More than 1,400 potential new members expected
The number of women registered for sorority recruitment has already broken the record for the third consecutive year, and registration is still open.
The record of 1,377, set last year, was passed on Friday, according to Katie Hambrick, assistant director of Fraternity and Sorority Life. Her original estimate for this year’s total was 1,425, but she believes registration will exceed even that come Thursday at 5 p.m., when registration officially closes.
Hambrick and Sorority Council’s Vice President of Recruitment, Alex Rodbell, have been planning for another record-setting year. More Pi Chis — sorority members who disaffiliate in order to guide potential new members (PNMs) through recruitment — were selected for this year’s formal recruitment. The larger group of Pi Chis will allow for a lower PNM to Pi Chi ratio and enhance the PNMs’ experience, Rodbell said.
The increase in PNMs will mean new member classes with numbers comparable to last year’s average of 111 per sorority. The addition of a new sorority last year, Alpha Gamma Delta, was initially expected to lower this number.
While the group of women going through recruitment will be large, the process is funded completely by the registration fees paid by PNMs. Those who registered before July 1 paid $120, and those who register by the Aug. 1 deadline pay $160.
Recruitment begins Aug. 14 with recruitment orientation, and the first round of events starts the following day.