To everything there is a season, and this fall is a season for change – at least in the Greek system. The Interfraternity Council is holding its first-ever formal recruitment during the first week of classes (now dubbed ‘Legacy Week’), and the other Greek chapters have new plans for the semester as well.

Brandon Bookatz, IFC vice president of recruitment and public relations, said the new formal recruitment process will allow Greek prospects the chance to visit all 17 IFC fraternities before choosing one.

‘I am very, very excited about it,’ Bookatz said. ‘It will place freshmen into the fraternities that best match them.’

Registration for formal recruitment began Saturday night at a ‘Welcome Back Bash,’ and will continue until the first round of the process starts Thursday night, said Eric Young, IFC president. He said interested men can attend informal events, including a cornhole tournament tonight at 9 p.m. at the Kreischer/Harshman basketball courts, to learn more about fraternity life before Legacy Week officially begins.

Bookatz said informational sessions will be held for prospective IFC brothers on Tuesday night in various locations, including McDonald, Kreischer, Harshman and Kohl residence halls and the commuter lounge in the Union. He said more information will be provided at the Legacy Week kick off on Wednesday at 9:15 p.m. in the Union.

A four-day, three-round process, formal recruitment will take place Thursday through Sunday. Participants will visit several fraternities each day in groups led by current brothers, and as the week continues, the Greek hopefuls will narrow their fraternity choices and spend more time with their top picks. Then, on Sunday night, the IFC chapters will decide which men they want to give ‘bids,’ or invitations. The selections will be revealed Monday, Aug. 31, after recruitment participants view their invitations and select their chapters. “

Young said the council decided in April to start the formal recruitment process in order to make it easier for men to join fraternities.

‘In the past, it’s been continuous open recruitment where the chapters have just done their own thing the whole time,’ he said. ‘Now [the IFC has] inserted the first week as a formal process. ‘hellip; I think most of it was in order to help the freshmen and anybody wanting to go Greek a set way to be able to do that.’

Young said although participating in Legacy Week is recommended, open recruitment will be available to non-participants once the week is over. He said men who go through formal recruitment are not required to join a fraternity.

In addition to the IFC, the University’s Panhellenic Council, Independent Greek Council and National Panhellenic Council, have initiated programming changes this semester.

The Panhellenic sororities are helping to host more ‘Greek Fest’ days to keep recruitment up and running, said Panhellenic Council President Jacqueline Mattmuller.

Greek Fest, a time for all Greeks to set up information tables and for Panhellenic sorority prospects to register for formal recruitment, was previously held just once a year, Mattmuller said. This year, she said three will be held, due to a decision made in conjunction with the IFC last fall.

This semester’s Greek Fest days are Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Mac Beach, Thursday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Union Oval, and Sept. 2 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the field outside East Hall.

More informational/recruiting events will soon be hosted by the IGC as well. ‘Recess with IGC,’ an informal event where people can ‘hang out and play some old-school recess games,’ will take place Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., said IGC President Katie McKibben. The event will be held in the grassy area between Harshman and Kreischer and all IGC chapters will be present.

In addition, the newly-created IGC Week will take place Sept. 12 through the 19. Each IGC chapter will have a specific day that week, during which students can participate in mud tug-of-war and receive goodies from IGC representatives in the Union Oval.

‘If students are interested [in joining IGC], just contact anyone in the chapter,’ McKibben said. ‘It’s a really relaxed council.’

NPHC President P.J. Jones said the NPHC is planning to work more closely with other African-American organizations on campus, as well as Residence Life and the Resident Student Association, to put together programming for the year.

‘We only have 15 weeks a semester, and it seems like a lot of organizations on campus do a lot of programs,’ Jones said. ‘Imagine if we all come together ‘hellip; [it] could be phenomenal.’

Jones also said the NPHC hopes its ‘Unity Plot,’ an area for the chapter in the grass between Harshman and Kreischer, will be completed this fall.

‘We’re decorating the rocks and benches,’ Jones said, explaining that 10 mini-plots, one for NPHC and nine for each of its chapters, make up the area.

More information about Greek life can be found at www.greekbgsu.com’