The governing councils of greek life at Syracuse University should be more transparent about how they use the money students are required to pay to participate in recruitment. Transparency will help students better understand the reason behind these fees when considering whether they want to consider becoming a part of greek life.

Female students rushing sororities and male students rushing fraternities are all required to pay a fee to participate in recruitment. Monday marked the end of sorority rush. The process required that each woman pay $50 to the Panhellenic Council to participate in recruitment, which entails meeting with the sisters of each house and learning about their respective sororities.

The recruitment are unique in that most other student organizations on campus do not require that students pay a fee to learn about the organization when they are still considering whether they are interested in joining. Though many students are likely not concerned by these fees, students who are unsure of whether they are interested in becoming a part of greek life may be dissuaded by fees that are not explained.

This problem could be avoided with more transparency.

While governing bodies like the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council are not required to share this information with prospective members, if this information is readily available to students, it will better explain why the fees are necessary and could assist students in making their decision on whether to rush.

Though recruitment is accessible to all students, not all participants are guaranteed to receive a bid from their desired sorority or fraternity. Some participants end up rejecting their bids or dropping from recruitment partway through the process. Given this uncertainty, it is understandable that students might feel apprehensive about investing in an organization they may not be a part of in the long term. If students were more aware of where these fees are going, it could alleviate some of these concerns.

The various greek councils may have justifiable reasons for charging students to participate in recruitment, but these reasons will not be apparent to prospective members until they are explained. Providing this explanation can only help the greek community open its doors to more students.

 

 

Published on January 28, 2014 at 2:25 am

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