This fall Bradley was short of its goal to enroll # freshmen to the class of 2015, but members of InterFraternity Council and the Panhellenic Council are still optimistic about upcoming recruitment.
Due to the fact that there are fewer freshmen in the class of 2015 as there is in the class of 2014, many members of the greek community have been concerned that would effect the number of students interested in fall recruitment.
“I was nervous when I heard that enrollment numbers were down, but our numbers are doing well,” said Panhellenic Recruitment Chair Katie Clemens. “We’ve had about 325 girls sign up and that is about 40 off from where we were last year and we still have a few more weeks left.”
IFC Recruitment Chair Jake Adcock said he was also concerned about effect Bradley’s enrollment would have on IFC recruitment.
“There’s been concern because there are less freshmen on campus,” he said. ”But as of now, I am feeling good about recruitment and we still have a lot of guys interested.”
Adcock said they currently have 209 men signed up and they only need about 80 more to match the 282 guys who signed up for recruitment last year.
To continue to promote the greek community, IFC is hosting a new event that will allow potential new members to hangout with the guys, he said.
“This Friday IFC is going to have a ‘Greek Hangout’ at Markin so those who are interested in going greek can meet and get to know some of the guys and get a feel for fraternity life,” he said.
The event will be hosted in the Markin Center Performance Court from 8-10 p.m. tonight. Three guys from each chapter, a total of 42 guys, will be there to hangout and play bags, video games, poker and dodge ball.
With Greek Hangout, Adcock said he hopes to show those interested or curious about fraternity life what a great community it is to be a part of.
“A lot of opportunities open up when you go greek,” he said. “By joining a fraternity I have gained leadership skills I can use in the future and strong friendships.”
Clemens said Panhel is also making a few changes to recruitment in order to keep retention rates high and to ensure girls are staying a part of the greek community.
“This year, instead of getting a recruitment counselor on the first day of recruitment, girls who have already signed up already know who their recruitment counselor is,” she said. “This is a way for recruitment counselors to touch base with the girls to introduce themselves, answer questions and even meet before recruitment even starts. This way they’ll come into the process less freaked out.”
This is Senior Recruitment Counselor Emily Bowe’s second year being a recruitment counselor and said she thinks that being available to girls before recruitment starts is a great idea.
“This is a really great idea,” she said. “From past experiences and even going through recruitment myself I had a lot of questions and it’s scary to ask questions when you don’t know who to ask. A lot of times this process can be overwhelming for freshmen and transfer students. I think communicating with them ahead of time relieves some of the fears of going through recruitment so they are not blind sighted.”
For more information about joining a fraternity or sorority and signing up for recruitment please visit bradleygreeks.com.
