By now most students at MSU know that greek life is extremely prevalent on campus. According to the website, there are 38 active organizations. Greek life is an extremely important part of our campus community, and there are many different ways to get involved. There are local, national, multicultural, honors, and gender inclusive organizations. The biggest organizations to be involved in are clearly the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) organizations, and that’s what I am writing about today.
Our NPC organizations on campus are Sigma Sigma Sigma, Phi Sigma Sigma, Sigma Delta Tau, Delta Phi Epsilon and our newest Theta Phi Alpha! In order to become a member of these organizations, women must go through what is known as formal recruitment. Formal recruitment at MSU only happens at the very beginning of the spring semester and hundreds of girls go out for it each year. It takes place over three days, each day the number of girls invited back is fewer and organizations begin finding the girls they would like to extend bids to. By the end of the weekend, bids are handed out and the process of becoming a sister begins. Many girls find their home through recruitment!
Unfortunately, some of us are not so lucky. Due to the number of girls that go out, not everyone will be making it back the next day. I was one of those girls, I did not get a call back. It was devastating at the time, and I was completely embarrassed and couldn’t understand why I wasn’t picked? A lot of insecurities loomed over my head for a few weeks.
From this I realized, it is OKAY if you don’t make it through recruitment. It isn’t the end of the world, and there are so many other other options. You could look into other organizations that aren’t affiliated with the NPC or try again for NPC next year! And there are SO MANY other opportunities on campus to be involved in (clubs, events, sports, etc.). Don’t be discouraged, continue to get involved and make decisions that are best for you!