Fall recruitment: Another chance to go Greek

For students who feel like they missed out on spring rush, fall recruitment — which is just starting up for the semester — provides an opportunity for them to join the Greek community.

Interfraternity Council chapters generally get 75 to 85 new members in the fall, Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Scott Reikofski said, compared to the 500 to 550 members who join in the spring.

“It’s a chance for fraternities to pick up people they know well and maybe hang out with the brothers, but are not formally in the chapter,” Reikofski said, since fall recruitment is only open to upperclassmen.

Currently, 13 fraternities and two sororities are registered for fall rush. While any fraternity can decide to participate in fall recruitment, sororities in the Panhellenic Council have stricter regulations. National branches of sororities take national averages, and if a chapter is below that, then it can participate in fall recruitment. This year, Zeta Tau Alpha and Alpha Delta Pi are eligible and participating in fall recruitment.

On Monday, ZTA, ADPi and Alpha Chi Rho partnered with IFC and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life to host a barbecue to welcome transfer students to Greek life at Penn.

After the barbecue, the hosts donated the leftover food to a local food shelter. AXP, the fraternity sponsoring the barbecue, has between 30 and 40 active brothers and typically give out four to six bids in the fall, compared to the 12 to 15 bids during spring rush.

Pi Kappa Alpha, a fraternity participating in fall recruitment, will also host a barbecue to introduce potential members to the current brothers. Pike Recruitment Chair and College sophomore James Townsend said, “Fall rush is a great opportunity for us and other fraternities to pick up sophomores who may not have been in a position to rush last semester, like spring athletes, as well as transfer students.”

In comparison to spring recruitment, fall rush is more informal. “Fraternities decide on a chapter-by-chapter basis when and how to host rush events, as well as when and if to offer bids,” he explained.

The pledging process also varies by chapter and can differ from the spring. “Frequently the new member education process is condensed or abbreviated for fall classes — however, some fraternities have the same system for fall and spring classes,” Townsend explained. “As far as Pike goes, we haven’t had a fall class since 2008 so we have yet to decide what a new member process would look like if we offer bids.”

Reikofski encouraged all students interested in Greek life to explore their options. “Anyone looking to join should ask all kinds of questions,” he said. “Ask about the academics, the values, the community service, leadership training opportunities and alumni networking a chapter can offer.”

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