The Cal Poly Pomona Greek organizations are in the process of making significant changes to adapt
to the campuswide virtual transition. During what would normally be a lively recruiting season, some organizations are recruiting virtually, while others have halted the process.
The National Panhellenic Conference, which oversees CPP’s five sorority chapters, has decided to continue recruitment over Zoom.
“We got the news all the way back in April that we had to plan virtual recruitment,” said Samantha Selph, a fourth-year hospitality student and assistant vice president of the National Panhellenic Conference. “While we already have a set of rules in place, we had to put in a whole new set of rules, like with Zoom for example.”
Students attending the sororities’ Zoom meetings will be required to keep their cameras and microphones on to verify their identities. They will also need to avoid using their phones and find a private space to attend the meeting to maintain a respectful environment.
These new rules were implemented following a recent security issue involving an intruder joining the Zoom meeting and attacking members with offensive comments. Since then, all potential new members are put into a waiting room regulated by the National Panhellenic Conference before getting put into the breakout rooms they wish to join.
Fees have also been taken into consideration for organizations within the council. The recruitment fee to sign up dropped from $45 to $20, and all chapters have cut their costs per semester by about half.
The Interfraternity Council, which manages the eight fraternities on campus, is handling the situation differently. The council has decided to put rush and recruitment on hold until students return to campus.
“According to the CA Department of Public Health, they recommended that as a Cal State, we don’t have any events or gatherings in person until Nov. 30,” said Interfraternity Council President Ikwaak Dhillon, a third-year marketing management student. “We all mutually agreed that we wanted to see someone in person, at school, through the rush week process just to get to know someone a little better.”
The Multicultural Greek Council, which is in charge of the eight multicultural Greek organizations on campus, is making adjustments as well. Because they are prohibited from dictating how the fraternities and sororities under their organization move forward with recruitments, each chapter plans to take a different approach.
“We all answer to different national boards with different criteria, so some organizations are not allowed to rush while others are opting out of rushing,” said Multicultural Greek Council Vice President Carolina Mata, a fourth-year chemistry student. “MGC is not something that can dictate whether they’re allowed to do that, so essentially everyone is doing their own thing and filling us in.”
Currently, the Alpha Pi Sigma chapter is pushing through with recruitment. The sorority has already started its recruitment process as of Sept. 7 and will continue through Sept. 17. The Lambda Theta Alpha chapter will also be hosting an informational meeting via Zoom on Sept. 17 and will proceed with virtual recruitment afterward.
For more information on upcoming virtual events hosted by Greek organizations, visit its website at https://www.cpp.edu/oslcc/greek-life/resources/greek-life-mybar.shtml.