Fall recruitment, a big event for Greek life, is underway at CU.
Formal recruitment for members is a large event for most Greek organizations across the country. At CU, there are currently nine Panhellenic sororities and 15 fraternities participating in fall rush, said Lindsay Braun, the director of public relations for the Panhellenic Association.
Preparations for fall recruitment begin early, Braun said.
“The houses start to prepare for recruitment in the spring semester and continue through the summer,” she said. “All of the women in the chapters return to school a week before classes to start practicing their songs, cheers and skits for recruitment together.”
Recruitment is open to all students on the CU campus, she said.
“In general, the women that go through recruitment are mostly freshman, but it is open to sophomores and juniors as well,” she said.
Jessica Blair, an 18-year-old freshman pre-health major, said she has always wanted to be a part of Greek life.
“I’ve always wanted to [join a sorority],” Blair said. “It wasn’t a question of if I was going to rush.”
She said that she did not know what to expect from the process, but it has been a positive experience so far.
“It’s been fun, exciting and exhausting,” she said. “But definitely a good kind of exhausting.”
For students who do not want to enter the traditional Panhellenic side of Greek life, the Multicultural Greek Organization is also participating in fall recruitment.
The organization hosted the “Meet the Greeks” event Tuesday night at the UMC, headed by John Mills, a 22-year-old senior operations management major and chapter president of Lambda Sigma Upsilon, the Latino Fraternity.
The purpose of the event was to let people know that there is more to Greek life than the traditional groups, Mills said.
“CU is known for its mainstream groups,” he said. “We want to showcase our multicultural organizations.”
He also emphasized the positive effects that Greek life can have.
“This is to bring us all together,” he said. “To strike bonds and have a good time.”
According to the group website, there are 11 organizations within the Multicultural Greek Organization. They all seek to build bonds, create cultural awareness and help contribute to the community.
For some students who may feel that fall recruitment is overwhelming or are undecided on Greek life, many of the chapters and organizations participate in a more informal spring recruitment.
For students who would like more information on recruitment and Greek life, they can visit the official CU website.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Isa Jones at Alexandra.i.jones@colorado.edu.
