Across the board, much of Fraternity and Sorority Life choose to prepare for the spring recruitment session during winter term, but some chapters are still offering spots in the rainy season.
The only fraternity officially rushing this term is Delta Tau Delta. The chapter has already handed out many bids to men, and Hao Tan, DTD vice president of recruitment, said the fraternity is not looking for a specific number of people to recruit.
“Our fraternity is about the quality of the pledge class rather than the quantity,” Tan said.
Adam Sharf, Interfraternity Council vice president of recruitment said a few other fraternities are contributing in unofficial recruitment. Sharf also said that a potential new member should contact a fraternity directly if they are interested.
“Winter recruitment is for the freshmen and first years that have already been on campus for a term and will choose the fraternities they will mesh with the best,” Sharf said.
Tan said his fraternity chooses to recruit during the winter because it aligns with the chapter’s initiation week, but winter recruitment also calls for a more detail-oriented enrollment.
“Fall recruitment is for freshmen and sophomores, but winter is a lot more personal,” Tan said. “We are able to give them more time and attention.”
On the sorority side of the spectrum, Panhellenic Council President Tori Ganahl said PHC does not have much to do with winter recruitment. Ganahl said many chapters participate in Continuous Open Bidding, or informal recruitment, throughout winter and the spring terms.
“We have a winter showcase event (hosted by PHC) to showcase all sororities for anyone that wants to come and see what will be going on in late February,” Ganahl said.
Other than the winter showcase, Ganahl said most of Greek Life keeps winter recruitment pretty casual.
“We try to make it more casual than formal recruitment,” Ganahl said. “Anyone can reach out to our PHC recruitment chair at phcrush@uoregon.edu.”
Sharf said a lot of fraternities and IFC itself have been transitioning during winter term in preparation for the wpring, as this recruitment season is “low-key”.
“If people are looking for a fraternity, unless they know who they want to contact, they should wait for spring,” Sharf said.
Sharf said the last couple of weeks of sinter term will also be laying the groundwork for spring term.
“In the weeks up to spring break we will be tabling and social media stuff for spring,” Sharf said. “Spring recruitment is going to be off the walls, and everyone should be excited for it. The first Monday is an IFC sponsored kickoff event that will have pizza and everything.”
Tan said he did not know he would fit into Greek Life until he participated in the recruitment events, which he said offered a variety of free items.
“If you don’t think Greek Life is a good fit for you, it wouldn’t hurt to try it out,” Tan said. “The worst thing that could happen is that you walk out with a free taco.”