If going Greek has always been in the back of your mind, now is the time to explore the opportunity. Winter recruitment takes place during the months of January and February and is a more relaxed, less hectic alternative to fall recruitment.

“All fraternities are recruiting in the winter, so guys can still get the opportunity to meet all of the fraternities and get the chance to talk to each one individually,” said Myron Butler, member of Alpha Sigma Phi. “Recruiting in the winter does somewhat make it harder for (the fraternities), though, because there are usually less guys going through recruitment, and it’s usually a shorter time in the winter.”

In contrast, there are only two sororities recruiting this winter — Alpha Sigma Alpha and Sigma Sigma Sigma — but all other sororities are having open houses and meet-and-greet style events this month and throughout the semester.

“If a girl isn’t sure whether she wants to rush or not, winter recruitment is a good option,” said Esther Philip, vice president of recruitment for the Panhellenic Association. “It’s much more laid back and gives you the chance to talk to a lot of girls in a sorority before deciding to go through with recruitment. It also allows girls to meet sororities now and then decide if they want to rush in the fall.”

In both fraternity and sorority recruitment, the difference in numbers during the winter recruitment is substantial. Both Philip and Butler said that even though winter recruitment is so casual, it’s usually a little more difficult to get people to attend events.

“There are usually about 400 girls that go through fall recruitment and about 20 to 30 girls total that go through winter recruitment,” Philip said.

The trend is similar for fraternities.

Whether students rush in the fall or winter is really dependent on their personality.

“There are pros and cons of both, but in the end it’s up to the person going through,” said Joanna Hayes, recruitment chair of Alpha Omicron Pi. “Fall rush can really be overwhelming, and that’s why many people prefer the laid-back, less formal feel of winter rush as a great alternative.”

However, Butler said that those who rush in the winter miss out on the experience of a larger rush.

“Fall rush has more of a Greek life atmosphere. There is always more people around, and it makes it seem like a bigger deal than winter,” Butler said.

Since winter recruitment is so laid back, there is no definite schedule for any sorority that is recruiting: each sorority puts on their own events, organizes and advertises their events independently, and end recruitment with bid day on a day of their choice.

Winter recruitment for fraternities is similar. The brothers of the fraternity have to plan all of their own events leading up to bid day, which is the same day for all fraternities: Feb. 5.

“Whichever way a person chooses to go, joining a fraternity or sorority is totally worth going through recruitment,” Hayes said. “It’s a fun, rewarding, amazing experience.”

For more information about fraternity recruitment, visit the Interfraternity Council website at www.gvsu.edu/greeklife/ifc/ or contact [email protected]. For more information about sorority recruitment, visit the Panhellenic Association page at www.gvsu.edu/greeklife/pa or send an email to [email protected].

Individual events can be found by date of occurrence on the GVSU events page, www.gvsu.edu/events.