Written by Lisa Denton, Temple Family Council Member
Please note that the following article specifically discusses a parent's perspective of the Panhellenic Sorority experience. Learn more about all four of Temple’s Fraternity & Sorority Life Councils here.
When I was in college, joining a sorority just wasn't for me. So, I was surprised when my daughter told me she was going to go through sorority recruitment her sophomore year. She is a lot like me...an athlete, an independent thinker and a confident person who never had a problem making friends. My daughter didn't initially think it was for her either, until her opinion changed.
Although she loved Temple and was meeting lots of people freshman year, she was not immune to roommate issues and bouts of loneliness. She felt like something was missing from her college experience. She joined a club sport, played intramurals, participated in professional organizations and had a job. Yet the feeling that something was missing persisted. She had attended a very small all-girls high school and realized the sense of camaraderie and support that came from a group of like-minded young women was something she had taken for granted.
Temple is such a big school that it can be hard at times to find your niche. After thoughtful consideration, my daughter decided to participate in the recruitment process that takes place in January to see if there was a place she felt comfortable. Recruitment is a pretty hectic process that occurs over the course of a week or so, where students are exposed to the different sororities and their members in various settings to help determine where they feel most at home.
This process can be very intimidating at schools where Greek life is a predominant theme. But my Owl described Temple’s Greek life as “very low key” with less than 10% of the students participating. She received call backs from two sororities on the last day. The selection process is a complex mutual matching process. And although her roommates at the time and the ones she would live with the following year all belonged to one of these groups, in the end, she chose the other. And received a bid (an invitation to join) from the organization she wanted.
This perplexed me. Why wouldn’t she choose the one that all the people she knew were part of? Her response was that she could still be friends with all those women, but the other sorority was just a better fit for her. She saw herself making lifelong friends and being more comfortable with the other choice. I was nervous about this decision, but she knew what she wanted to do and it turned out to be the best decision for her.
The core values that guide participation in the fraternity/sorority experience are leadership development, academic achievement, community engagement, and friendship for life. She has certainly developed all of these and has no regrets. As a parent, I am happy she found what she was looking for and now see the value in it.
In fact, when her younger sister became an Owl, she was encouraged by her older sister’s experience to explore Greek life too. She also participated in the recruitment process, had several choices, and at the end of the day, chose her real sister to be her sorority sister. They have enjoyed many shared experiences including philanthropy work and social events, as well as academic, leadership, and career opportunities.
But the real value of your student's Greek experience is up to them. They need to do their due diligence before making a commitment somewhere to determine if there is an organization that really fits their interests and passions.
It’s all about the kind of college experience they want to have. And if they do join a fraternity or sorority, they will certainly get to know themselves a whole lot better, which is really why they go to college.
ADDITIONAL FRATERNITY & SORORITY LIFE RECRUITMENT INFORMATION:
If your student is interested in Panhellenic Recruitment, registration is open until January 18th and recruitment happens the following weekend. Sign up link: temple.mycampusdirector2.com
The Multicultural Greek Council (MGC) serves as the governing body for culturally-based sororities and fraternities at Temple University. Asian, South-Asian, Latinx, and Multicultural sororities and fraternities work together in the MGC to further cultural diversity, to serve the university and surrounding communities and to provide support to members as they work toward graduation.
If your student is interested in MGC recruitment, Meet the Greeks is Friday, January 17th at 7pm in the Student Center Underground.
The Interfraternity Council (IFC) at Temple University is the governing board for several of Temple's social men's Greek-letter organizations. The council consists of over 500 fraternity men and is designed to coordinate recruitment activities, motivate academic achievement, and promote a set of standards for its member organizations.
Is your student interested in IFC recruitment? Meet the Greeks is Monday, January 20th at 6pm in Student Center Underground.
NPHC is the governing council for the nine historically Black Greek-letter organizations, often referred to as the Divine Nine. Temple University currently has eight of the nine organizations. NPHC organizations are committed to serving the surrounding community and support academic excellence by providing scholarships, study breaks, and other educational programs.
If your student is interested in an NPHC chapter, they should reach out to that chapter directly.
Learn more about the benefits of Fraternity & Sorority Life here.
