Each spring, several University of Minnesota sororities from the National Panhellenic Conference participate in Continuous Open Bidding (COB), also known as informal recruitment.
Formal recruitment is held in the fall, and potential new members (PNMs) visit all houses and participate in formal rounds to learn about each sorority’s values and philanthropy. During the final round, PNMs are matched with a sorority they showed interest in.
During informal recruitment, PNMs can choose which chapters they want to visit.
Emily Oswalt, director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, said informal recruitment differs from formal recruitment because a PNM can decide which sorority chapter’s events they want to attend rather than seeing each one.
“I kind of label it as a more choose-your-own-adventure experience for a potential new member,” Oswalt said. “You can try to contact every group and go to all their events, but they’re not coordinated in a way to guarantee that everyone would. It’s the potential new member’s decision on who they want to go see.”
Oswalt said each chapter chooses what events to host and how long its informal recruitment period is based on the number of new members it is eligible to take after the fall.
The number of new members changes based on the chapter’s size and how many members they are eligible to take, Oswalt said.
Danielle Vitez, a member of Gamma Phi Beta and informal recruitment participant last spring, said she decided to participate in spring recruitment because she heard good things about Greek life from friends.
As someone more introverted, Vitez thought a more laid-back recruitment process would be easier for her than formal recruitment. After signing up for COB, Vitez scheduled a coffee date with some of Gamma Phi Beta’s members.
“Naturally, the conversation just kind of flowed,” Vitez said. “It was like I was just talking with girls I had known for a couple years, and they reminded me of a lot of hometown friends and people I was missing, which was really kind of comforting to find.”
Since each chapter’s informal recruitment is different, chapters may choose to plan bigger events, smaller coffee dates or both.
Bella Huston, vice president of recruitment for Alpha Gamma Delta, worked closely with other members to help recruit PNMs, set up events and keep track of attendees.
Huston said planning an activity for PNMs can help ease anxiety in the recruitment process. This year’s informal recruitment events for Alpha Gamma Delta include a bouquet-making event, friendship bracelets, cookie decorating and more.
This year, Alpha Gamma Delta is hosting a Valentine’s Day cookie decorating event which includes making candy bags for soldiers, according to Huston. She said this way they can tie in service and fun.
“We’ve never done anything like that before,” Huston said. “So trying to show people kind of what we do outside of social settings is always fun because during primary recruitment in the fall, there’s a whole round dedicated to the chapter’s philanthropy.”
Finding ways to share experiences and the chapter’s values with new potential members is especially important to Vitez, who is currently looking for a little, a new member to mentor. After taking the fall to settle into her place in her sorority, she is ready to take on the challenge of mentoring a new member this spring.
“I got to experience more things so that now when I hopefully do get a little in the spring, I can share those with her,” Vitez said. “I also thought it would be cool to have a little who went through the same experience I did.”
