SPRING RECRUITMENT AT UGA

[Kansas City]

The chapter I advise is at a small D2 state school so I assume that UGA would be even more competitive and have a larger spring recruitment. Another concern of mine about limiting the number of actives during recruitment is this:
We have to release significant PNMs after the first day thanks to the RFM. I understand that there is a certain level of trust that sisters have when making decisions to release PNMs (many decisions can be made based on black and white issues such as year in school, grades, etc.) but having only a small fraction of the chapter meet women on one day seems like it would be unfair to both the PNM and the chapter as there would be so few people who got to meet the PNM before a decision had to be made. At least by having more actives in the room, they can gauge body language or recognize a face as "that girl that sat behind me in church" and potentially give the PNM a better shot at finding a home because she had more exposure (albeit silent) to the entire chapter and not just a small cross section of those selected to recruit.

[SWTXBelle]

Originally Posted by Kansas City

The chapter I advise is at a small D2 state school so I assume that UGA would be even more competitive and have a larger spring recruitment. Another concern of mine about limiting the number of actives during recruitment is this:
We have to release significant PNMs after the first day thanks to the RFM. I understand that there is a certain level of trust that sisters have when making decisions to release PNMs (many decisions can be made based on black and white issues such as year in school, grades, etc.) but having only a small fraction of the chapter meet women on one day seems like it would be unfair to both the PNM and the chapter as there would be so few people who got to meet the PNM before a decision had to be made. At least by having more actives in the room, they can gauge body language or recognize a face as "that girl that sat behind me in church" and potentially give the PNM a better shot at finding a home because she had more exposure (albeit silent) to the entire chapter and not just a small cross section of those selected to recruit.

Of course, the whole reasoning behind recs and getting the pnms information before recruitment is to find the girls actives already know - "that girl that sat behind me in church". And if actives are in the room, odds are they are busy with their pnms, and not taking notes on girls they can see but not even necessarily identify. As it stands now, most recruitments require the entire chapter to vote on a pnm based on the input of the very limited number of actives who had a chance to talk to her. PNMs, too, have to make a choice based on their limited interaction with a few members. That's the reality, whether the whole chapter is actively rushing or not.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

Of course, the whole reasoning behind recs and getting the pnms information before recruitment is to find the girls actives already know - "that girl that sat behind me in church". And if actives are in the room, odds are they are busy with their pnms, and not taking notes on girls they can see but not even necessarily identify. As it stands now, most recruitments require the entire chapter to vote on a pnm based on the input of the very limited number of actives who had a chance to talk to her. PNMs, too, have to make a choice based on their limited interaction with a few members. That's the reality, whether the whole chapter is actively rushing or not.

If we're talking about the idea of limiting rushers for formal just as a theoretical strategy:

we should keep in mind that with more than 1000 PNMs at UGA for formal and the nature/quality of the photos girls send in, I'm not sure the chapter really does always completely recognize everyone they know in real life until the actual parties. And unless you're talking about limiting the number of rushers to under what it would take to single rush, there are girls who wouldn't be busy with PNMs who can float and met girls, but there'd be triple this number if you didn't limited rushers.

I understand your point about the issues of MS at large recruitments, but I'm not sure that limiting rushers wouldn't make the problem even worse.

For informal, I don't think it's a big deal and with the relatively small size of the PNM pool might actually keep it from being awkward and overwhelming for the PNMS. I suspect they will still have actual conversations with the same number of members they would have in formal.

[SWTXBelle]

I don't think it would be needed, or work, at every campus. I do think there are situations where it would, and one thing I like about NPC offering different kinds of recruitment is the idea that different campuses needed different approaches. I just think limiting rushers would be one possible approach to help some chapters at some campuses.

[Kansas City]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

I don't think it would be needed, or work, at every campus. I do think there are situations where it would, and one thing I like about NPC offering different kinds of recruitmentis the idea that different campuses needed different approaches. I just think limiting rushers would be one possible approach to help some chapters at some campuses.

This I can agree with. I recognize that this is a UGA thread but my concerns are obviously for my D2 campus. Rush is not competitive and recs are very few and far between when recruiting girls at my campus so there is no way for most of the chapter to know who is coming that door until they hear a name or see a face. Until the first party, there is very little intorduction of a PNM to chapters on my campus. I'm not totally opposed to NPC offering different kinds of recruitment ideas to solve problems on different campuses but just don't see how limiting the number of active members would assist on my particular campus where the recruitment environment is smaller (300-350 PNMs during formal) and very non-competitive. Instead, in my situation, I think that it would benefit both the chapter and the PNM to meet each other as much as possible.

[KSUViolet06]

For those interested, the schedule and details (including some FAQs) are up on the UGA Panhellenic site:

http://www.uga.edu/panhellenic/recruit/index.html

January 25 – Online registration closes

January 29 – Informational meeting at 5:00 p.m. in Tate Theater, Tate Student Center

January 31 & February 1 – Open House events at ALL chapters

February 3-5 – Round Two events

February 6 – Round Three events (PNMs only attend up to three events)

February 8 – Bids extended by Panhellenic from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (PNMs pick up bids in the Greek Life Office)

February 8 – New Member Activities at sorority houses: New Member Breakfast/Brunch (12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.)

ETA:

How many events will I attend during Recruitment?

During the first two days of Open House events, you will visit all 17 chapters for 15 minutes each. This will give you a chance to see what all of the chapters are like. For Round Two, you will be allowed to attend 30-minute scheduled events at the chapters which invite you to Round Two events. You will then select up to three chapters you would most like to visit for Round Three events. Round Three events will be 45 minutes long and you may attend up to three events. After Round Three, you will rank in order the chapters you would most like to join.

[KSUViolet06]

Some FAQs from the website:


What if I am already friends with members of a specific chapter?

We encourage you to keep an open mind towards all of our 17 chapters as each one has great things to offer. It is important to know that the opinion of one chapter member cannot promise you membership into a certain chapter or prevent you from joining a certain chapter. Additionally, no sorority member should invite you to a Pre-Recruitment event (luncheon, tea, etc) or promise you any future connections with the chapter she belongs to (invitations to Recruitment events, a bid, etc). This is inappropriate and unfair to you – any such actions should be reported to the Panhellenic Advisor or a member of the Panhellenic Executive Board.


What if I am a legacy?

If you have a mother or sister who is a member of a sorority, you are considered a legacy to that sorority. Some sororities also consider granddaughters, nieces and cousins to be legacies. Panhellenic has no policies regarding legacies because each sorority has its own policy. If you are a legacy, it is important for you to consider your compatibility with the group and not feel obligated to a group because of your family members. Chapters vary from year to year and from campus to campus, so basing your decision on the experience of a relative would be unfair to you.


What about recommendations?

Recommendations (recs) are letters or statements from an alumna recommending a PNM for membership into a sorority. Panhellenic is not facilitating a process for recommendations for Spring Recruitment, they will handled internally by each sorority.

The site also includes a list of email addresses for the person who is in charge of recs at each chapter (I'm assuming they're the VPs of Recruitment)