Butler’s Panhellenic sororities are experiencing high levels of interest this year, with over 100 potential new members (PNMs) already signed up for recruitment after the registration opened on Sept. 8.
The Panhellenic sororities are just one aspect of Greek life, a significant staple on Butler’s campus. Interfraternity Council (IFC) fraternities, Panhellenic sororities, National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) fraternities and sororities and Multicultural Greek Council (MCGC) fraternities and sororities are all options for those looking to get involved with Greek life.
Devin Whelchel-Hall, the director of fraternity and sorority life at Butler, stated that Greek life participants typically make up 38%-41% of Butler’s student body, with about 45%-50% of first-year students typically expressing interest through recruitment registration.
Whelchel-Hall shared how he felt this year’s Greek Getaway event — an event featuring all 26 Greek organizations at Butler — helped spur some of the growing interest, and reflected on the event getting its start last year.
“I think [it captured] some of the energy and vibrancy around our fraternity and sorority community, since it was our second year providing that experience,” Whelchel-Hall said. “We saw good engagement at that moment, and a lot of students were talking about it. [This year] people knew what Greek Getaway was, they knew what to expect [and] they knew about the philanthropy week events that were happening within our fraternity and sorority community. I think that visibility has really helped capture that interest in the registration process specifically.”
First-year marketing major Gaby Gomez was one student who attended Greek Getaway this year. She was already familiar with Butler’s Tri Delta chapter, having had an alumnus as a high school teacher, but took the opportunity to discover the other groups.
“I saw how so many students are connected to [Greek life], the good communities that Greek Life [offers on] campus and how there’s like no competition or anything between them,” Gomez said. “Getting to know all the other sororities and what they stand for — their goals and their community — I just kind of realized that it’s more like a family.”
Amelia Black, a senior organizational communication & leadership major, serves as the Butler University Panhellenic Association president and emphasized the same close-knit nature of the Panhellenic sororities.
Black hopes that the Greek organizations’ efforts to be welcoming and inclusive are apparent to PNMs and extend to those who decide not to be a part of Greek life as well.
“It’s not like Greek life is separate from everything else,” Black said. “We really like to stay involved, and a lot of the members of Greek life are leaders in other clubs too, so we’re really emphasizing the leadership [aspect] and connecting with others outside of Greek life.”
Black also shared that within this year’s class of first-year students, the majority are women, which she claimed is encouraging for sorority recruitment purposes. She mentioned that at the time of her interview with The Butler Collegian, recruitment registration for this year was already a third of the way to last year’s total.
Whelchel-Hall revealed that the fraternity and sorority life community is focusing on planning events catered to the interests of specific populations, such as a new vision board activity that is designed to engage women who may be interested in the sorority experience.
The Panhellenic sororities are not the only ones seeing a boost in attention. Whelchel-Hall also spoke on the traction in interest gained by organizations beyond the houses on ‘Greek row.’
“Sometimes, Butler students, we can get lost in the big houses with the big chapters with the houses, and our community [is] so much bigger than that with the 26 [overall] organizations,” Whelchel-Hall said. “I think that’s been a big pride point for us, and we’ve seen a lot of increased interest and even [an] increase in membership, specifically in those culturally based Greek organizations, which has been comforting and exciting to see.”
Panhellenic and IFC primary recruitment registration is open until Dec. 21, with official recruitment occurring in January. Continuous Open Bidding is an option for those who want to be a part of Greek life outside traditional recruitment.