Sixty-one women began their journey toward becoming members of Baker University’s greek community last week. The men will be accepting invitations extended from the fraternities today.
Panhellenic Adviser Darcy Russell said 97 women registered for recruitment, however 32 withdrew from the process before receiving bids on Friday.
She said she was curious about the number of women who withdrew, but said she was pleased with the overall results.
“I think that the women in that room getting their bid cards were very excited and happy and that makes me glad,” she said. “Unfortunately, there were (four) women who ended up being really unhappy and that’s hard. I wanted it to be perfect for everyone.”
Russell said Zeta Tau Alpha and Delta Delta Delta sororities extended bids to 19 women, Alpha Chi Omega sorority extended 16 bids and Phi Mu sorority extended seven bids. She said Zeta Tau Alpha and Delta Delta Delta have reached maximum capacity, however Alpha Chi Omega and Phi Mu sororities are now in the continuous open recruitment process.
“Women who are still interested in sorority life can let me know of this interest and I can pass their contact information along to these chapters,” she said.
Russell said 61 women joining sororities this year is within the range it has been for the past three years.
“We think that’s on the high side for a school like us, but Baker has such a long tradition of sororities that I don’t think it’s unusual,” she said.
Ashley Schmidt, president of Alpha Chi Omega, said new members will start a six to eight week process depending on the organization they joined, and learn about the standards, history and the culture of their sorority now that formal recruitment is over.
“This period is for them to learn more about what the house is all about and just sort of become acquainted with the girls in it and the leadership positions and all the other opportunities that come from being in a sorority,” she said.
Michelle Pressgrove, president of Zeta Tau Alpha, said she’s looking forward to a new group of women with different personalities and ideas.
“We all got great girls and we’re really excited for the new year and to get them initiated into our chapters,” she said.
Nate Michel, men’s recruitment vice president, said 43 men showed up Monday to take part in the first night of the men’s formal recruitment.
“In terms of formal recruitment, we’ve had more guys turn up this year than accepted bids last year, so that’s a positive sign,” he said.
Michel said it was hard to gauge how many men participated in the luau held Saturday because it was a come and go event, however he said 55-60 greek members and prospective recruits attended the Royal’s game Friday.
“We would have liked to have seen a little better attendance, but we’re very happy with the turnout we got,” he said. “We just want to get as many men to go through the recruitment process as we can.”
Michel said the men’s recruitment ends today with new members accepting bid cards by stopping by the student development office on the third floor of Harter Union and picking up a T-shirt. He said men who didn’t take part in the process or receive an invitation from their preferred house should still consider joining a fraternity.
“Even after this week is over we still encourage men who are interested in joining a fraternity to go to a fraternity, meet people and consider taking an open bid,” he said.