‘Meet the Greeks’ allows candidates to explore the different fraternities
On Tuesday night, Baker University Center's 3rd floor atrium was filled with decorated tables, Greek letters and an abundance of Ralph Lauren Polo's as the Interfraternity Council held their third annual “Meet the Greeks” event.
From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., representatives from 15 of the IFC's 16 fraternity chapters mingled with and recruited potential new members, looking to join a brotherhood. It marked the first day of a two day event held September 2 and 3. The only fraternity unable to participate was Sigma Chi, a new fraternity to Ohio University. Through IFC bylaws, Sigma Chi will not be allowed to recruit members until the formal recruitment process ends September 15. However, the chapters present at the event extended a warm welcome to prospective candidates, explaining to them, first and foremost, about the academic possibilities and values that come with Greek Life, along with the brotherly camaraderie.
Josh Weyler, a senior representative of Beta Kappa, was quick to cheerfully introduce himself to two freshmen, ask about their academic paths, and provide information about the principles, values, job opportunities, and internships fraternity life can help to provide. The pitch he gave would impress any parent, even the most stringent.
“It's a great event to have every (chapter) represented,” said Weyler. “It's a good opportunity for people to get a broad idea of what fraternity life is like and get out name out there.”
Different fraternities at the event stressed different points of interest to attendees. Phi Gamma Delta spoke about the $5000 worth of scholarships they have to offer, while Phi Kappa Tau promoted being one of the oldest fraternities whose chapter never moved off campus. A common bond shared by all 15, though, was their mission to instill the core values of leadership, service, academic, and philanthropy.
“Each organization has their own definition of what these values mean,” said Dom Donofrio, vice president of recruitment for IFC and organizer of the event.
Tuesday marked the 3rd time Meet the Greeks was held. Before the event, recruitment or, colloquially, “rush,” was a much shorter process where potential new members simply signed up on a list and were chosen by different fraternities based on limited experience with candidates. The process is now described by OU IFC's website as “semi-structured,” incorporating events like Meet the Greeks to grant more participation to both the candidates and the fraternities.
“We wanted to create a sense of importance to the process,” Donofrio explained. “We looked to the (Women's Panhellenic Association) for a more systematic approach.”
Tyler White, a fifth year student studying sociology and vice president of service and philanthropy, also helped to organize the event. He was curious to see how both days would go, although, the turnout on day one was magnificent. Candidates and fraternity brother could hardly navigate the packed atrium as they shared information, stories, goals, and potential a future brotherhood.
“I'm a freshmen looking to meet people from outside my high school and make friendships that will last longer than four years,” said Luke Albu, a freshmen studying business, who was shopping through the event for a fraternity that suited him.
Not all fraternities found the event useful. Jonah Yulish, a representative for Alpha Epsilon Pi, a Jewish-interest fraternity, said that the fraternity had already recruited its specific candidates of Jewish faith and saw little opportunity to find any more at the open info session. However, all of the non-niche fraternities saw it as a good chance to introduce themselves to new people.
The event kicks off the short recruitment period for fraternities, much prefer than their sorority counterparts. Recruitment will culminate on Bid Day September 15. Meet the Greeks provided a good first step for potential candidates to see if Greek Life was right for them. As of Tuesday, the IFC has 276 people signed up for recruitment, looking to join the 781 men in fraternities.
“I'm really excited for the turn out of men's Greek Life this year,” concluded Donofrio.
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