On Friday, 1,216 young women began the recruitment process for the 14 Panhellenic sorority chapters on campus.

Next week will mark the beginning of recruitment for fraternities under the Interfraternity Council and multicultural greek organizations will begin or continue recruitment, depending on their organization.

Recruitment, which is sometimes referred to as “rushing,” is the largest greek event held at the beginning of each semester. It’s a time when potential new members are invited to discover which sorority or fraternity suits them best.

There are more than 50 greek letter organizations on campus, and recruitment time is important for both current members and potential new ones.

“The only way for the greek community to continue to grow and thrive is by recruiting new members,” president of the MSU Panhellenic Council and dietetics senior Alyssa Fritz said. “I definitely consider recruitment to be one of the most important times of the year.”

Meeting the sisters

Sorority recruitment is a structured event which members of current chapters spend hours practicing and preparing for.

Recruitment for Panhellenic Council sororities takes place over the span of two weekends.

Female students register to become a member of a sorority and are then led by a group of women known as the Rho Gammas.These are recruitment counselors who assist potential new members in having an unbiased recruitment experience.

Instead of promoting their own house, sorority members promote going greek in general because they see it as a positive opportunity.

Psychology freshman Lizz Eden said she is excited for recruitment and joining the greek community because she enjoys the philanthropy and close-knit aspects of greek life.

“I’m really big into volunteering and so I’m looking forward to that and I love how it’s community,” Eden said. “Michigan State is a community as a campus, but this is more of a small community and I’m excited to be a part of it.”

During sorority recruitment, each day has an allotted theme.

Spirit day, values day and philanthropy day are all a part of the process for current sisters to connect with potential new members and introduce them to greek life and the specific philanthropy of an organization.

Recruitment will end with bid day on Sept. 15, when potential new members receive formal invitations to join a specific sorority.

Fritz said students outside of the greek community might overlook the benefits and values of of greek life, but they are important to current members.

“Recruitment is the perfect venue to learn about these values first-hand because active members share personal stories of how being greek has shaped them,” Fritz said.

Brotherly love

Though sorority sisters and brothers often collaborate on social and philanthropic events, the organizations have different recruitment processes.

Vice President of Alpha Sigma Phi Andrew Brewster said while there is work done before the main event, fraternities like to keep recruitment tactics as secretive as possible.

“You have to win the battle a couple of weeks ahead,” said Brewster, a political theory and constitutional democracy senior.

Throughout the week, chapters within the Interfraternity Council will hold events to get to know the men who could potentially join the organization, but attending an event at each house is not necessary.

With 30 fraternity houses on campus, visiting each one and meeting brothers, like women undergoing sorority recruitment do, is a difficult task.

President of Sigma Nu and marketing senior Sean Geraci said men have the potential to go to as many houses and recruitment events as they like, but are more likely to visit the houses they prefer more than others.

On the Thursday following the beginning day of recruitment, fraternities will hand out a bid invitation to become a part of the chapter.

A bid invitation is part of a mutual selection process. A potential member picks which fraternities he would like to join by ranking them.

If a fraternity feels as though a potential member will fit well with other members in the chapter, he is given a bid.

Since there are a large number of fraternities on campus, some may not feel as if they fit in at one place but feel at home at another.

“The great thing about greek life is each chapter has a different set of demeanor, different people,” Geraci said. “What you put into recruitment is what you get out of recruitment.”

Part of the process

For greek organizations under the National Pan-Hellenic Council and Multicultural Greek Council, recruitment is a little different.

Fraternities and sororities within the Multicultural Greek Council hold their own “rush” period which can last one to two weeks.

Vice president of MGC and human resource management senior Ankita Arora said due to organizations being smaller in number, many events will be held at apartments or other locations on campus.

“Sometimes it’s hard for us to have resources to advertise our rush,” said Arora, who is a member of the sorority Sigma Sigma Rho. “We really want to have a casual atmosphere so we can meet potential girls and we want to get to know them but we also want them to get to know us and the organization.”

In addition to casual events, MGC organizations will hold informationals which are events for the sorority or fraternity to discuss the rush process and educate interested members about the organization as a whole.

“We are attentive to a wider audience of various people,” president of the MGC and premedical student Davina James said of the 10 chapters under the council. “In addition to that, we are more education-based than service- based.”

The National Pan-Hellenic Council are sometimes called the Divine Nine and make up the nine historically black fraternities and sororities on campus.

President of NPHC and media and information senior Kristopher Johnson said there is no “rushing” period and the organizations are all non-pledging.

“If someone was interested in joining, they wouldn’t really rush but what they would do is get in touch with us,” Johnson said. “They would have about three or four meetings over the semester and basically they would be educated...then take a test.”

Instead of having a pledge class, new members will form “lines” and are introduced to the campus in a coming-out show which involves stepping, which mirrors West African traditions.

While each organization may have different recruitment processes, it is the busiest time of the semester because it is the main opportunity to be invited to join the greek community.