The Greek Community has recently experienced trends in membership, trends which recruitment leaders say are leading the community in the right direction.
“There is a trend going towards more active members that are well rounded. They were active in high school and want to continue being active in college,” said Betsy Viray, a junior physical therapy major who is also a member of the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority.
Viray is also a member of the Panhellenic Council which consists of representatives from each sorority chapter on campus. As of right now there are four active chapters, the fifth, Alpha Epsilon Phi is still under suspension for allegedly hazing its pledge members last spring. This is Viray’s third year participating in the recruitment process.
The Vice President of Recruitment for Panhellenic Council, Jamie Lynn Maglietta, said that this year sororities and fraternities saw an increase in pledging members.
For example, last year the quota for the sororities was 15 women per chapter. This year, the quota increased to 21 women for the four chapters. Both Delta Phi Epsilon and Delta Zeta were over quota this year by one member, and had to appeal to National Panhellenic Council to admit over the quota limit. Maglietta attributes the increase in interest to marketing and MTV.
“MTV’s ‘Sorority Life’ put Greek life out in the open … it put us on the map,” she said. “The Greek Community at Northeastern is small and it is intriguing to freshmen and transfers.”
Maglietta said that most women join sororities to meet girls and make friends. She also added that a trend this year pointed to more middlers and transfers pledging to sororities.
“We are starting to appeal to older women,” she said. “As people become more active on campus, they come in contact with one another more.”
Jane Sanders, a graduate assistant and program advisor in the Student Activities Office who is currently advising the Greek Community, said that a marketing effort made by both the Interfraternal and Panhellenic Councils really promoted a higher rushing rate this year.
Events such as letters on the quad, a letters and lays barbecue, a softball game pitting IFC and Panhellenic head to head as well as a co-sponsored ice cream social with the Residential Student Association helped to market the Greeks. Maglietta said the ice cream social was so successful on Oct. 14 that the groups went through 11 tubs of J.P. Licks ice cream.
Maglietta said she would like to see more co-sponsorships between the Greeks and other non-affiliated student groups on campus, but there are some stereotypes that must be disproved first.
“Not many organizations want to do events with us. They haven’t really reached out and we haven’t really reached out,” she said. “It looks like we are fine on our own but we have reached out [to other organizations].”
President of IFC Peter Antonellis said the key to this year’s recruiting was to start early and to take a fresh look at the process.
“We looked at rush in a whole different way,” said Antonellis who is also a member of the Kappa Sigma chapter on campus. “Rush numbers increased over last fall. There were a lot of transfers which is good, it adds a certain level of maturity.”
Antonellis, Maglietta and Viray enters a different factor into the mix of college life, and this year could be one of the most exciting years for the Greek Community.
“Greek life gives a balance,” Maglietta said. “Individuals are connected with the Northeastern campus and with a solid group of people.”
Viray agreed.
“I am really excited about the new members, they are great,” she said. “They will bring a lot to the Greek Community.”
Antonellis said that overall he is excited for the upcoming year and pledges.
“I think it is going to be a really good year for the Greeks, I am optimistic,” he said.
