Oklahoma City University proudly sponsors 6 Greek Organizations – 4 sororities and 2 fraternities. During the week preceding each school year, these organizations hold formal recruitment to find new members. OCU’s recruitment process is risk-free and cost-free until you accept a bid to officially join a group. Because of these low stakes, many students take part in recruitment to simply try it out.
Most notably, senior Lauren Haizlip has gone through the recruitment process every year just for fun. However, after their 3rd recruitment experiences, Lauren was finally ready to take a bid.
When asked to reflect on their previous recruitment experiences, Lauren admits “My first year was horrifying! I had no idea what would happen, and I was so nervous…” but as Lauren grew with age, so did their confidence. “My second year was much more relaxing. I knew the process, and now I knew girls in the house … but this recruitment was my best one.”
Each year, Lauren had similar and yet vastly contrasting experiences in each of the houses. During their first rush, Lauren recalls falling in love with Alpha Chi Omega (AXΩ), so that “when Phi Mu (ΦM) offered me a bid, – I’m not going to lie, my heart dropped.”
After running home on Bid Day, Lauren was still unsure about the sisters of Phi Mu due to lack of connections with the sisters in the house. Feeling slightly excluded and facing some serious health diagnoses, Lauren decided “I didn’t really have room in my life for a sorority.”
The following year, Lauren “figured, since it’s risk-free recruitment, why not!” but still did not accept a bid.
Yet, at last, Lauren found a home in Phi Mu and the pledge class of 2023.
Looking back, “I’m honestly really glad to have taken a bid this year, but I don’t regret never taking a bid before – even though it was Phi Mu every time. I don’t think I would have been receptive to it, and I certainly wouldn’t have been as good a sister as I hope I will be this year.”
Throughout the trials of recruitment over the years, Lauren has taken the famous advice of OCU’s Dean of Students Dr. Levi Harrel-Hallmark and “trusted the process (TTP)” and made sure to “maximize your options.” That doesn’t guarantee a perfect ending as Lauren shares, “I’m still not in love with [Phi Mu] – and that’s okay! What I can say is that all women I met during recruitment loved Phi Mu, all in different ways and for different reasons, and they were proud to be Phi Mu. I can only hope to grow to have the same feelings for my new sisterhood that I saw in those women.”
Lauren is proof that some decisions take time, and that there is no right way to live your college experience. For those still interested in joining a sorority, more about the Continuous Open Bidding process can be found by contacting Ashley Palmer at anpalmer@okcu.edu.
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