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By CASSIDI HINSON / Social Media Editor
Photo by: CASSIDI HINSON
COVID-19 will not be canceling Greek recruitment this semester. Fraternities and Sororities at Barton have done Greek recruitment a certain way for years, but with the recent rules and regulations put in place, they are having to adjust with the times.
There are a total of three fraternities and two sororities at Barton College. The Fraternities on campus are Alpha Sigma Phi, Pi Kappa Phi and Sigma Phi Epsilon. The sororities are Delta Zeta and Tri Sigma. The representatives from some of these organizations were able to shed light on the differences in this upcoming recruitment season.
The Pi Kappa Phi fraternity plans to use a variety of new recruitment techniques this semester.
“As far as the plans for recruitment are concerned, we will be having all of our recruitment events in both an in-person and virtual form. For example, for the events we do have planned we are trying to incorporate the social distancing guidelines. We are trying to do outside recruitment events like kickball, so it’s fun and also safe. Another way we have been trying to recruit is by simply talking to be around campus in the cafe, center campus, and class,” said Pi Kappa Phi Vice President Shawn Owens.
The Delta Zeta Sorority is still waiting for information from the upper levels of the organization.
“The recruitment ‘squad’ for Panhellenic met last night and talked about three possible plans for recruitment. The actual decisions from that meeting have not been announced yet even to our advisors. The plan that will be carried out depends on what the college’s rules and expectations.We will have to have some kind of hybrid recruitment and virtual aspects in recruitment,” said Delta Zeta President Madison Hinnant.
Alpha Sigma Phi is still researching and developing new strategies for recruitment.
“As of right now, we do not have any events due to the concern around social gatherings currently. We are trying to find a safe and fun way to find new members for our new recruiting class,” said Alpha Sigma Phi Vice President Jason Fence.
Tri Sigma plans to focus on recruitment and follow the recruitment rules.
“We are following the national Panhellenic rules and guidelines while also trying to abide by Barton’s rules during recruitment. We are hoping to do partially in person and partially zoom recruitment. We also want to have a Zoom option for women and sisters who aren’t comfortable with attending in-person events. Tri Sigma is prepared no matter what, whether it’s in person, fully on Zoom, or if it’s a hybrid of both options. We just want to make everyone feel comfortable,” Tri Sigma President Sydney Gillispie
A mix of emotions and uncertainty is running high, but the Greek organizations plan to move ahead at full speed and are taking the recent changes in stride.
“I am both excited and nervous about upcoming recruitment. Just because I know it is going to be a lot different than it has been in the past years. Regardless there will still be recruitment, it usually happens the last week of September, but we have discussed moving it back a week. So that would push it into the last couple of days running into the first couple of days in October. Decisions still have to be made and discussed before anything is finalized,” said Hinnant.
Barton College’s smaller campus and student body size, has been working in the favor of some of the Greek organizations.
“We have such a small chapter, with only seven of us, so we have an advantage as far as social distancing and maintaining small groups go. Most of the guidelines require us to have 10 people or less in gatherings, so we can have events without breaking the rules,” said Owens.
Recruitment is going to look a lot different than it has in past years, but will essentially have the same effect.
“We are excited about recruitment but we are a little anxious just because we don’t know what exactly is going to happen or how recruitment is going to look like with the changes happening or how it will affect recruitment numbers,” said Gillispie.
Some of the Greek organizations including Alpha Sigma Phi are looking at the option of splitting up recruitment.
“We are looking into having either a more selective recruiting class or a group that is split up into two separate groups who could meet online when the others are face to face receiving the educational section of recruitment,” said Fence.
Recruitment is still scheduled to happen for now; however, following the safety precautions put in place and proper social distancing are a must for those planning to go through recruitment. The fraternities and sororities have all developed strategies and rules to ensure that these measures are followed and all those participating in recruitment will have a safe experience.
“All members of Delta Zeta will be wearing masks during recruitment and maintaining the six feet part social distancing. If we hold any events inside, most likely it will be grouped with five sisters and five potential new members for each group. One idea thrown around in discussions was possibly having recruitment events in Hines and using different rooms. If we do it outside, we plan to socially distance ourselves and split our chapter into smaller groups to follow the rules in place,” said Hinnant.
The common denominator among all of the Greek organizations is the necessity of following safety measures during events.
“Tri Sigma will be wearing masks, that’s the number one rule, and doing social distancing according to the guidelines. We are trying to do some events outside, so we are out in the open and have room to properly social distance during recruitment. With our previous recruitment party, we did it outside and had two different clusters, which allowed for smaller groups and less crowding,” said Gillispie.
All of the greek organizations plan to follow the guidelines to the best of their abilities. Safety is paramount.
Recruitment dates are still undetermined but will be released once the sororities and fraternities have finalized their plans.
