By PEYTON WRIGHT
This week, Colorado College’s three sororities, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta, and Delta Gamma kicked off their annual formal recruitment festivities.
Sorority recruitment at CC differs from the stereotypical process that is often associated with state schools. One notable difference is the amount of time the process takes.
At many big schools, rush is around a week long, and can take up the entirety of each of those days. CC’s recruitment this year is four days in total, beginning on Sept. 24 and lasting until Sept. 27. The time commitment each day is also much shorter, with three hours the first three days and two hours on the final evening. Among the students who choose to participate, most agree that recruitment is still a tiresome event, but they are happy to have gone through with it.
The 11-hour time commitment didn’t scare off Whitney Nagel ’23, who was eager to participate.
Her reasoning was simple: “I had a good group of girls on my rowing team back home,” Nagel said. She went on to explain that she is hoping to make similar friendships in a sorority.
Many first years choose to join Greek life for the opportunity to create new friendships, but others are drawn to CC’s sororities for different reasons. Each sorority is responsible for doing philanthropy work as a chapter, and with large national alumni networks, members often note an increased ability to make connections with leading women in various professional fields after graduation.
Throughout recruitment week, each day has a different focus. Day one involves going to see each house and getting to talk with some members of their chapters. After they’ve seen all three, both the houses and potential new members can submit their preferences, determined by their conversations.
The second day focused specifically on each chapter’s respective philanthropy. Potential new members tend to watch a video or see a presentation about the house’s work, and chat with members about their experiences supporting their specific causes.
Delta Gamma works extensively with the blind and visually impaired, Kappa Kappa Gamma partners with Reading Is Fundamental, and Kappa Alpha Theta works to help Court Appointed Special Advocates.
Day three of recruitment week allows for potential new members to truly get a feel for each house and vice versa. This is when final rankings are made by each participant.
The final day of rush week is called “Bid Day,” where those rushing find out which house they have the opportunity to enter. With the conclusion of recruitment, potential new members learn how they will be inducted into their sorority, or as some members of Greek Life call it, their “forever home.”
Those who do not receive bids or did not participate in formal recruitment are able to take part in an informal recruitment process later in the year, and are also able to rush again formally the next fall.