Go Greek! This is a phrase that has become a tell-tale sign of the beginning of recruitment season.
Every fall and spring, fraternities and sororities alike gather in hopes of bringing in a bright and welcoming new member class to grow their organization. For me, this was the start of a long online journey to finding not only the perfect sorority for me but my closest friends.
Over time, Greek Life has seen a change in the way they’re perceived and in the way they can run their organizations. The COVID-19 pandemic was a shock for the entire world, bringing a halt to many enjoyable aspects of life. Greek Life was no exception to this, organizations had to completely change their outlook on how they planned and executed recruiting, membership, and involvement.
Over the past three years, there have been various stages of implementing a normal routine back into the recruitment process.
What did Temple’s rush experience look like during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Temple experienced several complications with the online process, trying to give the sense of sisterhood and brotherhood through a screen had turned into a dehumanizing affair. I went through formal recruitment in the spring, which is the more common form of recruitment where each person gets a chance to meet and connect with every single sorority on campus. This process alone is extremely exhausting, lasting a whole weekend over eight hours per day.
I never thought that I would be the type of person to join a sorority, and I questioned many times if this was something I wanted throughout the process. On the first day of recruitment, I was greeted by my Rho Gamma, who was the person to guide me and a few other girls through the entire process. We hopped onto our Zoom call and anxiously awaited the first day.
At Temple, there are about three to four days dedicated to recruitment with each day representing something about the sorority. The first day is for sororities to present themselves with a video, they also meet every single girl in large groups. This round was the hardest of all of them.
I was put into groups consisting of six or more girls, all talking over each other trying to make a good impression. It was impossible to showcase your personality and get through when it was all you could do to get your mic unmuted.
The days got easier as time went on. Conversations became more personal, dropping down to one-on-one hour-long discussions with your top picks. At the end of the day, I wanted nothing more than to never look at a screen or go on Zoom again.
My incoming recruitment class was the last to experience this type of recruitment, as COVID-19 restrictions began to lift, Greek Life was thrown into the spotlight.
The BamaRush TikTok sensation’s effect.
BamaRushTok was introduced to the world in 2021, taking the internet by storm and shooting recruitment numbers up. Girls all over were interested in Greek Life and wanted to taste the luxury and emotional rollercoaster that Alabama sorority girls were showing.
Temple’s Greek Life experience is minuscule in comparison to the dedication and commitment that the girls of Alabama went through. Nevertheless, we owe a rise in interest to the get-ready-with-me, preference day reveals, and big little walk-throughs of TikTok.
A new side of Greek Life was shown, making others want to at least get an inside scoop on what goes down during those weekends of recruitment. Even I, as someone who already went through the entire process, wondered what it would have been like to do it more traditionally.
Greek Life comes in all shapes and forms, but I can safely say that how Temple does Greek Life was truly the best fit for me. We support those who are shyer and don’t want to go through the extensive process of formal recruitment through what is called informal recruitment.
Informal recruitment commonly takes place during the fall semester and is a chance for girls to pick and choose who they are most interested in and go on dates with girls to ask questions and get to know the sorority on a more personal level.
We also have the option for a more traditional experience filled with exhausted laughs and lasting tears that showcase the hard work put into the days, but also the relationships built between future sisters.
Fraternities and Sororities are a place meant to give everyone a room full of friends because even if you don’t know them personally, they’re there for you. Greek Life changed for the better because of COVID-19 and will continue to grow through trial and error. Everyone deserves a chance to find their forever friends!