Women in sororities now can wear their Greek letters during recruitment.
In the past, sorority members had to disassociate and remain neutral as to not influence women going through recruitment. Recruitment usually lasts from early April to August, which is five months when the women must abstain from wearing shirts, sweaters, jackets, and anything with their Greek letters.
The perception was that this rule allowed the most open opportunity for potential new sorority members, said Levi Harrel, assistant director of student development and Panhellenic adviser.
“The former way of thinking was that it allowed them to answer questions for potential new members or women who are new to the university going through the process in a more fair and unbiased manner,” Harrel said.
The rule was changed to match trends taking place nationwide for years, he said.
“It was inauthentic,” Harrel said. “Our members couldn’t post pictures on Facebook if they were wearing their organization’s letters. They couldn’t be completely themselves and so we’re asking young women to join a system, but they actually haven’t met these women yet.”
The real motivation during recruitment is to get new women to consider all their options and keep an open mind to be placed in the best house for them, he said.
Madelaine Heigele, vocal performance sophomore, said she thinks this is a positive change.
“I am honestly so happy about that change,” she said. “Mainly because most of my T-shirts are Alpha Phi shirts, but also because I feel like we can show our pride in our sorority as well as Pan.”
Pan is short for Panhellenic Council, which represents all sororities on campus.
The Panhellenic Council voted to rule out neutrality during the Jan. 29 meeting, according to the meeting’s minutes on OrgSync.com.
Three members from Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Phi and Gamma Phi Beta sororities, and two members from Phi Mu sorority voted unanimously.
The new policy will go into effect for formal recruitment in 2016.
The Rho Gammas, who usually guide women through recruitment, still will not be allowed to wear letters.
“Our Rho Gammas are still disassociated, but they have hours upon hours of direct interaction with the women,” Harrel said.
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