The Interfraternity Council welcomes home 63 new members to their respective fraternities after formal recruitment.
The university’s Interfraternity Council is comprised of Delta Tau Delta, Kappa Alpha Order, Kappa Sigma, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Tau Gamma, Theta Chi and Theta Xi. Their formal recruitment was originally planned to be held Aug. 28-31, but due to bad weather, the last two parties and Bid Day were pushed back to finish later in the week.
Sarah Hess/ The Lion's Roar

With the university being closed on Aug. 30, Interfraternity Council’s recruitment party scheduled for that day was postponed. This resulted in the IFC’s Bid Day being pushed back as well.

The weather affected the return rate of the parties. Pi Kappa Alpha’s recruitment chairman Christian Rabalais explained how the weather conditions during formal recruitment affected the success of recruitment.

“Rain plays a huge factor in numbers since the PNM’s, potential new members, are not required to attend recruitment events,” said Rabalais.

Despite the weather conditions, all of the university’s fraternities recruited new members into their brotherhoods. According to the Office for Student Engagement, 95 men registered for recruitment, and on Sept. 1, 63 men signed bids.

The Interfraternity Council holds a weeklong formal recruitment each year where male students interested in Greek life participate in hopes of getting a bid and joining a fraternity. The bid is an offer to join a fraternity and join as new members.

Prospective members go through an educational process about the fraternity. It is a type of probation period to see if the new members are a right fit for the fraternity, and after a certain period of time, they are initiated and become official members of the chapter.

Many of the campus fraternities prepared months in advance for recruitment. Rabalais described what his fraternity did to prepare. 

“We have had informational tables at the summer orientations,” said Rabalais. “We also held a recruitment retreat to educate our newest brothers on the ways of recruitment.”

Each day of formal recruitment had different parties that showcased the fraternities’ values and responsibilities. The first party, held Aug. 27, was “Meet the Greeks” held in the Student Union Mall. This was when potential new members could meet formally with all current university fraternities and spend time informally with members from each fraternity chapter.

Aug. 28 was an open house day where students going through formal recruitment could visit each house to see the benefits offered to potential new members and the merits of each chapter. From Aug. 29 to Aug. 31, the fraternities held dinner parties where the men going through recruitment could connect with the chapter’s members in an informal setting. Bid Day was from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Sept. 1 and was held in the Student Union Ballroom. Nursing sophomore Chandler Fredricks is the recruitment chairman for Delta Tau Delta. He described his favorite part of Bid Day.

“My favorite part of Bid Day is seeing all the guys go to the fraternities they belong to,” said Fredricks. “I think it’s important that the guys go to the fraternity they most fit in with because if they find the right organization, then they can thrive and grow as men.”