Washington University chapter recruitment story

[KDCat]

I said I would do a recruitment story after WUSTL recruitment was over, so here it is.

This year, recruitment is divided across two weekends at Washington University. The first two rounds are the weekend of January 10-12, 2014 and the second two rounds are the weekend of January 18-19, 2014. The PNMs attend 8 parties in the first round, 6 parties in the second round, 4 parties in the third round, and 2 parties for preference.

The Theta Beta chapter of Kappa Delta was installed at WUSTL in March 2013. This is Theta Beta’s first formal recruitment, and very unlike anything I experience as a member of a small chapter at a school with a small Panhel, so I’m very interested to see what it’s like. It’s also a new experience for for the chapter members. More than 90% of this chapter has zero experience with formal recruitment prior to this week. We have two chapter consultants working with the chapter to get ready for recruitment, though, and a number of experienced alumnae.

The first weekend schedule is brutal for chapter members. They do 8 parties on Day 1, 8 parties on Day 2, and 10 parties on Day 3. As part of Spirit Week, prior to recruitment, the chapter hosts a mock recruitment party for area alumnae on Thursday night. Our chapter has membership selection meetings after the parties on Day 2 and the parties on Day 3.

We also had problems getting our members back for spirit week before recruitment. The weather in St. Louis was freezing and we had a lot of snow. Many flights were delayed at this end or at the other end. The chapter works around it, though. The PNMs also do their best to get back on time and Panhel modifies schedules for people who are struggle with flights.

Round 1: Round 1 is called “Arete Round” and focuses on getting to know the PNMs. The sororities at WUSTL don’t have houses, so they recruit in on campus buildings. KD reserved the Holmes Lounge, which is a gorgeous space and perfect for recruitment.

The chapter has been working really hard and it shows. I’m a little bit late and when I arrive, the collegians are practicing their presentation and cheers one more time. They are excited and know EXACTLY what they are doing. They’ve got bump groups down, sister. They have matching tshirts, jeans, and white/tan keds for today’s outfit and look beautiful. They line up to wait for the PNMs and when they start their chant, they are loud. Really, really loud. It’s probably not SEC loud, but it’s definitely more noise than my little chapter could make. (When I go down the hall later, I hear a professor grumbling about “sororities making the walls shake.”) The first group of PNMs arrives and the fun begins! The chapter doesn’t do a door stack, but they do line up on either side of the door and make a huge amount of noise - jumping, chanting, cheering. The party is 35 minutes. They did about 30 minutes of conversation and a short, 5 minute presentation, which was a rap about all the stuff that KD does.

First round is spread out over two days (Friday and Saturday). PNMS are split into “morning PNMS” and “afternoon PNMs.” Morning PNMS do 4 parties on Friday morning and 4 parties on Saturday morning for Round 1. Afternoon PNMS do 4 parties on Saturday afternoon and 4 parties on Saturday afternoon for Round 1. The chapters do the same party 8 times on Friday and 8 times on Saturday. I can’t imagine. “Kappa K-A-PP-A, Kappa, K-A-PP-A, D-E-L-T-A, Kappa D-E-L-T-A” is ringing in my brain and I was only there for part of one day.

Meanwhile, I’m learning about the hazards of winter recruitment. Apparently, a stomach bug is going around the sorority chapters. One group has 15 members out with it. Miserable. It involves a lot of gastrointestinal upset that you CAN’T fake your way through. A couple of KDs are down with it. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that no one else gets sick.