The four Panhellenic sororities held their formal virtual recruitment from February 8-20 in a partially structured format due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The less structured format meant that each sorority hosted three open house rounds, of which potential new members (PNMs) were required to attend two. In addition, each sorority had an invite-only Preference Round at the end of the two-week process, later culminating in Bid Day on Saturday, February 20. 

While the format was different and less structured than it would usually be, each sorority attempted to retain important aspects of recruitment. “We kept the same order of what our recruitment in person is usually like. We still shared all of the information on the night where we talk about our philanthropy, we still talked a little bit about our scholarship fund, we also still did our preference night ceremony, even though some things were changed,” said Abby Hyde ’21, Recruitment Chair for Pi Beta Phi. 

Amanda Fruman ’22, recruitment chair for Kappa Kappa Gamma, said the preparation for virtual recruitment involved a lot of practice with using Zoom, as well as workshops and conversations with members of other organizations on campus. 

Stephanie Henderson ’23, training recruitment officer for Kappa Alpha Theta, echoed these sentiments. “The executive recruitment board met for several hours and planned who was going to talk to who during the night,” in an effort to provide the best possible experience for PNMs. 

For the recruitment chairs of each sorority, one of the major challenges with virtual recruitment was adapting to Zoom. The process depended heavily on the creation of breakout rooms, which did not always happen smoothly. Henderson recalled that getting PNMs into breakout rooms on time was a struggle. “Getting the timing down and getting everyone to the breakout rooms that they’re supposed to be in was really difficult.”

The recruitment chairs also recognize that Zoom fatigue was an issue for both the PNMs and the current members of the sororities. “It’s really hard to sit on the computer all day long and then go and sit on zoom for recruitment all night,” said Fruman.

However, the partially structured recruitment format had some benefits. According to Grayce Romeo ’22, president and recruitment chair of Delta Nu, “usually we have to follow a strict schedule and we all have to do the same things, but I like that it was up to us and we got to mold it to how we wanted to run it.” Kyra Ramos ’21 added that despite some voting difficulties, “Everyone was so supportive, and we all wanted the same thing, which was a great group of new members. Everyone in the organization really stepped up to help with everything.”

Overall, they agree that the experience was rewarding and valuable in the end. Hyde stated that PNMs “were able to get an idea of what each organization is like and be able to meet at least 3 girls from each organization each night.” Ramos agreed, saying, “We could not be happier with our group of girls, and we are so happy to have them with us.”