With the start of another fall semester, Greek organizations on campus are geared up for what is often their busiest time of year for meeting and recruiting new members.
Though some may view it as a pure numbers game, many fraternities and sororities are taking the time to make it known that they are looking for quality over quantity.
“We want to make sure that the people we recruit will add positively to the brotherhood,” said Daniel Llamas, president of Gamma Zeta Alpha fraternity. “It’s not all about numbers.”
Llamas explained that his fraternity encourages potential new members not to feel pressured, and to explore all of their options. He said they also try to provide a variety of events for potential members to attend.
Most new members are found in the incoming class of freshmen students, but it is at the discretion of each individual organization as to when it recruits. The second most popular time to recruit is the start of spring semester.
“If we get a good number (of new members) in the fall, we don’t have to recruit in the spring,” said Victor Azaneda, community service chair for Gamma Zeta Alpha.
Azaneda also said that his fraternity focuses on the quality of each new brother rather than just having large numbers. In order to emphasize this ideal, the national executive board for Gamma Zeta Alpha recently instituted what is known as “Reconstruction,” which says the maximum number of new brothers that can be recruited per semester is 17.
According to Jacob Stockfish, president of the IntraFraternity Council at CSUN, the main focus this fall for the 12 fraternities is improving grades. Stockfish, a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon, said his fraternity will be increasing the base GPA requirement for incoming members from 2.0 to 2.5.
These efforts to recruit members who can contribute both personally and academically are important to improve the image of the Greek community at CSUN as a whole, according to Greek leaders.
“We aim for professionalism in order to prepare new members for the real world,” said Carlos Andrade, social chair of Beta Gamma Nu fraternity.
The sororities at CSUN play an equal role in improving the Greek community’s image.
Sigma Lambda Gamma, a Latina sorority, focuses on five main principles: academics, community service, cultural awareness, social interaction, and morals and ethics. The theme of quality over quantity is exemplified by the sorority’s requirement of a 3.75 high school GPA for incoming freshmen members.
Amber Rice, president of Lambda Sigma Gamma, a multicultural sorority, said that rather than selectively choosing new members by handing out bids, potential members make the decision to join on their own terms. In addition, they plan to increase the minimum GPA for their current members this fall.
CSUN’s African-American organizations set a unique standard in the recruitment of new members.
“Traditionally, the African-American fraternities and sororities do not recruit freshmen,” said Jamison Keller, activities coordinator and Greek adviser for the Matador Involvement Center. “They feel the students should first be established.”
The idea behind this method of recruitment is to allow freshmen time to establish their grades and to develop leadership experience before making a commitment to join.
“If you’re just there to wear letters on your chest, it doesn’t mean anything,” said Rachel London, president of Delta Zeta sorority.
Michael Salseda can be reached at city@sundial.csun.edu
