Orientation
Check-in for Formal Recruitment and Orientation will begin at 5 pm on Tuesday, September 28th, 2010, in the Panhellenic Open House. At Orientation, Panhellenic officers will provide further information regarding Recruitment Week and answer any questions. Here you will meet your Recruitment Counselors, as well as the women who will be going through the recruitment process with you.
Information Sessions
During the Informations Sessions, you are invited to meet in the Panhellenic room where you will be provided with the location of each sorority’s event. From there you are encouraged to visit both sorority events where you will have the opportunity to participate in one-on-one conversations with sorority women.
The sorority women hosting these events will make every effort to make you feel comfortable. They will greet you at the door and accompany you throughout the event while introducing you to many of their friends. It is not an interview, you are a guest. The Information Sessions provide and excellent opportunity to learn more about sorority life while participating in fun activities.
The events on the second and third days are open house events. Information about times and locations will be available in the Panhellenic room each day. The Panhellenic room numbers are listed on this site. You are encouraged to attend as many Information Sessions as possible in order to have your questions answered and to get to know the groups so that you can decide which of the sororities you would be interested in joining. We hope to see you there!
Eligibility
Potential members must be enrolled, fully matriculated students at the University of Calgary for the Fall 2010 semester to be eligible to participate in Formal Recruitment.
Absences during Recruitment Week
It is very important to attend all of the events during Recruitment Week. Missing events greatly hinders your chance of getting to know members of both sororities. If an extenuating circumstance or religious holiday observance makes it impossible for you to attend an event during the week, you ask that you contact Panhellenic as soon as possible. We will inform the sororities that you are unable to attend and this will allow us a greater understanding of your interest in the recruitment process.
Withdrawal From Recruitment
Participating in Formal Recruitment does not obligate you to join a sorority. The recruitment process provides you with an opportunity to learn more about sorority life. You may decide that the sorority lifestyle is not for you. In that case, notify your Recruitment Counselor to talk about your options.
Services
Requests for special services or accommodations related to disability during recruitment week can be made by contacting the Panhellenic Association in advance.
The Formal Recruitment process can be exciting and overwhelming. To help you make your best choice, the Panhellenic Association has chosen some very special sorority women to guide you through the process. Recruitment Counselors, also known as “R.C.s,” are alumnae sorority members who have disaffiliated from their respective chapters during recruitment week in order to offer you a neutral view. Each Recruitment Counselors is trained to the best of her ability prior to the beginning of the Recruitment process. Their main objective is to help make your recruitment experience the best is can be!
Throughout the week, Recruitment Counselors are available to answer any questions you may have, and will be present in the Panhellenic room throughout Formal Recruitment. They look forward to meeting you!
The recruitment process is an opportunity for you to look objectively at both sororities at the University of Calgary. We ask that sorority members and alumnae not contact you over the summer in order to protect you from outside pressure and so that you may give thoughtful consideration to each group. Sorority members and alumnae should not contact you with the purpose of discussing recruitment or obtaining information about you throughout the summer.
We realize that you may have friends already in the Greek community, which is wonderful. Be mindful of what you are looking for when you come to campus so that you join the sorority best suited for you, not one your family or friends pressure you to join. You are an individual and your choice for membership is the most important.
Many sorority women participate in fraternity recruitment events during the summer. Consequently, we highly recommend that you do not attend any fraternity recruitment events. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the Panhellenic President at panassoc@ucalgary.ca.
Panhellenic officers will also be available through the summer to answer your questions about sorority life.
There is no actual dress code during recruitment week. At any given event, you will see quite a range of outfits. The most important thing is for you to be comfortable and to be yourself. It is not necessary for you to purchase a new wardrobe in order to participate in the sorority recruitment process.
PLEASE wear comfortable shoes! We strongly advise you not to wear a brand new pair of shoes. You will be doing a lot of walking, sitting, and standing; therefore, you will want to be comfortable. Calgary weather can be unpredictable in autumn; keep this in mind when deciding what to wear. A good bet when attending the sessions is to dress in what is often referred to as "business casual."
A ‘legacy’ is a potential member who has a mother, step-mother, grandmother or sister who is a member of a sorority. Legacies may be given special consideration by the sororities with whom their family members are affiliated, but legacies are never guaranteed membership in that sorority. If you have questions about the legacy policy of a particular sorority you may contact their international headquarters to find detailed information.
A ‘recommendation’ is a letter of introduction written about a potential member sent directly to a sorority from a sorority alumna. Potential members are not involved in the recommendation process of contacting sororities. It is also not the responsibility of the potential member to obtain a recommendation letter for a sorority.
If a sorority alumna offers to write you a letter, go ahead and accept it! It is perfectly acceptable for letters to be sent on your behalf; however, recommendation letters are not necessary in order for you to participate in recruitment at the University of Calgary and they do not guarantee an invitation from a sorority.
Recruitment is a mutual selection process. The entire process is designed to allow you to learn what a sorority is, to get to know the women who are involved, and to decide which group you would like to be a part of.
At the end of the recruitment process, potential new members will be invited to Bid Day where one or both of the sororities will extend an invitation to join. The decision is yours and you always reserve the right not to join.
Be relaxed and enjoy yourself.
Focus on the conversation!—avoid making decisions on material items such as clothes.
Wear comfortable shoes!
Disregard rumors from other women, guys, and any other sources. Make decisions based on your feelings and experiences you have during recruitment.
Don’t be pressured to join a particular chapter because of a parent, sibling, friend, boyfriend or companion.
Drink a lot of water!!
Write down as much as possible…keeping notes will help you make the best choices throughout the week.
Have personal down-time—try not to get burned out too quickly. Recruitment is a long week and you need to be adequately prepared.
Keep your opinions about recruitment and specific chapters to yourself.
Initiate conversations with your RC—don’t be intimidated by your RC or anyone on Panhellenic, they are here to help YOU!
Advance registration is recommended but not necessary. Regestration allows us to get in contact with you to provide any updates on times or locations during recruitment. You can always register immediately prior to the start of an information session.