When starting college, first-time students are thrown into a completely new environment, surrounded by strangers. This can lead to overwhelming feelings, especially if they don’t know where they belong yet.
Northwestern State University of Louisiana offers various programs and Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) to help students through this time. Greek Life is one of which many students show interest in.
NSU houses 16 unique chapters in the Greek Community including three sororities, six fraternal organizations and the Divine Nine, which includes seven of the nine historically African American fraternities and sororities.
“Go Greek; you will not regret it,” Savannah Struppeck, a senior with a major in hospitality management and tourism who is the recruitment director for Phi Mu, said. “Even if you don’t think it is something for you, I would just go through the recruitment process to challenge yourself and get yourself out of your comfort zone.”
Phi Mu Fraternity, Alpha Omicron Pi Fraternity and Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority, make up the three official sororities of NSU. Joining one of these three sororities means you are also a member of the NSU’s College Panhellenic Council (CPC), according to the NSU Greek Life page. This council serves as the governing body for the three sororities.
The Interfraternity Council (IFC) is the governing body of the six fraternities. It helps the member fraternities with recruitment, financial and educational programming, academics, service, public relations and risk management, according to the NSU Greek Life page.
Recruitment for sororities and fraternities starts at the beginning of each semester. The process to join varies for each sorority and fraternity and their respective councils. This allows students to make an informed decision on what chapter they want to be a part of, according to the NSU Greek Life page.
Forming a part of Greek Life is a responsibility that requires time, commitment, fees and academic attainment, according to the NSU Greek Life page. A GPA of at least 2.5 is one of the requirements to join Greek Life, with the exception of Phi Mu with a GPA requirement of 2.7.
If someone is interested in participating in CPC recruitment this fall, they must go through formal recruitment. This process will consist of rounds where one visits each chapter and is later matched with the one that best fits them, considering they meet all the requirements and pay the registration fee. For those who may be unsure about this process, recruitment is more relaxed during the spring semester. However, sororities can only take a limited number of new members.
“So, between all three of the chapters here on campus, it is pretty much the same. Each chapter holds two events at their house,” Struppeck said. “Then there’s two required days we call that a formal round, that’s your philanthropy round or your preference round, that’s where you’ll come in groups and it’s timed and you’re there for a certain amount of time and then you are walked in and walked out and you talk to certain people and your matched.”
Joining Greek Life builds and secures connections, which is an opportunity for new students to be introduced to people and possibly make lifelong friendships, Zachary Wilkinson said.
This sophomore nursing major who is the treasurer of Kappa Alpha Order explained the impact Greek life has on his life.
“Recruitment helps grow the family. Personally, I live 4 and a half hours away, so having these guys gives me something to come back to and keep going,” Wilkinson said. “Nursing school is hard, but these guys help me go through it.”
The Interfraternity Council (IFC) recruitment opens during the fall and spring semesters. The IFC hosts events for men to meet members of the fraternities, as well as individual events hosted by each fraternity. Men who want to join have to attend every IFC event and at least one event hosted by each fraternity. Men must register for recruitment and there is no registration fee, according to the NSU Greek Life page.
The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) is not facilitated through the council or office of Greek Life, but by each individual fraternity and sorority. These organizations determine their intake dates. NPHC President Caiden Matthews said to be a member of NPHC you must have at least 12-30 college credit hours, a minimum GPA of 2.5- 4.0 but can vary, must be a full time student at a college or university where there is an active chapter of the NPHC, must be active on campus and pay all the fees and dues.
Dates, times and costs vary, but they will all contain a pre-initiation orientation, an initiation ceremony and an in-depth education program that is supervised by alumni advisors.
Matthews also explained that research is key when choosing an NPHC organization.
“NPHC organizations seek members who are committed to their values, such as scholarship, leadership, service, and brotherhood/sisterhood,” he said.
For those unsure about Greek life, weighing personal goals and priorities can help assess one’s decision.
Attending events hosted by the Greek councils can give students an idea of the culture for each organization, which is why doing personal research can help with those decisions.
Tallen Earl, a first-year student with a major in hospitality management and tourism, shared her thoughts after attending the Greek 101 event.
“It does seem fun, and having the opportunities to do things and meet new people is really exciting,” Earl said.
Reaching out to students currently a part of these Greek organizations can also allow students to know if that organization best fits their personal values.
Ultimately, choosing to go Greek is a personal decision for each student.
