Unaffiliated upperclassmen have heard the chants on North Campus and shielded their eyes (or maybe not) from the streakers down South. They’ve struggled to master a new alphabet, meanwhile making a mental note of new adoptions and weddings that will soon take place. Every year, some make the decision to perch in front of dorm windows and news feeds to watch the new families form, while others venture out to Preview and Sunday Night Dinners, driven by curiosity, existing friendships or the desire to start something new.
Communication sophomore Sofia Riffaud said that she knew girls in all 12 sorority houses before donning her PNM shirt and touring them all. She said she decided to go through formal recruitment, rather than participating in Continuous Open Bidding, or COB, because she wanted to see all of the houses and disregard all of the stereotypes she has heard about them over the past year and a half — while avoiding biases from her friends.
“One thing that surprised me, by all of the houses, was that all of those associations just melted away,” said Riffaud, a new Delta Gamma. “I saw each girl as an individual instead of just seeing letters on sweatshirts and bags.”
Another Greek hopeful who strived to surmount the stereotypes is Weinberg sophomore Kit Riehle. After going on two Alternative Student Break trips with a close-knit group of students – half of which are Greek – she began to recognize a harmony between not only affiliated and unaffiliated students, but also among those belonging to different houses. She said that by accepting her bid from Delta Zeta, she will not lose the sense of community that she has found in other campus groups.
“I already have an identity established here, so joining a sorority wasn’t contingent on who I’d become,” Riehle said.
Riffaud, Riehle and Medill sophomore Megan Joyce all said that they joined sororities to broaden their friendships, rather than restrict them to the walls of a certain house. Joyce did COB for Chi Omega after the social chair invited her to learn about their chapter over coffee at Panera Bread. During her freshman year, she dropped out of formal recruitment on Sunday after having doubts about whether or not she wanted to make the commitment.
“Recruitment happens really fast, and it’s all a whirlwind,” Joyce said. “As a sophomore, I had all summer to think about it.”
Meanwhile, up North, potential new members weren’t lined up in perfect rows adorned with lanyard name tags. And although many sophomore guys who rushed listed reasons similar to those of their future pregame partners, they tended to join frats to be with their friends in addition to making new ones – whether they be freshmen or sophomores.
“Freshman Fall Quarter, I didn’t have a clue what was going on with rush. It didn’t appeal to me,” said McCormick sophomore John Taseff. “But some of the guys who had joined Delta Chi couldn’t stop talking about how cool it was.”
When Taseff showed his roommate, McCormick sophomore Aaron Frank, his DX bid letter after fall COB, Frank said he was unaware that Taseff had even considered rushing. He said that he chose to join Phi Delt after that for his own reasons.
Taseff and Frank said they felt entirely comfortable during the rush process, while other sophomores had some anxiety; however, it faded quickly as they got to know their fellow brothers by attending events.
“I thought it would be weird, because I was a Peer Adviser, and some of my PA kids were rushing with me,” said McCormick sophomore Neil Mehta, who rushed Sigma Chi. “But I realized that they’re pretty much the same age.”
Both genders recognized the opportunity to be somewhat of a leader within their new pledge classes. Since her initiation in November, Joyce has become a new member educator as well as a part of the Chi Omega Sisterhood Support Team, while others provide more informal guidance.
“I didn’t have the nervous, deer-in-headlights feeling,” Riffaud said. “I felt like I could help out the girls, walking east in the Quad and asking, ‘Where’s Zeta?’”
Despite their ability to give advice to their new, younger brothers and sisters, all six sophomores said that ultimately, they feel like equals.
“We didn’t know where we would end up, and we didn’t really know how the whole process would go,” Riehle said, “But we were all exhausted together by the end.”