By Taylor Inman, Staff writer
Greek life ramps up into full swing this week as fraternities begin their recruitment process, starting with the kick-off in the Curris Center last Wednesday, where incoming recruits could check out the fraternities Murray State has to offer.
The sororities ended their recruitment process before the semester began, but the fraternities are just getting started. As recruitment week kicks off, a question arises: what does Greek life have to offer Murray State students?
Evan Ditty, coordinator of Greek life at Murray State, said the opportunities that lie in Greek life will benefit incoming recruits exponentially.
“They offer the opportunity to get involved early on in the collegiate experience,” Ditty said. “They offer community and support. These students are going out on their own for the first time and Greek life gives them the chance to meet new people and form a new support system here in college.”
Recruitment week hasn’t seen much change since last year. Ditty has been the head coordinator of Greek life for a little more than a year now and said the numbers have remained the same, but the way students look at Greek life is changing.
“We try not to call it ‘rush week’ anymore,” Ditty said. “Because the term ‘rush’ implies rushing into something and that’s not what the recruitment process should be like for students.”
But from the standpoint of the fraternities, recruitment week is looking a little different this time around.
Both Sigma Pi’s president Michael Mann and Pi Kappa Alpha’s president Craig Lamb said their recruitment week is running smoother than last year simply due to more organization.
Mann explained how being prepared has helped their kick-off to recruitment week be more of a success.
“We’ve done a better job at recruiting through social media,” Mann said. “We blasted the link to register through our Twitter page and Facebook page. Other fraternities reposted it; and Murray State even reposted it a couple of times, so that’s really helped.”
Mann said their numbers are up from last year by 100 men, which Lamb said will be beneficial to Pike’s search for new members.
“Last year we didn’t need as many people,” Lamb said. “It gets into quality versus quantity. But this year we have the opportunity to grow.”
The recruitment week will continue on through Sunday, with fraternities having their “What is” night Thursday, and their “Smoker” nights on Friday and Saturday.
“‘What is’ night is a presentation about what we are as a fraternity,” Mann said. “We get to say ‘This is us and if you like us, come join us, but if not, go join what makes you happy.’”
Lamb said he feels that their “What is” night bears the most weight when convincing recruits to pick Phi Kappa Alpha.
“We have alumni come back; guys who just graduated and have their first job to doctors who explain to the recruits what Phi Kappa Alpha has done in their lives.” Lamb said. “It translates to how this is going to help after college is over.”
The “Smoker” night is a more of a formal event, where recruits can bring dates as the fraternities scout out the men they want in their organization.
“We always say that we’re looking for the ‘most best men’ to join us,” Lamb said.
On bid day, which was Monday evening, 199 men were offered bids. In total, 261 bids were given. Phi Kappa Tau was among the fraternities who welcomed new men into their family, resulting in the chapter doubling its size.