Greek life recruitment will proceed in a virtual and hybrid format next semester. Collegian file photo.
ALISON MICCOLIS | STAFF REPORTER | amiccolis@butler.edu
Over one-third of Butler students participate in Greek life — but this year, the process of joining a sorority or fraternity is going to look different. Butler’s Greek leadership is currently working to ensure the tradition of recruitment is both safe and enjoyable for everyone involved.
Butler’s Panhellenic Association president Sarah Pate said in a message to The Butler Collegian that next semester, sorority recruitment will be conducted in an entirely virtual format. The Interfraternity Council is in the beginning stages of preparing for recruitment in a hybrid format.
Senior Brittany Potts, a secondary education and history double major and the vice president of membership for Tri Delta, said that while recruitment is going to be completely virtual, the seven sorority houses are going to try and keep the structure of the week similar to years past.
“We are very concerned with the safety of everyone, and we don’t want to put anyone in a situation that they are not comfortable with just so they can go through recruitment,” Potts said.
Potts said any student looking to get involved with sororities on campus can join the Panhellenic Council’s interest list. She said the link to sign-up can be found in Butler Panhel’s Instagram bio.
“When you sign-up, you are not signing up for recruitment,” Potts said. “It is just a way that they can contact you with information throughout this first semester.”
Once a student joins the interest list, they will be invited to virtual meet-and-greets with members from each of the sorority houses. This is an opportunity for them to meet people, learn about what Greek life and that specific house has to offer and ask any questions they may have.
Sydney Bullen, a first-year marketing major, knew she wanted to join a sorority before she even arrived on campus.
“I came in knowing that I wanted to do recruitment,” Bullen said. “My sister is in a sorority at her school, so she told me all about it. I was really excited to have an opportunity to go out and meet girls that I probably wouldn’t have met otherwise. And the sisterhood and philanthropic aspects are nice. I love doing service, so that is a huge part of it for me.”
Since signing up for their email list during the virtual block party, Bullen has participated in two virtual coffee dates and has plans to attend more in the coming weeks.
“It was a lot of fun,” Bullen said. “They were very sweet, gave me a lot of information and answered all of my questions, which was really nice.”
There are also opportunities for students looking to get involved with the fraternities on campus.
Ethan Muchnicki, a junior healthcare and business major and the vice president of recruitment for IFC, talked about the opportunities IFC is offering to meet with members of the different houses and ask questions.
“We just finished a week of in-person meet-and-greets with a one-to-one ratio, masks required, outside, spaced out,” Muchnicki said. “It went well, nothing has come of it, everyone is safe, but it will be very difficult to continue doing in-person things, so there will be virtual opportunities and people should be checking social media.”
Muchnicki recommended that students looking to go through recruitment in the spring should follow the Butler IFC Instagram page in addition to all of the individual house Instagram pages to learn about their specific events. However, he assured students that if they do not attend any of the meet-and-greets now, that does not mean they cannot participate in recruitment in the spring.
“We always have people who don’t do anything until rush week and end up in a house, so you don’t have to be doing anything right now,” Muchnicki said. “But all of us highly recommend going to these meet-and-greets and recruitment events because it helps you get to know the people in the different houses.”
Muchnicki said IFC will be working on a hybrid model for recruitment.
“We want to give people the opportunity to meet face-to-face, wearing masks of course, but get that in-person aspect,” Muchnicki said.
Even though recruitment week will look different than in years past, both groups hope to make it a positive and memorable experience for all of the students involved.
“When we send out our feedback form after rush, I want to hear that everyone is happy where they end up and is happy with how the rush process went,” Muchnicki said. “We are going to try and make it good for everyone. We will give people the option to be online if they don’t feel comfortable coming in person.”
Potts ensured students that no matter what recruitment week looks like, they will be honoring and upholding the university’s idea of a values-based recruitment.
“The whole week, you are supposed to be thinking about what your values are and how that is reflected in the houses you are looking at,” Potts said. “I think through recruitment, you really get to know yourself and what you want, because yes, these houses are wanting members and we want members that are a good fit for our chapter, but at the same time, the potential new members should be finding where they think they can fit in.”
Not all Butler students come to campus knowing if they want to join a Greek chapter. Muchnicki said students who have any interest should at least “give it a shot.” He said that while it is not for everyone, there is so much Greek life has to offer students, whether it is the philanthropic opportunities or the experience of meeting a new group of people.
“It is easier to rush and change your mind late because you can always back out after you join, which happens every year in every house, and there is never anything wrong with it,” Muchnicki said. “But the fact that someone gave it a chance and tried to go out of their comfort zone and try something new is great.”
Recruitment for the Greek houses typically takes place the week before classes start for the spring semester. Students can learn more about recruitment on Butler’s website.
