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Greek Life
A Department of the
Division of Student Affairs

Temporarily Located in:
Milneburg Hall Room 138
2000 Lakeshore Drive
University of New Orleans
New Orleans, LA 70148

(504) 280-6636
Fax: (504) 280-7440

This page will provide you with all the information about Recruitment. Please read everything carefully, as much of the terminology will probably be unfamiliar to you. Also, be sure to visit the Frequently Asked Questions page. If you would like more information about Recruitment before deciding to register, please feel free to contact Caitlyn Galjour, Recruitment Coordinator; Paige Searles, Assistant Recruitment Coordinator; or Liz Schafer, Director of Greek Life.

Sorority Recruitment is a mutual selection process. This means that throughout the week of Recruitment, sororities will make decisions about which Potential New Members they are most interested in inviting to membership, and PNMs will make decisions about which sororities they are most interested in joining.

Requirements for Recruitment

The University of New Orleans requires that women who wish to register for Panhellenic Recruitment must be enrolled in at least 12 semester hours at UNO and have a grade point average of at least 2.0 from high school or from previous college work. However, the individual sororities all require higher GPAs for membership; the minimum acceptable GPA among our sororities is 2.5.

Registering for Recruitment

You must register in order to participate in Recruitment. Registration requires a $20 fee, which is used primarily for 2 things: to offset the cost of renting university space during overtime hours for Recruitment events and for a Panhellenic t-shirt for Potential New Members (that's you!). We strongly encourage you to register online. Online registration allows you to pay with a credit card, debit card, or electronic check. Please register as early as possible so we can process your application quickly. Registration is available until September 12, but we encourage you to register as soon as possible.

2009 Recruitment Schedule

Recruitment is designed to allow flexibility for the potential new members and the sorority women. Though we encourage potential members to attend all events, we understand that work and class schedules may make that impossible.

Recruitment Orientation (Choose ONE to attend):
Dates and Locations TBA

Open House Round (Choose ONE to attend):
Wednesday, September 9
OR
Thursday, September 10, 7- 9 p.m.
Meet in Alumni Center Lobby at 6:30 p.m.

Philanthropy Round
Saturday, September 12, 2 - 5 p.m.,
Meet in Milneburg Hall 319 at 1:30 p.m.
NOTE: Students may register for Recruitment until 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 12. If you have friends who are interested in participating, they may register on the spot until Philanthropy events begin.

Sorority Values Round - Delta Zeta and Zeta Tau Alpha
Tuesday, September 15, 7 - 8:30 p.m.
Meet in HPC Lobby at 6:30

Sorority Values Round - Alpha Xi Delta and Sigma Kappa
Wednesday, September 16, 7 - 8:30 p.m.
Meet in HPC Lobby at 6:30

Preference Round
Friday, September 18, 6 - 8:30 p.m.
Meet in Milneburg Hall 319 at 5:30

Saturday, September 19 - Bid Day, 10 a.m., Meet in Milneburg Hall Lobby

Note - To be invited to Preference Round, PNMs choose one of the following Attendance Options:

Option 1 - 1 Recruitment Orientation, 1 Open House Round, and Philanthropy Round
Option 2 - 1 Recruitment Orientation, 1 Open House Round, and both nights of Sorority Values Round
Option 3 - 1 Recruitment Orientation, Philanthropy Round, and both nights of Sorority Values Round

Special Panhellenic Sorority Recruitment Terminology

Alumna - A member of a sorority who is no longer an undergraduate. Plural: Alumnae.

Bid - An invitation to membership into a sorority. During Recruitment bids are extended on "Bid Day," the last day of the process.

Chapter - A chartered undergraduate or alumnae unit of a national sorority.

Legacy - A potential new member who has a close relative (usually parent, grandparent, or sibling) who is an initated member of a particular sorority.

Membership Recruitment Acceptance Binding Agreement (also known as "Preference Card") - A document each potential new member completes immediately following the Preference Round of parties stating her membership preferences. The potential new member ranks the sororities she would accept a bid from, listing the one which she mosts wants to join first and the other(s) in preferential order. This is a binding agreement, stating that the potential new member is willing to accept a bid from any sorority she lists.

New Member - A woman who has accepted a bid from a sorority but not yet been initiated into full membership by that group.

Potential New Member (PNM) - A woman who is interested in becoming a member of a sorority.

Recommendation ("Rec") - A written letter or statement, usually from an alumna of a sorority, recommending a potential new member for membership.

Round - A group of events held during Recruitment.

Sigma Rho Chi (Sorority Recruitment Counselor) - A neutral representative of the Panhellenic Association who temporarily leaves her sorority to guide and support potential new members through Recruitment. The Sorority Recruitment Counselors' most important function is to answer questions and address the concerns of PNMs about Recruitment and sorority life.

The 2009 Sigma Rho Chis are the Panhellenic Officers: President Marie Albares, Vice President Kelsey Murray, Secretary/Treasurer Leslie Justice, Recruitment Coordinator Caitlyn Galjour, and Assistant Recruitment Coordinator Paige Searles.

PNMs will meet their Sigma Rho Chis at Potential New Member Orientation, but feel free to contact one of them now if you have questions.

Silence Periods - Periods of time during which sororirty women and alumnae are allowed limited or no communication with Potential New Members. Silence periods relieve PNMs from undo pressure from chapters and allow them the opportunity to make sound decisions about sorority membership.

Pre-Recruitment Silence begins at the first summer freshman New Student Orientation session and runs until Recruitment begins. During this time sorority women encourage women to register for Recruitment, but they do not recruit for their individual chapters.

Recruitment Silence begins with the Open Houses and ends following Preference events. During this time sorority women may not entertain Potential New Members outside of recruitment events.

Strict Silence is the period from the end of Preference through the distribution of bids on Bid Day, during which no sorority woman or alumna may communicate in any way with a Potential New Member.

Sister - A term used to refer to another member of one's sorority.

Membership Recruitment Guidelines for Potential Members

1. A woman is not eligible for membership recruitment if she is, or ever has been, an initiated member of a National Panhellenic Conference group.

2. A woman is not eligible for Recruitment if she has been a new member of a National Panhellenic Conference group at the University of New Orleans within the last calendar year.

3. Potential Members shall attend Recruitment Orientation and all parties to which they have accepted invitations. Potential Members unable to attend events must contact a Recruitment Counselor, the Panhellenic Recruitment Coordinator, or the Director of Greek Life in advance. The Panhellenic Recruitment Coordinator will be responsible for determining excused and unexcused absences of a potential member.

4. The Panhellenic Council will furnish potential member nametags, and potential members must wear them at all membership recruitment functions. The potential members will wear no other nametags.

5. A potential member shall not give a promise, verbal or written, to join a certain fraternity before formal bids are issued through the Panhellenic Council.

6. Potential members shall fill out Membership Recruitment Acceptance Binding Agreements immediately after the final Preference Round parties. Once a Membership Recruitment Acceptance Binding Agreement has been signed, no changes may be made.

7. Any woman signing a Membership Recruitment Acceptance Binding Agreement and receiving a bid at the end of Formal Recruitment shall be bound by the agreement for one calendar year.

Potential New Members' Bill of Rights

Every person going through Recruitment has:
-The right to be treated as an individual.
-The right to be fully informed about the Recruitment process.
-The right to ask questions and receive true and objective answers from Recruitment Counselors and members.
-The right to be treated with respect.
-The right to ask how and why and receive straight answers.
-The right to have and express opinions to Recruitment Counselors.
-The right to have inviolable confidentiality when sharing information with Recruitment Counselors.
-The right to make informed choices without undue pressure from others.
-The to make ones own choice and decision and accept full responsibility for the results of the decision.
-The right to have a positive, safe and enriching Recruitment and pledging experience.
(Adopted at the 1989 Biennial Session of the National Panhellenic Conference)

Don't forget to check out the Frequently Asked Questions page
for more information about Recruitment!