The University of Hartford sorority recruitment process has been tweaked this year to maximize the opportunities for students looking to join and for the Greek Life sorority chapters.
In previous years, sorority recruitment ran during the first few weeks of the spring semester. Events usually ran at night during the week, and piling that on top of classes created a very hectic schedule for students.
For many students, it caused schedule conflicts. Instead of maximizing their potentials of meeting with the sisters of a sorority, they’d only get 10 minutes instead of 45 minutes.
Another problem that frequently occurred was having snow days shut down the University for a few days, disrupting recruitment week.
To alleviate all of the craziness, this year’s sorority recruitment will occur just a few days before the spring semester begins. It will run four days from Jan. 14–17.
Classes for the spring semester officially start Tuesday, Jan. 19 with residence halls opening two days before at noon on Sunday, Jan. 17.
This means that for those looking to participate in sorority recruitment that they will have to move in a few days early. Although the University will be mostly closed, meals will be taken care of by Greek Life and there will be no extra charge for students to live in the dorms before it officially opens.
Most of the students that go through sorority recruitment are freshmen, and being that it would be the start of only their second semester, they’re still getting used to being in college, being away from home and finding a group of friends.
Having recruitment a few days before the semester allows for four full days of having their focus only on the recruitment events and the sororities.
“They can actually focus on the importance of joining a sorority like community, philanthropy, sisterhood and leadership, instead of focusing on which sororities party the most or which ones have certain reputations,” University of Hartford Panhellenic Council vice president of recruitment Medina Colaku said.
For many years there were talks of wanting to move the sorority recruitment process to this new format, but it wasn’t until this year that Colaku really pushed forward to make it happen.
When the fall semester began, Colaku first talked to the Panhellenic Council e-board and the sorority chapters to get their approval.
The biggest concern was getting the University to comply with having students move in early since the power to residence buildings is shut down over the winter break.
After talking to assistant vice president for Residential Life Michael Malone, they were able to get resident assistants, public safety and facilities on board to make it happen.
“This is going to sound corny, but you can do anything that you put your mind to,” Colaku said. “Not taking ‘no’ for an answer just because someone is in an authority position or whatnot. Always ask questions, always be able to push your limits because look what can come from it.”
For students that aren’t able to move back early due to prior obligations, there will be continuous open bidding during the semester.
To go through the sorority recruitment process, students must have a 2.50 GPA and have earned at least 12 credits. There will be a $50 charge that is mandated by the National Panhellenic Council and is due by Jan. 14.
Students also have to submit a form online at the Greek Life website on the University of Hartford website.
A sorority recruitment information session was held last Wednesday night in the Gengras Student Union.
Upcoming in a few weeks will be “Meet the Greeks” on Dec. 3 where students looking to join a fraternity or sorority are able to meet the brothers and sisters of various Greek Life chapters. It will be 8 p.m. at the Gengras Student Union in the North café.
For more information, you can contact Colaku at recruitment.uha@gmail.com or visit the Greek Life Office at GSU 120I.