Participation in the Panhellenic Association’s spring recruitment rose by more than 20 percent this year, continuing a yearslong trend of increased sorority recruitment.

A total of 378 students participated in spring 2024 recruitment, an increase from the 311 participants in 2023, according to Assistant Dean of Student Life Brian Joyce. Joyce said 11 sororities offered bids to 266 students this spring, with 260 accepting their offers.

Joyce said Alpha Delta Pi recruited the most new members out of all the chapters with 30 students, followed by Kappa Kappa Gamma with 29 new members, Kappa Delta with 28 and Alpha Epsilon Phi and Sigma Kappa both with 27. Chi Omega and Alpha Phi both recruited 26 new members, while 25 members joined Pi Beta Phi, 23 joined Sigma Delta Tau and 19 joined Kappa Alpha Theta, Joyce said.

Joyce added that the number of potential new members has steadily increased since 2021 when the Panhellenic sororities shifted to a virtual format due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Panhellenic Association did an excellent job marketing for this year’s recruitment process, and they effectively articulated the value of joining a Panhellenic sorority,” Joyce said in an email. “The rise in membership numbers shows that students are interested in engaging in GW’s vibrant student life.”

The number of accepted bids this year increased from 250 last year, 222 in 2022 and decreased from 289 in 2020. The number of participants in recruitment also increased from 275 potential new members in both 2022 and 2021.

Recruitment reached its peak in 2014 when more than 600 students received bids from chapters — two years before the University announced it would be implementing a deferred recruitment policy in 2018 that required students to complete 12 credit hours before joining any Greek letter organization. That year, 481 students accepted bids, which dropped to 460 in 2019 and plummeted to 289 in 2020.

Panhellenic recruitment week consists of four days, or “rounds,” of activities in the University Student Center. Day one began with the values round, where each chapter taught potential new members about their priorities, followed by philanthropy day, where chapters discussed the sorority’s main service initiatives, sisterhood round, where chapters discussed how they foster community, and preference round, when potential new members had deeper conversations with members of their final two desired chapters.

Senior Evelynn Schoenthal, the president of the Panhellenic Association, said she was “pleased” with the outcome of recruitment this year and proud of members for participation throughout the process.

“I’m optimistic about the future of Panhellenic and our chapters at GW given how well this year went,” Schoenthal said in an email. 

Schoenthal said an early start to the opening of recruitment registration and marketing, social media engagement highlighting the members and their accomplishments, and greater financial accessibility increased participation in recruitment this year. She added that Panhellenic granted more recruitment fee waivers than years prior, offered an anonymous Google Form for potential new members to submit concerns related to diversity, equity and inclusion concerns to be addressed promptly, and created a new recruitment DEI coordinator position — filled Jacqueline Garibay — to help with diversity and inclusion efforts.

“Jacqueline’s position was vital to the success of this year’s recruitment,” Schoenthal said in an email. “They opened up a space for continuous discussions and learning within Panhellenic. It also allowed potential new members a resource for all things DEI-related and concerns they otherwise may have been uncomfortable sharing.”

Garibay, a senior, said their role aimed to show people the values-focused side of recruitment and address preconceptions about Greek life being an unwelcoming space.

“Centering DEI in recruitment is another way for Panhel to continue to emphasize values-based recruitment, and create the most inclusive environment possible,” Garibay said in an email.

Garibay said they had DEI trainings with each chapter’s vice presidents in preparation for recruitment, as well as Pi Rho Chis — temporary disaffiliated members of Panhellenic that help guide potential new members through recruitment — and hosted a training session for potential new members. They added that they brought Victoria Alexander, a doctoral student at the University of Maryland whose research relates to race and identity, to speak about DEI in Greek life and becoming anti-racist as a Greek organization.

“I hope that this position can continue to grow and hold more training, bring in more outside speakers, provide more resources, etc,” Garibay said in an email. “I’ve felt a lot of pressure this year to expand the role as much as I can so that the person after me can have as much room to work with as possible, but it’s been a lot of learning how to fit into the overall recruitment process.”

Sophomore Fay Khateeb, the president of Alpha Phi, said her chapter gained “the perfect amount” of new members this year and was lucky to gain new members with unique personalities and backgrounds. She added that recruitment brings members closer together through their shared values.

“It’s nice when you have a room full of women who are passionate about different things and come from very different backgrounds, but we’re all brought together by these core values and these common interests and sisterhood and then generosity and character,” Khateeb said. 

Sophomore Tamar Guggenheim, the president of Sigma Delta Tau, said she had fun during the days of recruitment because she was able to further connect with members of the chapter she doesn’t always get to see often.

“It made me really love and appreciate the chapter a lot more when you’re thinking about the future of it and for lack of a better word, fighting for what we want the chapter to look like and grow,” Guggenheim said.

Guggenheim said the number of new members in her chapter may grow through informal recruitment, when interested students join chapters seeking more members after formal recruitment. She said she hopes prospective members have the same appreciation and enthusiasm for their chapter and Panhel and that her chapter continues to diversify.

“My hope for next year would be that if there are any DEI concerns or anything of that nature is not a thing next year, and all of our new members have the same passion for the chapter and a positive outlook on Greek life and Panhel, and I think we’re definitely getting there,” Guggenheim said.