Fraternities and sororities on campus are using new methods to turn around a nearly 20-year-long trend of declining enrollment in the Greek community.
Panhellenic sororities recruited 244 members during this year’s formal recruitment, 42 more than were recruited last year.
Additional advertising and events may have sparked extra interest this year, Melissa Cavanaugh said after early signs of a high turnout.
“We’ve not had enough (public relations) in the past,” said Cavanaugh, vice president of Panhellenic Council recruitment. “This year we’ve done a lot more.”
“A lot more” includes buying advertisements on the Resident Student Association Channel, making a new brochure and participating in the Greek Carnival, a new event to inform students about Greek life held on Aug. 29 on the steps of the Saddlemire Student Services Building.
The newly formed Greek Marketing Committee was behind many of the added promotions, said Alana McClelland, coordinator for Greek Affairs.
The committee’s efforts have helped PHC sororities take the initiative during recruitment, McClelland said.
“Before, our students were relying on interest just being there,” she said. “But (this time) they went out and generated it themselves.”
The increase in new recruits for PHC sororities helps counteract recent downward trends in Greek enrollment.
Ryan Lovell, graduate co-adviser for PHC, said Greek membership has been dropping both on campus and nationally for nearly two decades.
“Greek membership has been slowly declining since the early-to-mid ’80s,” Lovell said. “I don’t know why.”
There were 1,901 Greek students on campus in the fall of 1998. That number dropped to 1,695 by the fall of 2000, according to statistics provided by Kevin Konecny, interim associate director of residence life for Greek Affairs.
The Interfraternity Council is also employing a new strategy to raise membership: guided tours.
Members of IFC fraternities have been going to residence halls to gather groups of students to bring them to each IFC chapter during formal recruitment, which began Tuesday and runs from 6 to 10 p.m. today.
“This way, they get to see all the IFC chapters and spend 20 to 30 minutes at each house,” said IFC President Richard Hayn. The guided tours also help take pressure off students, said Jason Ohler, IFC recruitment chairman.
“They’re going to be less apprehensive than if they had to just walk in the door and say ‘hey, I’d like to join a frat,” Ohler said. “This’ll help them feel more comfortable.”
Greek Independent Board fraternities and sororities, which are historically Latino, and those associated with the National Pan-Hellenic Council, historically African-American, recruit through a different method called intake, which has yet to begin.
The NHCP holds an annual event called Meet the Greeks to recruit new students. At the event, students ask questions about any of the seven NHCP fraternities and sororities.
Like the NHCP, GIB recruitment, which includes Sigma Lambda Beta and Sigma Lambda Gamma, relies more on informative meetings than on tours.
Students who missed formal recruitment can still join an IFC fraternity by attending informal recruitment from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday and from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Friday.
Sorority recruitment is not entirely over, either.
After formal recruitment, sororities with fewer than 85 members accept new members throughout the semester until they reach that number. Only four Panhellenic sororities have stopped recruiting: Alpha Xi Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Alpha Phi and Pi Beta Phi.
