The fall recruitment process concluded last week, with the Interfraternity Council extending 343 bids to new members and the Intersorority Council extending 273, according to interim director for Greek life and student societies Edward McKenna. The numbers are consistent with recruitment in previous years, with sorority recruitment dipping by 15 bids from last year and fraternity recruitment dipping by 31 bids from 2022.
Alpha Phi sorority and Beta Alpha Omega fraternity could not extend bids to new members. The organizations were suspended over the summer after a member of Beta died following a joint social event with the two Greek organizations. Suspended organizations are not allowed to rush a new class or host events with other Greek houses.
The recruitment process focused on inclusion this year, according to ISC president Hannah Shariff ’25 and IFC president Jon Pazen ’25. For the first time, the ISC mandated that houses host events about their financial aid policies and diversity efforts. The IFC also required potential new members complete the Sexual Violence Prevention Project curriculum before the start of recruitment.
“In the past, to my knowledge, it was a lot less strict,” Pazen said. “ … [This year,] we were a lot more active in reaching out to students, informing them, ‘Hey, you’re not currently eligible to rush. You have to complete your requirements.’”
Gender-inclusive Greek houses also extended membership through a continuous open bidding process. Alpha Theta extended 13 bids, an increase from the typical eight or nine bids in past years, according to Gender-Inclusive Greek Council secretary Margaret Frazier ’25. Gender-inclusive houses emphasize diversity and are particularly attractive to queer students, she said.
“There are people who are looking for that social experience of Greek life … who don’t fit into the binary [and] don’t necessarily feel comfortable doing traditional frats [or] traditional sororities because they’re traditionally geared toward men and women,” she said. “Having a queer-friendly place on campus is really meaningful to a lot of people.”
Sonny Hur ’27 — who accepted a bid from the gender-inclusive Greek house Alpha Theta — said he is excited to become friends with other members. However, he said he thinks a lot of sophomores partake in recruitment out of “FOMO,” or a fear of missing out.
“When you are a freshman, you don’t have to think a lot about Greek houses that much, so a lot of your friend group is not affected by it,” he said. “But once you become a sophomore … a lot of your friends end up rushing because of their friends rushing or ‘FOMO’. … They [are] scared of missing out on a lot of stuff.”
This year, the ISC maintained a steady “retention rate” of potential new members, according to McKenna. Approximately 70.75% of students who participated received a bid, a slight decrease from 71.82% in 2023.
Zeta Psi president Chase Harvey ’25 said this year was a typical recruitment cycle for his fraternity. He added that it is “exhausting” to recruit a new class.
“It’s so time-consuming and so much work outside of classes,” he said.
Although the recruitment process can be stressful, Shariff said she hopes it helps students form new connections on campus.
“I think that sorority recruitment can be a really tough and stressful time,” she said. “However, I feel [there are] a lot of benefits in the recruitment process, and I hope that through the process, potential new members and chapters like to meet new people on this campus and learn more about their experiences.”
Presidents of the other fraternities in the IFC — Alpha Chi Alpha, Beta Alpha Omega, Bones Gate, Chi Gamma Epsilon, Chi Heorot, Gamma Delta Chi, Kappa Pi Kappa, Phi Delta Alpha, Psi Upsilon, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Nu and Theta Delta Chi — and presidents of sororities in the ISC — Alpha Phi, Alpha Xi Delta, Chi Delta, Kappa Delta, Kappa Delta Epsilon, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Sigma Delta — either declined to comment or did not respond to emailed requests for comment on their recruitment numbers by time of publication.
Jon Pazen ’25 is the strategy director for The Dartmouth’s business staff and is not involved in editorial production.
