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In general, how would you describe Greek life on your campus?
Hopkins is in the Mid-Atlantic area, but I would say the attitude towards Greek Life is much more northern than southern. Recruitment is somewhat competitive, but more so between the sororities who are all trying to bid the "best" PNMs. About 200ish PNMs rush, of which about 175 are freshmen and 25 are sophomores. Virtually everyone who Prefs is placed, but a lot of PNMs tend to drop out if they're not invited back to their favorites. This year, of about 215 originally registered, 145 accepted their bids and pledged. Sophomores face much heavier cuts. Recs are hardly ever received or used, but legacies are taken pretty seriously. About 25% of the student body is Greek and the Independents aren't terribly anti-Greek - mostly just indifferent.
Did your school have deferred recruitment?
Yes. During the fall we are allowed to "recruit" by holding two "Meet the Sisters" events a month. At these events we can't give out anything except small snack items, and they're usually events like watching a TV show premiere or decorating cookies with the sisters. No freshmen women are allowed in sorority members' dorm rooms/residences (we're all unhoused) or at any sorority social events like mixers, date parties or formals, and we cannot buy them any items or food. Normal Social Contact starts on January 1st, and recruitment begins at the end of January (at which time strict silence goes into effect).
What was total?
Chapter total is 85. This spring three chapters were around 120-130, and one was around 85.
What were average new member class sizes for your chapter?
This year everyone had 35-40 (after COB).
On average, how many freshmen dropped out during the new member program?
Every group usually has 1-2 drop.
If a significant number of them dropped, for the most part, what were the reasons?
They're almost always due to "not clicking" with the sisters, but this year more cited financial reasons (not surprisingly).
There are times when I wish we didn't have deferred. The dirty rushing that goes on here is incredible and it's very frustrating. Chapters who follow the rules are at a big disadvantage - PNMs don't know the rules and when they're not being dirty rushed by a group, they figure it's because the group isn't trying or isn't cool. Many PNMs form very solid opinions on the perceived reputations of every chapter, and as a result set their hearts on one or two chapters and refuse to give the others a chance. If they don't get their top choice(s), they drop out. If we didn't have deferred recruitment, I think this would be less of an issue because the PNMs wouldn't have a whole semester of Greeks (and non-Greeks) pounding stereotypes into their heads to try to make their own group sound better. PNMs can also be turned off by this and decide not to rush. They also form their own groups of friends first semester and decide that they don't need to rush because they already have friends.
On the flip side, many of my sisters will say that if we didn't have deferred recruitment, they never would have rushed because they would have been intimidated, not interested, whatever. Having a semester to think about it and get used to the idea can change the minds of people who might be afraid to give it a try.
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