Chapter houses are welcoming their new members into Greek life on campus as formal rush at Baker comes to an end. With 119 students selected into the various chapter houses, this year’s rush numbers were higher than they have been in over 10 years.

As the numbers stand for the women right now, sororities have added 68 new women to Greek life with Alpha Chi Omega gaining 26 new members, Delta Delta Delta gaining 20 new members and Zeta Tau Alpha with 22.

Assistant Director of Student Life Josh Doak said that this year’s turnout for sorority formal rush week was more than slightly larger than normal.

“We had more women register this year than in the past 10 years with 91 women who registered,” Doak said. “So that was a great number to show interest initially.”

According to Doak, fraternities have also seen a larger applicant turnout than usual.

“There was a much larger interest than we’ve had in the past,” Doak said. “Although those numbers eventually drop off as students decide whether or not it’s for them, we are always excited when we have a large number of men come take house tours and see what Greek life is really about.”

51 men were accepted into fraternity houses, though the numbers change as new members are constantly being recruited. Delta Tau Delta selected 13, Sigma Phi Epsilon added 12 new members, Zeta Chi, 8 and Kappa Sigma, 19.

This year’s rush was a new beginning for more than just the applicants, but was a learning experience for Doak and some members of the PanHellenic Council as well.

“With this being my first year at the institution, it was a lot of me observing how things went, and the women did a great job,” Doak said. “For most of the officers, it was their first time on the council seeing this side of things, so it was a learning year for all of us to just see how it all goes.”

Sophomore Jason Shipps decided to join Zeta Chi fraternity and said the larger turnout did not dissuade him, since he already knew Greek life was something he just had to do.

“To me it’s always been a quintessential part of the college experience, and while everybody is trying to join the fraternities since the fraternities are always throwing the parties, for me, it was more about being a part of something bigger than myself, or to be part of an actual community that I can contribute to,” Shipps said. “It’s really helped me stay on my A game with academics and to become a better community member. It’s a good way to get involved and a good way to meet new people.”

Senior Madison Haefke noted the difference in numbers and said that although she is no longer an active member of Alpha Chi Omega due to her recent marriage, she is excited to see the numbers so high.

“If we keep getting class sizes like this, then we can continue to offer the benefits of the greek system to that many women, such as leadership opportunities and that support system that is so dear to me” Haefke said.

While going Greek may be a good choice for some, Doak and Haefke both say that “it’s not for everyone, and that’s ok,” and encourage everyone, even students not interested in going greek, to spend time networking and connecting with each other.

Haefke would suggest to any student considering looking into greek life to “do it!”

“I think formal recruitment can be very intimidating to some people, so the informal recruitment process or joining a house at semester is more relaxed. There’s no time limit to when you can join, so it gives you an opportunity to go and hang out and see what it’s like, which you really don’t get during formal recruitment since it’s before the semester,” Haefke said.

Looking forward, Doak said he is excited to see this new batch of greek members grow into future leaders, something he says Baker does for its students.

“We have a great group of leaders and a great looking future,” Doak said. “It’s an exciting time to be a part of the office of student life as well as to be a part of fraternity and sorority life.”

For students still interested in checking out life as a Greek, Doak finds that it is never too late and encourages them to get into contact with him or their greek student peers.

“Jump in, connect with us, participate in on campus events, even if you aren’t a greek member, most of our events are open for students to come and participate,” Doak said. “Share the campus experience with us, because greeks are normal students on campus, just like everyone else.”