Sorority Meet the Greeks draws crowd, basketball players

Within 15 minutes, herds of chattering girls had filled the Lower Lounge, browsing Pitt’s… Within 15 minutes, herds of chattering girls had filled the Lower Lounge, browsing Pitt’s various sororities during the women’s night of Meet the Greeks.

The event yesterday night, sponsored by the Panhellenic Association, gave interested girls the chance to see what each sorority had to offer.

“They give you a good idea of the community service they do and what they’re about,” sophomore Randi Birge said as she looked at the sorority flyers.

Smiling sisters shook hands and displayed their pictures and Greek letters at the individual tables that had been decorated with balloons.

Early into the night, Alison McBee, president of Theta Phi Alpha, acknowledged that there had already been a good turnout.

“Usually, in the spring, it’s slow,” McBee said, “but this event was well-publicized.”

Fraternity and Sorority Life Coordinator Anita Triggs said that this event works for the women.

Freshman Shellyann O’Meally agreed with Triggs.

“I think women, especially freshman women, want a place to belong,” O’Meally said about the event’s success compared to the low turnout for the fraternity event on Tuesday. “[Boys are] kind of simple, not to say anything negative, but they like to kick back [and] chill with the guys. Girls want more of a close-knit community.”

Senior Lindsay Woods, the current president of the Panhellenic Association, said she attended Meet the Greeks when she was a freshman. She added that the event has changed since she first attended because of more stereotypes associated with the MTV show “Sorority Life.”

“It’s different now – girls are coming into Meet the Greeks with more stereotypes,” Woods said. “If girls came out, maybe their impressions would be a little bit different.”

Overall, the sororities seemed satisfied with the event. The overall attendance reached about 80 girls.

“I’m really happy that so many girls came out. It looks like recruitment is going to go really well this semester,” said Sarah Cvammen, the vice president of recruitment for Delta Phi Epsilon.

In addition to the interested independents, Pitt men’s basketball players Chevon Troutman and Toree Morris, self-proclaimed members of the fraternity “Phi Slamma Jamma,” decided to check out Meet the Greeks.

“These girls are hot, man,” Troutman said as he gazed around the room.

Greg Heller-LaBelle and Lauren Unger contributed to this report.