During the first and second weeks of the fall term, Union Sophomores went through the recruitment process for Union’s Fraternities and Sororities. Union currently has 3 Panhellenic Sororities, 6 Interfraternity Council (IFC) Fraternities, 3 Culturally-Based Fraternal Organizations (CBFOs), and 1 service fraternity.
Union is nicknamed the “Mother of Fraternities” because it is the first college or university to create social secret societies for men. The first Greek organizations, nicknamed the “Union Triad,” created at Union are Kappa Alpha Society (1825), Sigma Phi Society (1827) and Delta Phi (1827). These organizations then spread to other colleges and universities, and the first fraternity for women, Kappa Alpha Theta, was founded in 1870 at DePauw university. Union’s first sorority chapter, Sigma Delta Tau, was founded in 1977.
In order to join a Greek organization at Union College, students must have sophomore standing and at least a 2.5 GPA. Union’s CBFOs and service fraternities may also have additional requirements based on chapter, such as a resume.
Union’s Sororities have a structured recruitment process through the Panhellenic council. This allows potential new members (PNMs) to learn about each sorority. The formal recruitment process took place from September 7 to September 11, the first weekend of the academic year.
First, for Panhellenic (sorority) recruitment, PNMs attended a required information session to learn about responsibilities and benefits of being in Fraternity and Sorority Life. Next, there were three rounds of recruitment: open house round, philanthropy round, and preference round. PNMs visited each house for the open house round, two to three houses for the philanthropy round, and one or two houses for the preference round. PNMs were expected to wear casual or dressy clothing depending on each round. For the final day of recruitment, bid day, PNMs receive an invitation to be a member of one of the houses they visited on preference round. The sorority PNMs then ran to chapter specific locations around the Nott Memorial.
Union’s IFC fraternities do not host a formalized recruitment, but many of the houses host their recruitment events around the same time. The PNMs for IFC fraternities can partake in every house’s recruitment events, or only specific houses. This year, the IFC fraternities hosted an information session on Sunday, September 10, and hosted recruitment events from September 11 to September 14, 2023. These varied by chapter, but most consisted of two nights of social events, one night of interviews and house tours, and a bid night. PNMs can receive bids from multiple fraternities, but can only choose one.
Other Greek organizations, the two CBFOs and the service fraternity, host their own recruitment events at various points throughout the year. These typically consist of an information session followed by the new member education process. Students can inquire about how to join these organizations by reaching out to members directly or contacting the Office of Residential Education.
Members of Greek organizations must also pay dues to be a member, which are not included in Union’s comprehensive tuition fee. These fees are disclosed to PNMs during recruitment. Union’s Fraternity and Sorority Life Opportunity Fund provides needs-based grants to students who are in need of financial assistance with their dues. Students can contact the Associate Director for Greek Leadership at [email protected] to inquire about how to apply for the Fund.
Fraternity and Sorority recruitment occurs every fall term, but there are other opportunities to join a Greek organization. Several fraternities have hosted recruitment events in the winter and spring terms, and some sororities host Continuous Open Bidding (COB) in the winter and spring terms. Students can contact individual organizations or [email protected] to inquire about additional recruitment opportunities.
