A record number of women — 303 in total — registered for Panhellenic sorority recruitment this year. According to the University’s Coordinator of Greek Life & Orientation Rachel Drennen, 275 women registered last year.
Drennen noted that the increasing number of women participating is not Hopkins-specific but is rather part of a national pattern.
“Across the country, recruitment numbers for sororities have been climbing. I believe Hopkins is on par with the national trend. In 2011-2012, the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC), which is the governing body for all of our Panhellenic sororities at Hopkins, assessed that 302,792 undergraduate women were members of sororities. In 2012-2013, the NPC recorded 325,772 undergraduate women as members of the same sororities,” Drennen wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
Anna Bellantoni, Alpha Phi’s newly elected president, explained the surge in participation by highlighting the benefits that sororities can offer to their members.
“I think that collegiate women, especially in an environment like Johns Hopkins, are finding a need and appreciating what sororities can offer them in terms of support system. That is really what we do. We serve as academic, as social and philanthropic outlets for these collegiate women who want to join a sorority,” Bellantoni said.
Beyond being both an academic and social outlet, members say sororities also offer opportunities to network and to be involved in philanthropy.
“Most of the Greek organizations were started as philanthropic organizations, so when you’re part of a sorority you get to be involved in more philanthropy than you would if you were unaffiliated,” former President of Phi Mu Debra Schwitzer said. Schwitzer says she got her job through her involvement in Greek Life.
Drennen also made clear that she thinks there are many benefits of being in a sorority.
“Joining a fraternity or sorority at JHU is a phenomenal opportunity for any student to gain a strong community of friends and find outlets to try new things, engage with the Baltimore community through meaningful service opportunities, and become connected to a national pool of people who had similar collegiate experiences,” she wrote.
Currently, about 800 women are involved in sororities on campus; this represents about 30 percent of the undergraduate population.
“New member classes this year are approximately 48 people for each Panhellenic sorority. Last year, with only four Panhellenic groups, we had new member classes of 58 women. I expect approximately 45 to become our new normal,” Drennen wrote.
Developed several years ago, the week-long process involves four rounds of recruitment events.
“The recruitment process is standard, and there are four rounds: There is the ice-water round in which every single girl will go to every sorority. The next round is theme/philanthropy where everyone presents their national philanthropy. Then it is narrowed down so they don’t go to every sorority after that: It’s a mutual selection process where we choose them and they choose us, and if we match, then they come back,” Schwitzer said.
This academic year also marked the beginning of a new era for Panhellenic organizations at Hopkins with the arrival on campus of a new chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta.
“Kappa Alpha Theta has had an incredibly successful first recruitment experience at JHU. They brought in the same size new member class that all the other groups brought in, and I am very excited to see them continue to grow and be successful,” Drennen wrote.
The addition of Kappa Alpha Theta and the surging popularity of Greek Life at Hopkins has led many to speculate that another sorority will be introduced on campus next year. However, Drennen dismissed the rumors and said that Hopkins was not considering bringing another sorority to campus in the near future.
Despite the increasing involvement in Greek Life at Hopkins, Drennen insisted that being part of a sorority or a fraternity is not a necessity and emphasized personal happiness and fulfillment.
“I think the most important thing for any Hopkins student to do is get involved with something about which they are passionate,” Drennen wrote.
