Every fall, college freshmen move into their new dorms and acclimate to life on campus. Some may try to connect with people in their dorms, memorize routes to classes or figure out the best spots to eat nearby. But for others, fall is for finding a forever family in Greek life.
This year's panhellenic council recruitment began Aug. 26 with an orientation for those who registered before the Aug. 25 deadline. The recruitment process lasted two weeks, ending with bid day on Sept. 7. The people who chose to rush went through seven rounds: orientation, two rounds of meeting with the chapters, values and service, sisterhood, preference and bid day.
For most, taking on two weeks of recruitment and getting used to a new life on a college campus is not easy. Hadley Trueman, a freshman studying strategic leadership and management, is a newly recruited member of Delta Gamma and said the process was a give and take situation.
“Just having a lot of familiar faces, that's good,” she said.
Trueman’s mother was president of Delta Gamma at Louisiana State University and a couple of her hometown friends were also Delta Gamma members.
Trueman said she was influenced to choose Delta Gamma because it felt like home.
“The second I put my bag down on the porch and was about to go in for the first time, I just had one of those gut feelings and I was like, ‘this is it,’” she said.
Now that Trueman has her bid, she said she is most excited to have friends to study and enjoy chapter dinners with.
Similar to Trueman, Kara Carter, a sophomore studying integrated math education, said she was comfortable around the members of Delta Zeta.
“From the first day, something about that house just really clicked, and I can't describe it, I can't put into words, but it was like, I knew I needed to be there,” Carter said.
A plethora of students who participate in sorority rush are freshmen, however, Carter said she didn’t know much about rush the year before.
“My family thought it was just, you know, what social media views it as,” she said. “Then I saw it online and all these philanthropy events...and I saw what (sororities) actually do. The bonds are created, and the friendships are created. I really wanted that, so that's why I signed up.”
To get hyped up before going into houses, Emma Willett, a freshman studying applied nutrition, said her Rho Gamma would play music for the group to jam to.
A Rho Gamma is a current member of a sorority who chooses to put their own chapter aside temporarily to advise those who are going through recruitment. Willet said she saw how sororities at OU brought her older sister, a member of Alpha Gamma Delta, out of her shell.
“It's definitely scary going to all the houses, but I just had the mindset that I'll end up where I need to be,” she said. “So even if I got my list back and I did get dropped out of their house, I was like, it doesn't matter because I'm a super positive person and I try to not let anything get the best of me. I'll end up exactly where I need to be.”
Willett, who got a bid for Sigma Kappa, said she is thrilled to make new connections and explore her new home.
As fun as the process may sound, rush can also be overwhelming and daunting for some. Lily Emch, a freshman studying sociology and criminology, decided to rush just a couple days before recruitment started.
She said rush can be “disheartening” after discovering a chapter may not choose to have a student back. However, after meeting her new sisters in Delta Zeta, Emch said the roadblocks are just part of the process in finding the chapter that fits best.
“Just go for it, even if you have one dress in your closet and you wear barely any makeup,” Emch said. “That's what I did and somehow, here we are.”
Although rush and sorority life may not be for everyone, it provides a family and purpose for those who may be searching for it. Sorority and fraternity rush information can be found on the OU website.
