.
Lots of PNMs felt like the sororities didn't both watching their videos. They felt slighted because they didn't meet anybody nor get a chance to answer questions.
I liked the version used in 2020, with Zoom sessions between a PNM and a small group of sisters. PNMs could meet sisters and ask questions, and there's the chance the sisters will discover an otherwise-missed gem.

This to the Nth degree. I was a girl from a small town in the Deep South when I attended school at Arizona where I stepped off the plane knowing no-one. Arizona isn't SEC competitive but it's still rather tough.

Someone like me might have been released had they not been able to meet girls in person. I think of girls we pledged who had quieter personalities and might not have come off well in a video, girls who came to school with no connections.

Ranking someone off a video is not ideal although I understand the need to in light of Covid. So many schools, SEC and many others, have girls from all over the country who show up with no connections. Think of so many wonderful members we'd miss out if we only went by videos and resumes.