2021 Gumbo final - Book - Page 68
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virtual recruitment
S
orority recruitment is traditionally the week
where over 1,000 college women parade up and
down Sorority Row, visit each house and meet
new friends. With COVID-19 this experience seemed nearly
impossible to continue, so the LSU Panhellenic Board made
the decision to move the event online.
Interior design sophomore and Alpha Delta Pi sorority
member Bella Godchaux said she was upset when
recruitment moved to online format, but also relieved
because of the impact the pandemic would have had if the
event would have been in-person.
“I would rather put people’s health first,” Godchaux said.
The Panhellenic Board and each sorority worked
overtime to ensure that the potential new members had
full experiences. A record-breaking 1,440 potential new
members registered for recruitment, with 1,317 women
placed in sororities. The rounds were all the same except
the first, known as the ‘ice water’ round. This round was not
interactive and consisted of the women watching a video
from each sorority.
The Gamma Chis experienced the biggest change. Gamma
Chis are group leaders for potential new members going
through recruitment week. Being a Gamma Chi during
COVID-19 was much different than what communication
disorders and Spanish senior Ashlyn Lee expected when she
applied.
“Under normal circumstances, all of the Gamma Chis and
potential new members are on the Row all day organizing
the lines and ensuring that all potential new members are
present,” Lee said. “We had a similar role, but it was all done
through Zoom, so we were taking roll through the Zoom
waiting room.”
One thing that did not change was what she considers
the main part of her job–building relationships and helping
the women in her group make decisions. She was still able
to become close with her group by meeting with them for
frozen yogurt or lunch and talking on the phone with them
almost every day.
“I wanted to be a Gamma Chi to build relationships with
these new members of the Greek community and the LSU
family, and that was exactly what happened throughout the
week,” Lee said. “I had a great time and would do it all over
again next year even with the same circumstances.”
Psychology sophomore and Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority
member Olivia Boardman agreed there were benefits to
virtual recruitment because it was nice to complete the
process from the comfort of home. However, she felt there
was also a negative side for the potential new members.
“I wouldn’t have gotten as good a feel for the sororities
because I wouldn’t get to see how they interacted with each
other and in their houses,” Boardman said. “The first round
got cut out, so that was less opportunity to meet people.”
Haynes never doubted her choice to go through
recruitment because she knew that it was a good way to
meet people no matter the circumstance.
“I think there were benefits doing it virtually because
you really got to talk one on one without any distractions,”
Haynes said. “We weren’t surrounded by a bunch of other
girls. It was also nice that it was over a computer and it
wasn’t in person because we did not have to be in the
blazing heat.”