It's all Greek to Me

I have decided to go Greek my sophomore year and I am so happy about it! I signed up to do formal rush my freshman year of high school because my friend talked me into it, but I couldn’t really see myself being in Greek Life. A lot of things happened and I decided not to go through with it. A little bit after I found out I was sick, one of my friends I made who was in a sorority really helped me out the two weeks I went back to school. Her whole sorority was nice and kind to me. They decorated my door with this big sign that read “Don’t let Ovarian Cancer Dull Your Sparkle”. They also teamed up with a fraternity and they through me a surprise party. They made signs and letters that read Hope. The fraternity also sang the song Just the Way You Are to me. It was very nice and made me feel amazing. I just remember thinking after that day how those girls treated me so well and I wasn’t even one of their sisters. Just imagine if I was. I knew at that moment I had to Go Greek. I wanted to be a part of this amazing organization that does things like this all of the time. I wanted to be a part of the sisterhood and gain the everlasting friendships. I also was only at school for a month my freshman year so I don’t really know anyone and this is an excellent way to get involved.

            Formal Recruitment is the first two weekends of school it has 5 rounds. The first round is split up into 2 days and it is where you meet the Greeks. I believe there are 13 sororities so over the first two days you go and meet with each chapter and talk to them and get to know what they are all about. The second round, which is the third day, is called sisterhood round. I do not know exactly what this round is all about, but I am assuming you get to learn what the chapters do together for fun and out in the community. Also how they bound. The third round, fourth day, is called Philanthropy Round. Every sorority has a national, and sometimes local, Philanthropy that they raise money and donate too. Some of the examples on campus are: Service for Sight, Autism Awareness, Make a Wish Foundation…just to name a few. So for this round you get to see what each chapters Philanthropy is and how they raise money and get involved to help support it. The fourth round, fifth day, is called Preference round which is also known as Pref Parties. This day is a lot more serious and formal. You need to dress nice and look presentable. This is where you meet with the chapters and have a more in depth conversation with the girls and their chapter. I am not too sure about the specifics, this is just stuff I have read online. The Fifth round and final day is called Bid Day. This is where you get a bid from a chapter and you get to meet your new sisters. All of these rounds lead up to this day and it is very exciting. I am going to blog about my experience so I will make sure to write about every single day!

Normally, you would go through each round inside the chapter’s house on campus, however all of our Greek Houses got torn down last year. We are in the process of getting brand new houses built and they will be ready by next fall. Fall recruitment next year will be held inside the sorority houses. This year, they’re inside our Student Union on campus.

New Greek Houses

            The girls who are going through recruitment are called PNMs (Potential New Members). Every PNM has a group of ladies called Rho Gammas. Rho Gammas could be called something different depending on your school. At BGSU, you have 3-4 Rho Gammas. A Rho Gamma is someone who disaffiliates with their sorority to help others find their new home (sorority). It takes a lot to be a Rho Gamma because you can’t talk or do anything with your sorority until Recruitment is over. I LOVE my RGs and already can tell they are going to help me out a lot. They have already given us a guide on what to wear for each night of recruitment and have helped answer some of my questions I have had about the whole process. Rho Gammas are also not allowed to be biased so when you go through recruitment, you will be able to talk to them if you are having trouble picking out what sorority you want to join.

I am so excited for this process to start and I can’t wait to find my new home in a few month