An Increase of Incoming Freshmen Leads to Recruitment Revamp

Fall is right around the corner, which means recruitment for Greek organizations will be here in no time. As you know, student enrollment is at an all-time high. The University of Mississippi is finding ways to prepare for the surge of freshmen students, whose class is expected to be one of the largest ever. Many organizations on campus have made changes to accommodate more students. Greek Life is no exception, with Ole Miss Panhellenic, the organization that oversees sorority life, making new changes to sorority recruitment this fall.

 

 Anxiety runs high as girls wait to receive their bids

during last year's sorority recruitment.

Greek Life already has a large presence on campus, with 36 percent of women joining sororities. Recently, Panhellenic has seen more and more women go through formal sorority recruitment. This year, however, is predicted to be drastically larger. 

"This is an increase in projection as we are assuming the amount of incoming students will increase this fall. In Fall 2013, there were 1,394 women who registered for Panhellenic formal recruitment," Jenell Lanski, Greek Life coordinator, said of the recent increase of women participating in recruitment. 

This is leading to an overhaul in the recruitment process for next fall. The amount of sororities visited each day has changed, with new sorority Alpha Delta Pi participating.  Instead of three rounds during recruitment week, you can now expect to see four rounds leading up to Bid Day. Recruitment will last from Sunday to Sunday, with only one day open for to the Honors College convocation. Not only is this an impact for women going through recruitment, but for active sorority women who put in hours and hours preparing for and participating in recruitment week. 

Sorority recruitment chair Molly Harris, a junior here at Ole Miss, spoke on how the increase in women participating will affect sororities and their members. 

 

Molly Harris explains how her job will be impacted by new changes in recruitment.

Along with adjusting to more women participating, Panhellenic is also changing the way sororities promote themselves during recruitment. This is a move toward a "no-frills" recruitment, which would make elaborate decorations and excessive song and dance part of the past.  

"We are moving toward a no-frills recruitment, which would make each round more values-based. Recruitment has changed so much since I was a freshman. There would be ice sculptures and other ridiculous decorations in the houses. It wasn't as long of a process, either. Recruitment would only last from Wednesday to Saturday, with Bid Day on Sunday," Harris said. 

There are some changes that can be considered downsides. Typically, you would visit up to three houses during Preference round, which is the last round before Bid Day. If you wrote down all sororities visited that night during your final ranking session, chances were you would receive a bid the following day. The influx in women participating puts a strain on that usual guarantee, however. Preference round will now only include up to two houses for each woman participating. 

Ashley Olson

Sorority advisor Ashley Olson, an operations manager for facilities planning at Ole Miss, spoke about the new changes. 

"With two houses to choose from on Preference night, there is no longer a mindset that the third house is their last choice. With this, there is now a 20 percent chance you will not get a bid afterwards," Olson explained. 

These changes may seem overwhelming, but the University is working together with the Office of Greek Affairs and Greek organizations to find ways to expand Greek life by accommodating the increasing student body.  

Ashley Olson tells of ways the school and Greek 

organizations are adapting to more students.

Greek Life becoming more popular at Ole Miss is a reminder that joining a Greek organization has great benefits, like a way to get involved on campus and in the community, and networking outside of the University. 

As a business professional, Olson agrees. "Greek Life is not only for college. It's a way for networking when looking for a job. I wouldn't have the job I have now if it weren't for the experience gained and networking through my sorority."