Sororities welcome freshmen

The sun shone brightly, the autumn leaves drifted slowly down to the sidewalk and the sorority houses on the 4000 block of Walnut Street threw their doors wide open. It must be fall. Yesterday marked the second day of the Panhellenic Council's informal open houses -- a chance for freshman women to visit the different sorority houses, meet the sisters casually and register for next semester's rush process. "I never considered rushing in high school because I'm a big tomboy," College freshman Tasnim Beg said. "But I got here and it's such a part of the campus. Its such a great opportunity to meet a lot of great girls." Several hundred women turned out for open houses at the eight Panhel sororities. Alpha Phi, Kappa Alpha Theta, Phi Sigma Sigma and Pi Beta Phi all held open houses yesterday, while the other four sororities hosted the event on November 8. These open houses are the only fall-semester sorority events that freshmen women may attend, according to Panhel President Janelle Brodsky. Dressed in jeans, with brightly colored name tags on their shirts, the sorority sisters welcomed the freshmen and chatted with them about the Greek system. "I thought it would be intimidating, but everyone is very casual," College freshman Sigi Rosenberg said. "The whole scene is more low key." "It's not as bad as I thought it would be. I had a lot of stereotypes," College freshman Amanda Shiffman said. But like many of the freshmen women out yesterday, she was not sure that she would pledge. "Everyone is testing the waters," Shiffman added. Phi Sig sister Kate Reed said she was glad not to be a freshman any more and prefers to be showing the houses rather than visiting them. "This side is definitely better," the Nursing sophomore said, adding that "as a freshman it was definitely intimidating." Brodsky, a College and Engineering senior, said these introductory events are helpful for the sometimes-apprehensive freshmen. "I think [the open houses] make people more comfortable," Brodsky said. "People see that we're not as scary as they think we are." "It's good for them to get a chance to see the houses," explained Alisa Plesco, rush chairperson at Pi Phi. She also noted that "this is really a way to get people to sign up for rush." Registration costs $10 and it is required in order to rush. The fall open houses were introduced last year, said Plesco, an Engineering junior. During the years before that, women registered for rush in Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge and no events started until the spring semester. Panhellenic Council board members stressed that the primary focus at this point of the rush process was getting freshman to join the Panhel system, not becoming part of an individual house. Julie Galluzo, Panhel's vice president for rush, said that the theme for the day was, "Welcome to my house -- but I really love being part of the system." The College senior added that "most of the girls have been visiting every house, which means they're coming in with an open mind." But not all sisters are convinced that freshmen are solely seeking a Panhellenic experience. "They do it by house; they don't do it by Panhel," said College sophomore and Phi Sig sister Randi Spinner. "I think the majority of [the freshmen] have preconceived ideas already."