Six Sororities, Seven Fraternities, One Professional Business Fraternity, Three Multi-Cultural Organizations
Monmouth University’s Greek community continues to rise in numbers as spring semester recruitment begins with “Meet the Greeks” held on Tuesday, Jan. 19, the first day of classes. The event gave students interested in Greek life a to meet all of the organizations that Monmouth has to offer.
“Meet the Greeks is a great place for students interested in joining an organization to come together and learn about the 17 organizations we currently have on campus. While we share the values of leadership, scholarship, service, and fellowship, each organization has something unique to offer the student body. It is important for prospective members to learn about these differences and see where their values align,” said Michele Kaplan, Assistant Director of Student Activities for Fraternity and Sorority Life.
Each Greek organization brings something unique to the community in hopes that potential new members are enticed to be a part of the diversity. The Greek Senate forms the central governing council for all fraternal organizations. It is made up of all chapter presidents and presidents of the Inter-fraternity Council (IFC), Multicultural and Professional Greek Council (MPGC), and the Panhellenic Council (PHC). Each council oversees the men and women of the 17 respective organizations.
“It’s great to see so many young women and men come out and meet Monmouth’s Greek Community. Chapters love their new members because they bring fresh ideas and energy,” said Gina Crowell, Panhellenic Vice President of Recruitment.
The Panhellenic Council is starting off this semester with its annual formal recruitment weekend, which takes places from Friday, Feb. 5 to Monday, Feb. 8. There are six Panhellenic sororities on campus including Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Sigma Tau, Alpha Xi Delta, Delta Phi Epsilon, Phi Sigma Sigma, and Zeta Tau Alpha.
Recruitment weekend is a three day event for all female potential new members who signed up for Panhellenic recruitment to have the opportunity to meet and learn from each sorority in hopes of becoming a member of one of the six organizations. On the first day of Panhellenic recruitment, every potential new member [PNM] visits six rooms, each holding an organization and its members. This is the first impression an organization makes on the PNMs and is a day of introductions and passing of knowledge. After the first day, each PNM fills out a ranking list on a computer that helps select the rooms they visit on day two, which is a maximum of four. The second day of recruitment is recognized as “Philanthropy Day.”
This is the day in which each organization shows the PNMs that return to their room what their organization’s respective philanthropy is, what it benefits, why and how it is important to that specific organization.
Philanthropy day shows the PNMs what each organization values, as well as displaying one of the many positive aspects being a part of Greek life entails.
The third and final day of formal recruitment is called “Preference Day.” Similar to after the first day, PNMs use the computer system to rank the sororities, and the sororities do the same, leaving up to two possible rooms for the PNMs to visit. This third day is considered to be the most important day of the entire weekend because the PNMs and organizations go more in depth with each other in terms of getting to know one another, especially since the women you meet could be your future sorority sisters.
After the final day is over and all computer rankings are submitted, each PNM may or may not match up with one of the sororities and depending upon the results, they may or may not receive what is called a “bid.” A “bid” is a formal invitation to join an organization and become an initiated member. The bid day celebration takes place in Wilson Hall on the following day. At this time, all potential new members who receive and accept their bids are able to embrace their new sisterhoods. Upon accepting their bids, new members begin a six week new member process to become initiated members of their organizations and immediately immerse themselves in the Greek community.
Monmouth’s Greek life presence continues to grow in fraternities as well, including multi-cultural and professional organizations as well. The seven fraternities are Delta Tau Delta, Phi Kappa Psi, Sigma Pi, Sigma Tau Gamma, Tau Delta Phi, and Tau Kappa Epsilon, and Theta Xi. There are three multi-cultural organizations: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc., and Lambda Theta Phi. Alpha Kappa Psi is a co-ed professional business fraternity.
Each of these organizations goes through a different process than the Panhellenic organizations that may include a “round robin” to meet PNMS and interviews, but all of them extend bids and hold a new member process in order to initiate their new members into Greek life. Numbers in the community continue to increase, as more non-affiliated students are encouraged to attend Greek life info sessions, events, and partake in recruitment.
If interested in joining a Panhellenic sorority, it is necessary to fill out the registration form on the following link: www.monmouth.edu/university/recruitment-and-registration.aspx.
If interested in any other organization, contact Michele Kaplan at mkaplan@monmouth.edu.
