As the new semester begins, new opportunities for students to get involved on campus, meet new friends and make more of a home at UND arise. One of those opportunities being Greek Life Spring Recruitment. For students who were unable to or were unsure of Greek life in the fall or are just looking to find something new, spring recruitment offers another opportunity for those of interest.
“Spring recruitment offers a shorter and more relaxed way for students to explore Greek life and determine if it is the right option for them,” said VP of Membership for Kappa Alpha Theta, Kamryn Pehl.
The spring recruitment process began this past January with a “Meet the Sororities Event”, hosted at the Memorial Union. Here all students were welcomed to come meet each sorority chapter participating in spring recruitment on campus, learn a little bit more about each of them and their values and get an overall feel for what may be their best fit.
Each Sorority chapter also hosts an event at their chapter house or meeting space where potential new members (PNMs) are invited to come see their house, learn more about chapter in a more personable setting.
“The process of spring recruitment was really fun, I was able to attend both the Meet the Sororities event and the open house events, where I got to learn about each chapter and what would be a great fit for me,” said Fr. Brooke Siekkinen.
The reasons one might want to join Greek life varies between each individual’s wants and needs. However, some key reasons remain the same across the board. Getting more involved on campus, finding a community and making new friends and connections.
“I wanted to participate in spring recruitment because after being on campus for a semester, I realized how important being involved in my community is to me,” said Siekkinen. “I wanted to find a place where I could be myself, build genuine friendships, grow personally and give back to my community.”
Fraternity recruitment will take place during the week of Feb. 2 to 6. Each Fraternity will be planning their own individual events for students of interest to attend to learn more about each chapter and meet their members.
Although fall and spring recruitment follow the same road map, there still are some key differences between the two. The fall offers a more set schedule with longer days, where people are able to go to every house over the span of a few days to truly get a feel for each chapter and build connections. On the other hand, spring recruitment is usually shorter and has one uniform event, followed by each chapter hosting one or two separate open house events. This can offer a more laid back, less stressful way to get involved in Greek life, but comes with the downsides of less time to truly get a feel for each house.
“Because of the shorter time, less events and no guarantee that each chapter will be participating in spring recruitment, fall recruitment is usually a better option for those who really want to go through with recruitment,” said Pehl.
Potential new members are able to attend as many recruitment events as they choose, but one key tip to getting the most out of the experience is to try to attend as many recruitment events as possible from a variety of chapters. This allows PNMs to get a feel for each individual house and find the best fit for their future home away from home and community.
Joining Greek life is not a fit for all but the surge in membership here at UND has shown that it is a strong tightknit community here on campus. This unique opportunity allows students to get involved, make more connections and find their place here at UND.
Sonya Skar is a Dakota Student General Reporter. She can be reached at [email protected].
