68virtual recruitmentSorority recruitment is traditionally the weekwhere over 1,000 college women parade up anddown Sorority Row, visit each house and meetnew friends. With COVID-19 this experience seemed nearlyimpossible to continue, so the LSU Panhellenic Board madethe decision to move the event online.Interior design sophomore and Alpha Delta Pi sororitymember Bella Godchaux said she was upset whenrecruitment moved to online format, but also relievedbecause of the impact the pandemic would have had if theevent would have been in-person.“I would rather put people’s health first,” Godchaux said.The Panhellenic Board and each sorority workedovertime to ensure that the potential new members hadfull experiences. A record-breaking 1,440 potential newmembers registered for recruitment, with 1,317 womenplaced in sororities. The rounds were all the same exceptthe first, known as the ‘ice water’ round. This round was notinteractive and consisted of the women watching a videofrom each sorority.The Gamma Chis experienced the biggest change. GammaChis are group leaders for potential new members goingthrough recruitment week. Being a Gamma Chi duringCOVID-19 was much different than what communicationdisorders and Spanish senior Ashlyn Lee expected when sheapplied.“Under normal circumstances, all of the Gamma Chis andpotential new members are on the Row all day organizingthe lines and ensuring that all potential new members arepresent,” Lee said. “We had a similar role, but it was all donethrough Zoom, so we were taking roll through the Zoomwaiting room.”One thing that did not change was what she considersthe main part of her job–building relationships and helpingthe women in her group make decisions. She was still ableto become close with her group by meeting with them forfrozen yogurt or lunch and talking on the phone with themalmost every day.“I wanted to be a Gamma Chi to build relationships withthese new members of the Greek community and the LSUfamily, and that was exactly what happened throughout theweek,” Lee said. “I had a great time and would do it all overagain next year even with the same circumstances.”Psychology sophomore and Kappa Kappa Gamma sororitymember Olivia Boardman agreed there were benefits tovirtual recruitment because it was nice to complete theprocess from the comfort of home. However, she felt therewas also a negative side for the potential new members.“I wouldn’t have gotten as good a feel for the sororitiesbecause I wouldn’t get to see how they interacted with eachother and in their houses,” Boardman said. “The first roundgot cut out, so that was less opportunity to meet people.”Haynes never doubted her choice to go throughrecruitment because she knew that it was a good way tomeet people no matter the circumstance.“I think there were benefits doing it virtually becauseyou really got to talk one on one without any distractions,”Haynes said. “We weren’t surrounded by a bunch of othergirls. It was also nice that it was over a computer and itwasn’t in person because we did not have to be in theblazing heat.”
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