The Alpha Gamma Delta at Bid Day 2015. Photo courtesy of UAB’s Alpha Gamma Delta chapter.Tamara Imam - Managing Editormanaging@insideuab.com
Hundreds of Panhellenic women across campus will today meet women from what they anticipate could be one of the largest recruitment classes in UAB history as another formal recruitment week kicks off the fall semester.
Formal recruitment for Panhellenic sororities will take place Aug. 23-27.
The week will begin with a convocation at the Hill Student Center Alumni Auditorium and will culminate in Bid Day, during which potential new members (PNMs) will receive official invitations to join one of the five National Panhellenic Conference chapters on campus: Alpha Xi Delta, Alpha Gamma Delta, Delta Gamma, Alpha Omicron Pi and Sigma Kappa.
Over 200 women have signed up to participate in the formal recruitment process, according to Kristen Bowen, the assistant director of fraternity and sorority life. While not every woman who participates will necessarily receive a bid to join one of the sororities, Bowen says that she is hopeful that this year will mark a record in the number of bids given out. Currently, the highest number of bids given out stands at 151. The recruitment process consists of a number of rounds, or “parties,” where potential members are given the opportunity to visit current members of each of the sororities and learn about their respective organizations. At many universities, the sororities have houses where these parties are held; at UAB, where Greek organizations currently are not housed on campus, the process is slightly modified.
“Here at UAB, recruitment has taken place in a variety of locations: the Great Hall, the Sheraton Hotel downtown, etc. as we do not have sorority specific facilities large enough to accommodate a recruitment process,” Bowen said. “This year, we have moved recruitment back to campus and we will be hosting rounds in the Alumni House and the ballroom of the Hill Student Center.”
Panhellenic recruitment this year will consist of a number of other changes. In the past, the sororities have performed skits on Theme Night, but will this year focus on a “values based recruitment model,” highlighting their philanthropies and sisterhood through videos.
“The hope is that giving additional time for conversation rather than a show will allow members to get to know PNMs through deeper discussion and thus allow them to truly communicate the ideals and values that are the basis of all fraternal organizations,” Bowen said.
Additionally, Sigma Kappa will for the first time take part in the formal recruitment process, as the organization was just last fall established on campus. According to Chelsea Henderson, a senior and a founding member of the Zeta Sigma chapter of Sigma Kappa, the preparation process has been stressful yet rewarding.
“Most of our sisters have never been through the formal recruitment process in the first place, so we are all very nervous. However we have a few people from Nationals come down to help us out,” Henderson said. “We have been doing a lot of workshops to prepare ourselves! We are really focusing on making sure that our conversations are genuine and we find new members who want a real sisterhood. That’s definitely what we are mainly focused on. We are so excited to grow our chapter and just meet more people in general to get the SK name out there.”
While Panhellenic sororities recruit new members annually through this highly structured system, other social sororities on campus do not follow the traditional Panhellenic model. UAB is also home to three Multicultural Greek Council sororities — Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority, Inc., Sigma Sigma Rho Sorority, Inc. and Delta Phi Omega Sorority, Inc. — each of which will host interest sessions for their respective organizations as well as an MGC Kickoff event on Sept. 12 to serve as an opportunity for interested students to meet current members.
Maryem Gendy, the president of Sigma Sigma Rho, Sorority, Inc. said that the actual recruitment process will consist of a week-long process at the beginning of the semester.
“We talk to the girls about topics such as families, their goals, what they want to do growing up, steps they want to take to reach goals and much more. Being one of the most diverse sororities on campus, we embody multiple personalities and principles,” Gendy said. “One thing we all have in common is we want to see a change in our community. We are nothing without the community that has supported us, therefore, we work together to give back. We are individually unique, but together complete.”
The four National Pan-Hellenic Council chapters on campus, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., each have recruitment activities specific to their chapters and do not necessarily recruit new members each semester, according to Bowen. During semesters that they plan to bring in new members, the chapters will hold interest meetings. Additionally, the organizations will host “Greek Speak” on Sept. 1, during which representatives of all of the NPHC sororities and fraternities will speak on their organizations.
Bowen says that although the different Greek councils on campus vary in how they go about recruiting new members, they share the same values.
“Regardless of how the recruitment process is formatted, all of our sororities uphold the pillars of scholarship, community, leadership and philanthropy,” Bowen said.
“Any one of these groups would provide a tremendous amount of support and friendship to those looking for an opportunity to join the Greek community.”
