Early each September at universities across the nation, social sororities and fraternities begin their search for new members, and Shepherd University is no different.
This year in the Blue Gray room, three social sororities here held formal recruitment. 70 women attended the informational meeting.
“My mom did it, and I think I like it for the camaraderie, friends and fun,” Rachel, a freshman here at Shepherd, said. “I wanna make my time count before I leave. I want to leave something behind,” said Annie, a senior. “I want to gain new life long friends, and I think sisterhood makes girls more open-minded,” Stacy, another freshman, said. Each of the girls hoped to score a spot in the Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority.
With so much interest in the Greek life on campus, there is an entire department here at Shepherd dedicated to it. José Moreno is the assistant dean of students for student conduct and Greek affairs. He has been in these position for two years.
“For the week of formal recruitment, two out of three events must be attended,” Moreno said. “Not all potential members were selected; it’s a percentage.” These statements ring true for both sororities and fraternities. The fraternal selection process differs from the formality of their female counterparts.
For 2014, the social fraternities did something different. Instead of holding events and having potential members attend at will, the fraternities gathered in one place so the 20 bid seekers could meet and greet. The formal recruitment of the social sororities reached their quota of 13 new members in each organization. With no set cap, each fraternity gained five new members. “This is great [for the fraternities] because it’s not as structured,” Moreno said.
“If a student wants to be a part of the system, we don’t want to hold them back, Moreno said. Each organization has requirements for entrance. The primary requirement is a 2.75 GPA for first semester students and 2.5 for current or transfer students. The main difference between social and service organizations is that philanthropic groups sponsor the social Greeks.
Greek life is rich at Shepherd University in both service and social organizations.
For more information talk to José Moreno or check out www.shepherd.edu/scccweb/gre
Leave a Reply