Frats, sororities plan to increase exposure in fall

Susan E. Wagner High School '96 Staten Island, N.Y. For the past three years, the University's Greek organizations have held formal fraternity and sorority rush in the spring semester, giving students more time to ease into college life and sample the various organizations before considering whether they want to join. But several Greek officials say they plan on increasing students' exposure to the system during the fall semester through more active marketing. During spring rush, students are typically given only a couple of weeks to decide whether to pledge and, if so, which house. Jeff Snyder, the IFC's vice president for rush, said in May that he wants to plan activities that will attract freshmen to the Greek system as a whole, rather than a specific house, during the fall. "Too many people need to be convinced during formal rush of the benefits of going Greek at all, never mind which house to consider," said Snyder, a then-Wharton junior. According to Snyder, several events are already in the works in order to expose new students to the Greek system and ease decisions they will make in the spring. Both Snyder and Julie Galluzzo, vice president of rush for the Panhellenic Council -- the board that governs sororities -- are working on a joint mailing to all pre-frosh during the summer. One of the major events of the fall semester is Greek Week, during which fraternities and sororities hold open houses and give students a chance to meet members. Tentative plans for this fall's Greek Week, which will take place from October 8 through 11, include a Greek party, a movie on College Green, a carnival and a possible block party, according to Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Assistant Director Tom Carroll. Additionally, the Bi-Cultural InterGreek Council, the umbrella group for minority fraternities and sororities, will hold a step show, an ethnic dance performance. Panhel President Janelle Brodsky, a then-College junior, explained in May that that the events will be more open than in previous years, which included mainly small mixers. "We tried to rearrange it to make it more friendly for the entire University," Brodsky said. Snyder added that the IFC will hold more organized open house rush events in the fall. He added that the board intends to use money recently allocated to the IFC from the Undergraduate Assembly, Penn's student government organization, to fund other fall events, such as barbeques and community service.