The rules are changing. For students hoping to join sororities this spring, this could be welcome news.

The Panhellenic Association approved a policy Wednesday that makes spring recruitment rules less stringent and more closely in alignment with the Panhellenic National Association rules.

‘It was getting out of control,’ said Angela Minardi, Panhel’s membership development chair and a senior public relations major. ‘There were rules saying you couldn’t have more than 40 balloons or that the table centerpieces couldn’t be more than two feet tall.’

The new policy will help Panhel accommodate the record number of freshman and sophomore girls that are expected to participate in recruitment. Panhel members anticipate between 600 and 700 girls to participate in spring recruitment.

The lighter policy also fits more closely with the National Panhellenic Association recruitment standards.

‘The national rules are more vague and not as policing,’ Minardi said.

The policy also changes the budget for recruitment from $1,200 to $2,000, a number that hadn’t changed for 15 years.

‘It makes sense – there are twice as many girls,’ Minardi said. The number also accommodates inflation.

The new policy changes the logistics of Preference Night as well. Traditionally, pledges were required to sit in Goldstein Auditorium while houses put their bids in order, which has raised some controversy.

‘It’s against human rights to lock everyone in a room,’ Minardi said.

This year, girls will be released after their final preference party.

Panhel members decided to repeal the policy of sorority silence, where greek girls couldn’t speak with girls who intend to participate in recruitment for the month preceding it. Sorority silence has now been restricted to Recruitment Week. Overall, the new policy is well-liked by greek members.

‘I think the changes are going to help the houses,’ said Mara Leibowitz, a sophomore inclusive elementary and special education and sociology major. ‘It’s going to make the Greek System a lot stronger.’

The only controversy surrounding the new policy is that each house is forced to tell potential recruits how much chapter dues are. The change was brought about to minimize the surprise some girls have about finances after participating in recruitment.

‘Some girls dropped out because they didn’t realize how much it costs,’ said Becky Chaffee, a Panhel recruitment development chair and senior advertising and religion major. ‘We’re trying to avoid that.’

The idea behind the new operating procedures aims to trust individual chapters more than police them.

‘We can’t police 12 chapters,’ Minardi said. ‘The goal is to have chapters trust each other.’

Published on December 3, 2003 at 12:00 pm