Millete Birhanemaskel,
mbirhanemaskel@greeleytrib.com
August 30, 2004
Katie Bainbridge, 21, never anticipated joining a sorority. She attended the information sessions only to appease a friend who ended up not joining.
Twenty-one-year-old Megan Ripko also never considered herself Greek material. But when all of her best friends went to the University of Colorado-Boulder, joining a sorority seemed like an easy way to make friends.
Alexis Pace, 21, came to the University of Northern Colorado confident she would be a sorority sister.
What Bainbridge, Ripko and Pace have in common, besides being a part of the Panhellenic sorority recruitment board this fall, is the fear they remember when they joined as freshmen.
One hundred women are now in the recruitment process that started Thursday. They will find out Tuesday which of five chapters -- Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Sigma Alpha, Alpha Phi, Delta Zeta and Sigma Kappa -- will welcome them as sorority sisters.
"There is a spot for each person in the Greek community," Bainbridge said. "But they don't always get their first choice."
One common question is, "Are we going to get hazed?" Pace said. It's ironic because the opposite is true, she said.
"The first semester you get spoiled and get gifts," Pace said. "We're anti-hazing."
The women are showered with flowers, candy jars, baskets and words of encouragement, Pace said. They are also paired with big sisters who help them adjust to Greek life, which includes significant amounts of community service and intramural sports.
And while it can get competitive among the different chapters, there is a sisterhood that extends beyond letters, Bainbridge said.
None of the women on the Panhellenic board can say which chapter she belongs to until after "bid day" on Tuesday, which is when the women will accept or decline the chapters' offers.
The chapters often band together and support each other for philanthropic events or to recognize academic excellence, Bainbridge and Ripko said.
The best part is knowing there is a group of people who are always happy to see you, Ripko said. And who are always willing to support you. When Ripko asked her sorority sisters to walk in a muscular dystrophy marathon for her brother's sake, 15-20 showed up, she said. It's now an annual event for them.
Greek life gets a bad rap sometimes, Pace said. She said she would encourage women to, "Try it out. Give it a chance."
There will be another recruitment effort in the spring.
Meanwhile, 100 women will attend a preference tea today, where they will meet with their top two chapter choices. Then after tossing and turning, eagerly anticipating Tuesday, they will find out their chapter.
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