Posted Tuesday, July 25, 8: 51 p.m.

Members of sororities are being required to conceal personal information on the social networking database Facebook during the recruitment process.

The Panhellenic Association, which oversees eight sororities on campus, is requiring all members of a sorority to set their Facebook profiles so that visitors to the site can not view them. A GW student registered with Facebook can view the profiles of other GW students, however students can choose to make their profiles accessible only to select people, or to keep them private.

“It is now a Panhellenic rule that within a certain time period before the recruitment of new members to sororities, Facebook profiles are to be kept private” Delta Gamma President Jamie Gustafson wrote in an e-mail.

Members of Greek-letter organizations said the goal is to prevent contact between potential new members and the already initiated members of sororities, a practice otherwise known as “dirty rushing.”

“It is important that women going through the recruitment process make decisions based upon their individual experiences and that they have access to unbiased support and perspective from Panhellenic women,” said Panhellenic Association President April Black, a senior.

These rules are outlined in the Recruitment Manual for 2006 and were passed unanimously by each of the eight sororities under the Panhellenic Association in April.