Serving soft pretzels and Insomnia cookies, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life hosted a “Meet the Greeks” event for freshmen and Greek organizations. On Sept. 2, 26 Greek organizations gathered at the Oreo for potential new members (PNMs) to learn more about them. This included the fraternities, sororities and multicultural groups on campus. Each chapter decorated a table with its accomplishments, candy and letters, and some even handed out flyers, for interested students to come to the table and talk with them. The Oreo was extremely crowded with sorority and fraternity members and potential new members, each excited to be together again in-person and meet new people face-to-face. 

Students interested in the recruitment process seemed really appreciative about meeting the Greek organizations. A student and her friends, all freshmen looking to rush a Panhellenic sorority, had been going to each sorority table to talk with the sorority members to learn more about them. They were very excited to meet the different chapters. 

“We’ve gotten to hear a little bit about what each sororities’ causes are, like their philanthropy, and one girl told us about the bond she has with the other girls in her chapter,” one of the freshman said. “It’s been good to hear little bits of information to distinguish what sororities stand out to us.” 

All of the friends agreed and were looking forward to talking with other sororities. 

Sorority and fraternity members loved talking with potential new members. 

“We got to know a lot of great PNMs,” said Delia Bartucca, a senior in the panhellenic sorority Alpha Gamma Delta. “Excitement’s been high, we’re so excited to get new members. All the girls have been super friendly.” 

Although sorority and fraternity rush does not officially begin until the spring semester, meeting the PNMs now allows panhellenic and fraternity chapters to get to know the incoming freshmen before the recruitment process begins. As for the multicultural organizations, each chapter has a different recruitment process and can recruit new members this semester. There are seven chapters of multicultural Greek council fraternities and sororities, each for underrepresented students to promote leadership and academic success. 

Overall, the Meet the Greeks event introduced many students to Greek life and allowed chapters to endorse themselves. This was especially important for people to learn about a brand new sorority that just joined the Panhellenic community at Villanova, Gamma Phi Beta. The goal of the Meet the Greeks event was to promote Greek life, to inform students about their presence on campus and to get students involved. The success of Meet the Greeks seems to hopefully foreshadow the amount of participation in the recruitment process across all fraternities and sororities. For more information about Greek life at Villanova, visit the Villanova fraternity and sorority life website and follow the organizations on Instagram. The chapters post regular updates on important events and information about their purpose. It is important for freshmen to learn about the organizations they might be interested in, and Meet the Greeks allowed them to achieve that.