Greeks recruit in Union

Pitt’s greek community overtook the main floor of the William Pitt Union yesterday night,… Pitt’s greek community overtook the main floor of the William Pitt Union yesterday night, kicking off the semester’s recruitment period. Each spring, Meet the Greeks offers students an opportunity to learn more about the various greek organizations on campus, without the formal structure that characterizes the event’s fall counterpart. Meet the Greeks events are currently the only major collaborative efforts between the Interfraternity Conference fraternities, National Panhellenic Conference sororities and the historically black National Panhellenic Council organizations. After a general introduction in the Union ballroom, the conferences divided into three rooms, each using a distinct recruiting approach. The NPHC fraternity and sorority members dressed to impress for a formally structured panel session. After brief background introductions from each organization, recruits sitting in the audience were offered note cards to present questions to the panel anonymously. On the more casual end, most IFC organization members wore jeans and sweatshirts. Students enjoyed pizza as they browsed and chatted with representatives from each of Pitt’s 17 IFC chapters. Taylor Smith, the IFC vice president of recruitment, explained why the spring recruitment is different from the one in the fall. ‘Spring recruitment is generally smaller and less formal, because students tend to already have ideas of which frats they’re interested in,’ said Smith. The Panhel sorority members dressed professionally for the event, relying on the structure of the meet-and-greet to set the tone for the recruitment process. ‘In the spring, there is a lot more responsibility and self-reliance for the recruits because by the spring even freshmen tend to have the system figured out,’ said Chelsea Zimmerman, the vice president of programming for Panhel. Students who attended the event last night received a list of upcoming events held by each greek organization. Some of the events are less formal in the spring. Rho Gammas, Panhel’s recruitment leaders who give recruits unbiased information about each sorority, do not attend the events for regulation purposes.’ ‘ The fall recruitment process, which usually takes place the third week of school, involves dividing recruits into groups that are required to visit each house of a respective conference to ensure that each organization receives equal attention, said Panhel chief justice Lucy Matz. Because of membership caps, not every sorority can take in recruits in the spring, making bid day and visits less formal, as well. During the spring, recruits are not required to visit each house or chapter. At the end of recruitment, accepted recruits receive a phone call from interested organizations, instead of an official card offering them the option to bid, said Matz. ‘It’s still very competitive,’ she said.’ ‘ This spring’s bid day is Friday, Jan. 23.