Cal Shin

Sorority Recruitment at Dartmouth

Coming into Dartmouth, I remained relatively indifferent to Greek life. Greek life was not on my radar, to the point where I wasn't even aware of its presence before I arrived on campus. Coming from the South, I had certain preconceived notions of Greek life and felt I would not fit the mold of a "typical sorority girl." When I found out that around 50% of eligible students (sophomores, juniors, and seniors) are affiliated (that is, a part of at least one Greek organization on campus), I simply thought, "Oh, I'll just be part of the other 50% that is unaffiliated." 

Greek life at Dartmouth is very different from most schools. Under the Greek Life Council First-Year Harm Reduction Policy (colloquially known as the "frat ban"), first-year students aren't even allowed to enter a Greek space for the first six weeks of their first term. This policy gives first-year students the opportunity to seek friendships through other means, including (but not limited to) dorms, housing communities, First-Year Trips, clubs, and athletics. Secondly, students must wait until their sophomore fall before they can even go through the recruitment process to potentially be part of a Greek organization. This deferred recruitment system gave me the year I needed to settle in, reflect on my values, and find my people. By the end of my first year, I felt confident about myself and the friendships I had made, and knew Greek life wasn't the end-all, be-all. 

It's funny how life works, though. Through my gradual exposure to Greek life, I came to realize the culture here is nothing like the South, which made me more open to the idea of joining a Greek organization. When the sororities under the Inter-Sorority Council (ISC) hosted no-pressure, pre-recruitment events during the spring of my first year, I decided to step out of my comfort zone. I promised myself that I would attend at least one pre-recruitment event for every sorority while keeping an open mind. I told myself if I felt uncomfortable or othered in any of these events, I simply would not go through the actual process during my sophomore fall. Fortunately, I enjoyed the events and getting to know members of all the different chapters. With that in mind, I made the decision to go through the recruitment process.

I can't speak for what the recruitment process is like for other Greek organizations, such as fraternities, gender-inclusive (co-ed) houses, organizations under the National Pan-Hellenic Council, and multicultural organizations. However, I can speak about my experience going through sorority recruitment. Six sororities under the Inter-Sorority Council participated in formal recruitment this year: Alpha Xi Delta, Chi Delta, Kappa Delta, Kappa Delta Epsilon, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Sigma Delta. While some of you may recognize Alpha Xi Delta, Kappa Delta, and Kappa Kappa Gamma as a national sorority present on thousands of college campuses, sororities like Chi Delta, Kappa Delta Epsilon, and Sigma Delta are local, meaning they only exist at Dartmouth. 

Regardless of the national or local status of these sororities, the formal recruitment process remains the same. Sorority recruitment consists of 3 rounds. During Round 1, everyone visits all the chapters participating in formal recruitment over a series of days. Don't worry, everyone gets a schedule, which is flexible if you have commitments/conflicts like classes, work, or athletics. After visiting all the chapters, we ranked the chapters we liked. During Round 2, we could be called anywhere between 0 and 4 chapters. After visiting all the chapters we got called back to, we ranked those chapters again. During Round 3, the final round, we could be called back to anywhere between 0 and 2 chapters. After visiting all the chapters we got called back to, we input our preferences.

One thing I appreciated during sorority recruitment at Dartmouth was the Inter-Sorority Council's efforts toward inclusivity. This may seem counterintuitive; after all, not everyone gets called back to the maximum number of chapters, and some people get released from recruitment entirely. Rather, their efforts towards inclusion were in seemingly small things that made a big difference. I was touched by the ISC's financial aid policy towards recruitment fees (which may be a small amount for some, but not for others), as well as each chapter's transparency towards finances, financial aid, and the improvements they could make to ensure Greek life could be more accessible to all. 

Additionally, there was no "dress code" for recruitment. The only requirement was that we had to wear our nametags (which were provided to us) so that chapter members would know our names. The rough expectation was wearing what you're comfortable with for the first two rounds (pretty casual) while dressing a little more formally for the last one—whatever that meant to us. 

It is quite possible that my perceptions about Greek life could change over time, and I would be remiss not to write more posts about Greek life, as someone who is now affiliated. As of right now, I will say that I am optimistic about where this journey will take me.