1,400 women to begin rush
4-step process will showcase advantages of different chapters
By Maggie Bozich
Indiana Daily Student
Friday, October 22, 2004
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CAMPUS STORY
One thousand four hundred women will wake up early Saturday to begin women's recruitment. They will load buses before 11 a.m. to tour different chapters, only to wake up and do it again Sunday.
Saturday marks the beginning of 19 party, the first of four events leading to the choice to join a sorority house.
The women will visit 10 sororities Saturday and nine sororities Sunday. IU has one of the most competitive recruitment processes of any college, said senior Sarah Sackman, executive vice president for recruitment for the Panhellenic Association.
"IU has one of the most structured recruitments," Sackman said. "It is also one of the biggest and most competitive, so we try to keep the process the same every year."
Each woman who registered to rush paid $60, a portion of which will be donated to Dance Marathon, Sackman said.
The process begins with 19 party, which consists of the women visiting every chapter on campus for half an hour each. Rush then continues when the potential sorority members return early from winter break for 12 party Jan. 5 and 6. Next six party will be on Jan. 7 and three party on Jan. 8, Sackman said.
After each event in the recruitment process the women rushing will rank their preferences until the final ranking on Jan. 8 after three party. Bid day will take place Jan. 9, Sackman said.
Senior Kate Burnham, recruitment chair for Zeta Tau Alpha said her sorority has been preparing heavily for rush.
"We have done several workshops and meetings every week to get the sophomore class ready since this is their first year to participate in rush," Burnham said.
Senior and Vice President of Recruitment for Alpha Gamma Delta Katie Hanlon said her house has also been preparing for the upcoming rush. She said she is looking forward to the great experience of meeting all the new women.
"We've been cleaning the house, making sure we know what types of conversations to have with the women and making sure we know the rules," Hanlon said.
Burnham explained that Zeta tries keep the way they approach recruitment the same every year because they have such a successful return rate after 19 party. Zeta accepts a different number of women every year, but they try to keep the numbers consistent.
"We don't have a set number we wanna take every year," Burnham said. "We factor in how many seniors are graduating or how many sisters are studying abroad. We try to keep the numbers consistent every year. We don't want to have a pledge class of 60 one year and 20 the next."
Freshman Allison Stangel is hoping to find a house she feels she fits into, she said. She said she knows nothing about any of the chapters on campus but still hopes to pledge a house. "I am really looking forward to the process," Stangel said.
"I am looking forward to meeting all the girls in the different houses. I also think it will be great getting to know the different girls I am rushing with."
Getting a great pledge class into the house is something Burnham is looking forward to the most. She is also looking forward to seeing all the hard work she put forth pay off.
"The whole process is exciting, in getting great women," Burnham said. "I am a senior, so I want to make sure we get really great women to take our place."
-- Contact staff writer Maggie Bozich at
mbozich@indiana.edu.
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