The Spring 2004 sorority recruitment week kicked off Monday with a fair at the Union.
All 13 chapters of the Panhellenic Council were on hand, manning booths that sported pictures and bulletin boards as members of each sorority answered questions and concerns from potential recruits.
Abbey Mansfield, president of the Panhellenic Council, said Spring recruitment is less formal than Fall and gives recruits a chance to get to know each house on a more personal basis.
"With all 13 houses here to talk, each girl can walk around, talk to different (house members) and grab a brochure," Mansfield said. "This way, they will get a better feel of which house they would like to look into further."
Last fall, about 400 women came to recruitment events, and 370 accepted bids to join a Panhellenic sorority. Mansfield said she hopes to get even more women involved this year.
"The turnout tonight is already a great start," she said. "And hopefully we'll have even more women come in to join."
Monday night, women were asked to take a look around and decide which house they would like to learn more about. Recruits then are asked to visit those houses from Tuesday until Thursday, between 5 and 9 p.m., when each of the 13 sororities have open houses.
Bids inviting candidates to join will be distributed by each sorority between 4 and 7 p.m. Friday. The recruitment process will end when each sorority has a meet-and-greet party with all its new members on Friday night.
Orna Theboul, a member of Gamma Phi Beta, said an open house gives each prospect a more personal and in-depth look at the sorority.
"Women are invited to just come over and see what we're all about," Theboul said. "They can have something to eat and get a tour of our house. We hope that after hearing exactly what we're all about, they will get a good feeling about us."
Education and psychology sophomore Courtney Cooke said she came to the recruitment fair because she had heard good things about greek life.
"I have family that are involved in the greek system," she said. "They've told me great things, so I wanted to come out and talk to the girls more and decide if greek was for me."
For more information about recruitment, call Kate Padden, vice president of External Recruitment, at (517) 449-3462.
