With 10% of students participating, Ohio University hosts a lively Greek life scene of 30 sororities and fraternities. Although some students will never see beyond the Bid Day banners hanging from sorority house porches in the fall, a world of preparation goes into the events advertised on the aforementioned banners. These preparations all begin with work week.
Work week is described by Georgia Santino, a senior studying communication studies and journalism, as a time to prepare the existing sorority sisters for the recruitment process, informally known as “rushing.” Santino is the vice president of recruitment for OU’s chapter of Alpha Delta Pi, a role which entails overseeing the planning and execution of a sorority’s recruitment process.
“We … use a lot of the time to center our chapter together and recenter our sisterhood because we’re spending so much time together,” Santino said. “We’re also spending so much time talking about the things we look for in a member - the values, the characteristics, those types of things.”
Another head of recruitment on campus is Sophia Yoder, a senior studying interior architecture. Yoder serves as the membership vice president of Alpha Xi Delta.
“Work week is a lot of different workshops (and) team building exercises, we do a lot of practice rounds so that way everyone knows exactly how things are going to go and feels confident before they go into everything,” she said. “It’s all about making your recruitment skills good and being prepared for any questions anyone might ask.”
While work week involves many long days of presentations and training exercises for current members, there are also always fun bonding activities worked into the schedule, like the sisters of Alpha Xi Delta’s upcoming trip to Columbus for a photo shoot. This aspect of the week can be used as stress relief and a time to develop friendships within the group.
“You get to make new friends with people that you aren’t necessarily always put in the same group with … you get to be put in those groups and make those friends that you wouldn’t have made before going through work week,” said Sarah Woodard, a senior studying communication studies and the recruitment chair of Chi Omega.
Beyond the formation of new friendships, work week also offers a chance for the exchange of meaningful insights and connections early on in the year.
“We’ve always found time throughout work week to sit down with everyone and share stories about everyone's experiences and a lot of the seniors love to tell their experiences to a lot of other people, like the younger girls, and I feel like that makes everyone bond the most,” said Yoder.
The importance of work week exists in tandem with the importance of the recruitment process, for both existing sorority members and those who seek spots alongside them. Work week ensures members are prepared to answer questions and flawlessly run the different rounds of rushing, which allows for a more positive experience for potential new members, or PNMs. Even though the recruitment process may seem to be centered around those interested in joining, Woodard believes the weight of the process is felt on both sides as the sorority prepares to lose another senior class.
“It’s really important to be able to recruit new girls that fill that void of those personalities that are moving on with their lives, and ultimately you want your chapter to recruit the best version of themselves,” she said.
The early days of a sorority’s calendar year are often full of anxieties and pressure, but Santino believes there are ways to pull focus away from those unpleasantries in favor of a better experience for sorority members and PNMs alike.
“It’s good to remember sometimes you’re stressing yourself out for nothing and if you really let yourself immerse into a process and really experience something, it can end up being a lot more fun,” she said.
When PNMs start talking to their potential future sisters, Woodard had advice.
“Just be yourself, it’s really important to be as authentic as you can … because you don’t want to end up somewhere where you have to put on a facade,” she said.
Yoder believes going through the process with an open mind and going with the flow will lead a PNM to the home they are meant to find.
