by Jordan Houser
This summer many changes will come for Greek Life at Capital as the Inter-Sorority Council (ISC) works to become the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC). Additionally, a new Assistant Director for Student and Community Engagement will join administration June 1. Students returning in the fall may even find recruitment processes to have changed.
Currently, all sororities on campus operate under the ISC and are governed by their laws and regulations. The male equivalent of this organization is the Inter-Fraternity Council (IFC), which operates in the same manner. The IFC will remain next year, but the NPC will likely be taking over for the sororities.
On its website (www.npcwomen.org), the NPC claims to be “the premier advocacy and support organization for the advancement of the sorority experience.” Its primary intent is to, at the national level, provide guidance and service for each of its members. Reigning
since 1902, the NPC represents women at 655 different colleges or universities.
“Each year, NPC-affiliated collegians and alumnae donate more than $5 million to worthy causes, provide $2.8 million in scholarships to women and volunteer 500,000 hours in their communities,“ its site boasts.
Pressure to adopt NPC originated when the amount of national sororities on campus rose to 75%. This year Zeta Pi Lambda became Alpha Sigma Alpha, joining Delta Phi Epsilon and Phi Sigma Sigma as national sororities. Each of these organizations is part of the 26 NPC Member Groups and as such has garnered support for the move to NPC on Capital’s campus. The changes to NPC will also affect Pi Phi Epsilon, a local chapter.
“[NPC] gives supports and tools for national advocates. Under the NPC, recruitment may change for the sororities,” Melvin Adams, Director of Student and Community Engagement, said.
This year, just like many in the past, sororities operated under formal spring recruitment. This recruitment system means that there is an end quota system and a total number of permitted bids to be given.
“[The guidelines] are meant to ensure that each organization is vital on campus,” Adams said.
Formal spring recruitment also means that the first time sororities are capable of extending bids, formal invitations to pledge, to first year students is in the spring – their second semester.
There is also continued recruitment or open bid recruitment for upperclassmen, which can be done at any time, any part of the year.
With the NPC, formal recruitment could be moved to fall rather than spring. This change would allow first year students to join Greek Life immediately upon arrival to Capital.
“The advantage of formal fall recruitment is that it engages first year students to get involved and develop leadership skills on campus,” Adams said.
In the past, formal fall recruitment has been avoided in attempts to allow first year students to adapt to college life prior to being involved with organizations. Implementing this type of recruitment would drastically change the way sororities recruit within the first few weeks of school.
Knowing that freshmen are readily available the moment they step on campus, competition between sororities would be at an all time-high and the number of Greek Life events in the beginning of fall would increase dramatically.
The new Assistant Director of Student and Community Engagement will handle decisions such as this. This individual, who remains unnamed, will arrive June 1 and work through the summer to make changes before Fall 2012.
jhouser@capital.edu
