Process extended to two weeks
USC’s sorority rush grew both in length and number of rushees in 2011.
Formerly a weeklong process, recruitment is now entering week two — it began Aug. 14 and will end with the jubilant festivities of bid day Sunday. And this year’s class of 1,357 women shatters all records for sorority recruitment.
Though this year’s record-breaking freshman class size of 4,550 brought an equally staggering amount of women wishing to join a sorority at USC, the decision to extend rush, as it is more commonly called, was made in February before regular decision acceptance letters were even sent out to the class of 2015.
“In past years, Days 1 and 2 of recruitment were so long and stressful that we decided to split them each into two days,” said Ellen Searles, vice president of recruitment for Sorority Council.
Instead of showcasing all 10 USC sororities housed in the Greek Village in one day, as has been procedure in the past, Round 1 of recruitment has been restructured to spread house visits out over a two-day period, during which recruits will visit each of the 10 sorority houses to learn about the academic values and successes of the chapters.
“Last year, a lot of people got worn out by the time they got to the last few houses and were so tired that they didn’t want to be there,” said Searles, a fourth-year exercise student.
Katie Spell, assistant director of Greek Programming, said potential new members will visit only five houses each day, allowing them more time to get their books, set up their rooms and focus on academics during the first few days of classes.
“In the past, a lot of girls got wrapped up in recruitment and didn’t even get to see any other parts of campus in their first few days,” Spell said.
Round 2 of recruitment has also been extended to two days this year. Similar to the first round, recruits spend two days visiting up to seven sorority houses of their choice for 35 minutes each, during which the current members of each sorority perform skits to illustrate chapter values.
Though an easier process than last year’s, the unexpected growth that sorority recruitment experienced did cause a few minor headaches.
“We did underestimate the amount of girls there would be, so we had to make some minor adjustments like ordering more goodies — T-shirts, bags, etc. — at the last minute,” Searles said.
Registration for sorority recruitment remained open between May 16 and Aug. 13, the day before recruitment orientation began. Once registration closed, 200 more women than last year had already registered. Many, like Spell, see the large growth in sorority recruitment as a positive reflection upon USC’s sororities.
“I was surprised at the growth, but I think it shows that the chapters have built up great reputations by doing good things around campus, which make people want to be a part of it,” Spell said. “It’s not only freshmen who are registering, either; sophomores and juniors are trying to join, too.”
The extension of the recruitment period is a milestone for USC sororities. Every chapter on campus, the Sorority Council and national chapter representatives had to be involved in the decision to extend the recruitment period, which was made at a national conference this February in Atlanta.
Spell and the rest of the Greek Life staff said they are very proud of the work that students have done to make the change as well.
“Our numbers have been exploding, so it was clear that it was time to do something different,” Spell said. “It is really cool to see students able to make such a big change that will stay for years to come.”