Sororities will host recruitment this year entirely over Zoom to keep students as safe as possible.
Photo: IWU Panhellenic Council on Instagram.
IWU’s Greek community began the recruitment process for both sororities and fraternities late this week. More than 30 percent of IWU students are a part of Greek life in one way or another. Greek life exists in the form of 10 social organizations and multiple other professional organizations on campus.
All events for sorority recruitment, which is hosted by the Panhellenic Council (CPH), will be held virtually this year.
Fraternity recruitment events hosted by the Interfraternity Council (IFC), however, will be a hybrid of both in person and virtual.
Sorority recruitment began on Wednesday, September 9 and will continue throughout the weekend. Registration for recruitment is up this year from last year which is a change welcomed by the council.
All events will continue to be held virtually via Zoom. The schedule will be the same as it has been in the past: Friday will be Values Night, when philanthropies are highlighted; Saturday will be Preference Night— the last night before bids are passed out.
The sororities’ official Bid Day will be held virtually on Sunday, September 13.
All information regarding future events can be found on the CPH Instagram page, @cphiwu. Any questions regarding recruitment can be sent to Vice President of Membership, Nicole Lapapa.
IWU’s Panhellenic Council found ways to prepare those rushing by communicating primarily through their social media.
The council has hosted information sessions and “fashion shows” in the past to give potential members an idea of what to expect and how to dress, but used their instagram account to post examples of appropriate outfits this year.
Recruitment also usually includes a night that focuses primarily on giving tours of the houses, but with COVID-19 restrictions, the houses had to find a way around it.
Instead of in-person tours, all students rushing were sent folders containing virtual tours of every house.
The IFC hosted a Zoom webinar on Thursday evening and Friday, September 11th will begin the in-person events for the different fraternities.
All houses will continue to host a variety of outdoor games in their respective front yards and will ask that none of the participants enter the house.
Everyone must have tested negative for COVID-19, show no signs of symptoms, and remain committed to the health of the IWU community.
A staff member from IFC will be present at each chapter’s events to make sure that physical distancing is maintained and protocols are followed.
The preference dinners for fraternities will be held on Saturday at off-campus spaces and following guidelines.
More information can be found on the IFC Instagram page (@iwuifc) or by emailing Vice President of Recruitment, Cole Paraday (cparaday@iwu.edu).
Alpha Psi Lambda, the co-ed fraternity for Latinx students, has finished recruitment events for the semester. For more information on how to get involved, however, check out their Instagram, @apsiillinoiswesleyan.
The music fraternities will also continue to host different recruitment events throughout the year. To learn more about the Greek music societies, check out Sigma Alpha Iota (@sai_sigmaalpha) and Phi Mu Alpha (@alphalambdaofphimualpha) on Instagram.
Though new members usually physically run from Memorial Center to their new houses, they will have to virtually run home this year as greek organizations continue to adapt their activities throughout the year to adhere to the University’s COVID policies in an unpredictable campus climate.