All students participating in sorority recruitment this weekend can now take the elevator.
The Panhellenic Association scrapped a policy Saturday that prohibited potential new members from using elevators in the Marvin Center during recruitment. Panhellenic Association President Izzy Griffith said the change will allow potential new members, especially individuals who are injured or have a physical disability, to feel more comfortable during recruitment, which runs through Wednesday.
“We’d rather just have everyone who comes in and out of the Marvin Center feel as comfortable with us and our process,” she said.
Griffith said potential new members were previously required to take the stairs while sisters could ride elevators to avoid conversation between the groups outside of the formal recruitment parties. Potential new members and sisters are separated during the recruitment process outside of each sorority’s room to minimize the risk that a sister will promise a potential new member a bid, she said.
She added that potential new members typically have about 10 minutes between sessions with various chapters, so taking the stairs is a faster way to travel because elevators are packed and delayed during recruitment.
Former Panhellenic Association President Elizabeth Jessup, whose term ended in December but will act as president during recruitment, said she and Ashley Ann Renz, the Panhellenic Association’s vice president of recruitment, emphasized during recruitment orientation that students are “absolutely allowed to use the elevator if they need to.”
Jessup said she received an email from a student Friday expressing concerns over the “exclusionary implications” about signs posted near elevators in the Marvin Center that stated only sisters are allowed to use the elevator. She said the organization also removed the signs because it could affect individuals who are not involved with recruitment.
She said the Panhellenic Association does not plan to monitor the elevators, and any issue that arises between potential new members and sisters will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
“We hope that this change will make PNMs feel more comfortable using the elevator if they need to while also eliminating the potential for any hurt to be caused by our recruitment signs,” she said in an email.
