What’s the backup plan for recruitment in August?

[carnation]

I remember a friend at Baylor who said that their bids were slipped under the door. Some kids on their floor thought it was funny to slip fake bids under the door...

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by carnation

I am thinking of my sorority's gorgeous pref ceremony and trying to figure out how it could even be approximated online. Well, it can't be.

IKR?? I think I'm going to re-read my Pref Party post, and sulk a little on behalf of the 2020 PNMs!

Originally Posted by ForrestGrump

Mizzou's Panhellenic has announced that it will do a mixed recruitment -- Orientation, Open House and the Philanthropy round will be virtual, while the Sisterhood round and Preference will be in-person. Not sure about Bid Day, but I can't imagine they'll have all those hundreds of women (both new members and a large percentage of the actives) congregate together out on Stankowski Field.

It is so hard for me to get my head around this, yet I know that the desire to become a Greek will sustain all those interested in learning the (new) process!

Originally Posted by TXDG

I hope we get some good recruitment stories this year! I’m so curious about how all this will work.

Thanks to all of the Panhellenic councils working hard (both collegians and Greek Life advisors!) These are big decisions and I know they are keeping everyone’s safety at heart.

THIS!

[DZ_Turtle86]

Thinking waaaay ahead to 2021, and not knowing what the campus environment will be in a year, you could have a situation of sophomores who have never seen in-person recruitment, juniors who only know it from the PNM side, and seniors (the ones who have stuck around) who experienced it once but two year earlier. That's a lot of inexperience!

I'm afraid of junior and senior retention this year.

[ForrestGrump]

Originally Posted by DZ_Turtle86

Thinking waaaay ahead to 2021, and not knowing what the campus environment will be in a year, you could have a situation of sophomores who have never seen in-person recruitment, juniors who only know it from the PNM side, and seniors (the ones who have stuck around) who experienced it once but two year earlier. That's a lot of inexperience!

I'm afraid of junior and senior retention this year.

I suspect that most, if not all, NPC organizations are factoring in both decreases in actives returning to campus as well as decreases in new members, when planning budgets for the next fiscal year. Better to make general reductions now, and then recalculate after recruitment.

[NYCMS]

Originally Posted by ForrestGrump

I suspect that most, if not all, NPC organizations are factoring in both decreases in actives returning to campus as well as decreases in new members, when planning budgets for the next fiscal year. Better to make general reductions now, and then recalculate after recruitment.

Agree. And also factor in that on many campuses - such as Ole Miss - sororities have either just done massive house renovations (DDD and DG there) or are in the process of building new houses (KD and Kappa there). Not sure numbers will drop much at a Greek-intensive school like Ole Miss, but nevertheless chapters there and likely elsewhere have shelled out a lot of money recently.

And I do know that at many schools, Ole Miss included, the numbers of students have dropped in recent years, something that will increase due to parents' financial changes. Many people who lost jobs were at the mid to upper end of incomes as well and are hard hit too, particularly a problem for state schools that rely on out-of-state students for higher tuition. This impacts Mississippi schools heavily and I think Alabama as well since both states poorly fund their schools.

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by carnation

I remember a friend at Baylor who said that their bids were slipped under the door. Some kids on their floor thought it was funny to slip fake bids under the door...

I just saw this! How terribly cruel!

[aephi alum]

Originally Posted by carnation

I remember a friend at Baylor who said that their bids were slipped under the door. Some kids on their floor thought it was funny to slip fake bids under the door...

How cruel! So PNMs were showing up at bid day parties only to be told that nope, they weren't offered a bid after all? And I'm sure there was more than one poor girl who got a fake bid only to find out she hadn't actually matched anywhere.

Originally Posted by SweetHomeStL

Bama also announced today that bids were going to be delivered via email.

What a shame. I hope the chapters will be able to print up and issue physical bid cards at some point in the future. That's one of those things you like to keep well beyond your college years ... mine is in a scrapbook somewhere. It's also so impersonal. But sacrifices have to be made to keep everyone safe and healthy.

[Herbie]

The University of Nebraska at Lincoln should be announcing soon their primary recruitment will be fully virtual. Dates have been moved back from the week before classes start to Saturday, August 29, Sunday, August 30, with Pref on Sunday, September 6, and a virtual Bid reveal on Monday, September 7. No word on what Bid Day activities will be like. PNMs will submit 90 second videos and then PNMs will view videos of each chapter in place of Open House round.

[BBH]

Finally got the high level plan for Iowa State. Check in on the 7th and get their information. Initial Round on the 8th which will be all virtual. Round 2 will be the 9th & 10th and again be all virtual. Round 3 will be the 11th and will be virtual house tours and financials. Round 4 is Pref round on the 12th and planned to be in person and Bid day on the 13th and also planned to be in person. Bid day is more an individual in person and not a big group reveal. The 13th is also when they start their Destination Iowa State activities so they will be very busy up to the start of classes.

No word on how many people have signed up to go through Primary Recruitment and it will be interesting for someone like my D whose roommate is not going through recruitment since they will be doing the virtual rounds from their dorm rooms.

[ChioLu]

When you talk about recruitment as being virtual, what does that actually mean? Is it one on one, like a FaceTime call with a member and a PNM? Is it like a zoom meeting, with the PNM‘s watching the chapter do you what would normally happen on that actual party day?

[NYCMS]

Originally Posted by aephi alum

I hope the chapters will be able to print up and issue physical bid cards at some point in the future. That's one of those things you like to keep well beyond your college years ... mine is in a scrapbook somewhere. It's also so impersonal. But sacrifices have to be made to keep everyone safe and healthy.

I agree. Bid cards at my school (Arizona) were not issued by the chapter, but by Panhellenic so they weren't the pretty ones with the sorority crest that I saw friends get elsewhere...that said, it was still very special and is secured in a Gamma Phi scrapbook along with a dried carnation and a card from my first Big Sister on Bid Day. I think my pledge ribbons are in there too.

[carnation]

Originally Posted by aephi alum

How cruel! So PNMs were showing up at bid day parties only to be told that nope, they weren't offered a bid after all? And I'm sure there was more than one poor girl who got a fake bid only to find out she hadn't actually matched anywhere. .

I got the impression that they slid fake bids from the less desired sororities under the doors of girls who were only wanting the top 3 or so.

[BBH]

Originally Posted by ChioLu

When you talk about recruitment as being virtual, what does that actually mean? Is it one on one, like a FaceTime call with a member and a PNM? Is it like a zoom meeting, with the PNM‘s watching the chapter do you what would normally happen on that actual party day?

For my D, they said the girls would be in their own dorm room and be on a Zoom or WebEx type call. The first round is more watching videos about the chapters and at the end they rank their top choices. The next round the again are on a call to learn about chapter values. I’m assuming they will have virtual breakout rooms where it’s one on one talks. Again, you rank and then advance to the next round. That round is virtually house tours so not sure if that is just watching a video and then discussing.

Pref in person is still with social distancing. Masks required and temperature checks. They said some visits could be outside. Bid day is individual so no big group reveals and running to your new home.

My D’s roommate is not rushing so that is her main worry. It’s the first weekend of them meeting and living together and she’s going to be sitting there on video calls.

[jolene]

I'm trying to catch up, but I wonder if they will do recruitment in January like many private unis? I don't want to see our beloved sororities and fraternities suffer (I'm married to a fraternity man). I'd love my own daughter to join a sorority in college. As a high schooler, it's already weird for her.

[shadokat]

Just an FYI, decided on Friday, University of Alabama is doing a completely virtual recruitment. My friend's daughter is going through, so I'll let you know when I hear something how it is. I feel so badly for her, and I honestly have no idea how you do recruitment with 2000 PNMs and 400 actives per chapter virtually.