Starting Friday, all 12 sororities in the Panhellenic Council will be actively seeking potential new members during its spring rush, according to Panhellenic Council President Becky Daniels.

The entire rush process consists of four rounds, she said, which include the ‘go greek’ first round, the ‘house tour’ second round, the ‘philanthropy’ third round and the ‘preference’ fourth round.

The sign-up cost is $45, Daniels said, which goes towards a T-shirt for every potential new member, a recruitment booklet and to pay for renting out the Schine Student Center’s Goldstein Auditorium, which is used on numerous occasions during spring rush.

‘We don’t make a profit on it,’ she said. ‘We spend what we make.’

On Friday and Saturday, potential new members are invited to meet the 12 sororities in the Panhellenic Council, Daniels said. Then on Sunday, potential new members have the opportunity to tour up to nine chapter houses.

Round three is the following Friday, where potential new members will view up to six projects, which are created by the sororities and benefit philanthropy, Daniels said. The next day is the ‘preference’ round, where potential new members pay final visits to up to three sororities.

One thing that separates this spring rush compared with past years is promoting a sense of community among the sororities in the Panhellenic Council, Daniels said.

‘We had a lot of complaints with chapters being overly competitive,’ she said. ‘A lot of chapters are getting along a lot better.’

The unification of the Panhellenic Council is what Daniels attributes as the reason sign-ups have increased by 100 students compared to last year, hitting a total of approximately 700 Wednesday.

Brian Zapert, vice president of external affairs and chair of public relations for the Interfraternity Council, said he is expecting roughly 1,200 students this semester to participate in both the IFC and Panhellenic Council’s spring rush.

To promote rush, Daniels said the Panhellenic Council has been doing a lot of campus outreach and targeted a larger amount of people, including tabling at Juice Jam and making presentations to OrangeSeeds, Syracuse University’s first-year leadership empowerment program.

Daniels said she recommends the sorority life to any student looking for more social activity and interested in doing community service.

She then recalled her own rush experience, calling it funny to recognize where she is now when she originally signed up for rush on the last day and was dragged around to the sorority houses with her best friend at the time.

She said she ‘fell in love’ with a specific chapter as she walked in the house and was glad she ultimately gave sorority life a shot.

‘There is a chapter that fits almost every unique personality that someone could possibly have,’ she said. ‘Anyone on the fence – see what its like. It couldn’t hurt to try. You’ll meet more people and make the campus seem a whole lot smaller.’

Kaitlyn Eberle, a freshman pre-law major, said she is rushing this weekend because she has heard from several people that joining a sorority is a great experience.

‘I don’t think anyone should be hesitant in participating,’ she said. ‘I see it as an opportunity, I suppose.’

She said she does not have a specific house in mind that she would like to join because she feels it will be better to not go in with any preconceived notions, and instead, to rush with an open mind.

As for Hilary Galvin, an undecided freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, she said she is rushing because joining a sorority will be a good opportunity to get involved on campus and to meet a lot of new people.

‘My initial reasons (for rushing) were because my sister is in Tri-Delt and encouraged me to try it – but I also wanted to do it for myself,’ she said. ‘I know a lot of the Tri-Delt girls, but I’m going to try to keep an open mind and see all the opportunities that are available.’

Published on January 30, 2007 at 12:00 pm