Representatives of newly selected sorority Zeta Tau Alpha remain confident as they prepare to face the challenges of the colonization process at Penn this coming spring.
ZTA is scheduled to recruit for its Alpha Beta Chapter in February, one week after existing sororities in the Panhellenic community complete formal recruitment. While the odds may seem unfavorable for the new group to collect quality members after other chapters have pledged their recruits, both student leaders and ZTA officials are confident that the group’s recruitment plans will be a success.
According to ZTA Extension Director Marlene Conrad, the challenge of recruitment scheduling is “common” in the colonization process. The reason the timeline at Penn is not an obstacle, she explained, is that the sorority is looking for women who didn’t initially buy into the Greek system.
Sigma Kappa, the last sorority to be added to campus, went through a similar colonization process in 2002, informally recruiting members in February.
ZTA Executive Director Deb Ensor echoed Conrad’s statements, saying scheduling issues are part of the “nature” of colonization. Recruitment for new groups, she said, almost always follows the formal recruitment of existing chapters on any campus.
Ensor explained that ZTA was in a similar situation when it entered the colonization process at Kansas State University earlier this year. Like at will happen at Penn, the group recruited after the formal pledge season. Despite this, approximately 350 women were interviewed and 156 ultimately joined ZTA.
According to Panhel advisor Stacy Kraus, ZTA’s recruitment will not be limited to freshmen, and therefore recruiting at a later date shouldn’t be a “hindrance.”
“In addition,” Panhel President and College senior Darby Nelson wrote in an e-mail, Panhel has had “very strong recruitment numbers, which is beneficial when colonizing a new chapter on campus.”
In spring 2010, Panhel reported an eight-percent increase in registration for rush, and chapters saw an average increase of five women each per incoming pledge class.
That said, Nelson added, strategy and marketing over the next few months will be “key.”
ZTA will work closely with Panhel, the Office of Student Affairs/Fraternity Sorority Life and various student groups in order to determine what marketing strategies “will fit best at Penn,” she wrote.
In the same vein, Ensor said close collaboration between ZTA and existing organizations are “the exact ingredients” needed for success.
“I believe that the Greek system is committed to making this work,” she said.
“We look forward to establishing a strong group of outstanding women,” Ensor added in an e-mail.
