By: Sheridan Kate Murray, Staff Writer

For the first time in its history, Wofford is offering sorority recruitment in the spring only. Traditionally, Greek life at Wofford operated with recruitment in the fall, and while last year included both fall and spring recruitment as a transition period, this year’s operations represent a marked difference.

This shift has come with mixed responses, as some students feel that a delay in sorority recruitment dramatically alters the culture and social dynamic on Wofford’s campus. Emily Carter ‘19 of Delta Delta Delta says that while she believes spring rush will ultimately be beneficial in the long run, it is causing some immediate stressors for freshman girls. “For years many freshmen girls have started school and almost immediately joined an organization with a hundred new friends in all grade levels,” she explains. “Now, freshman don’t have that opportunity. As a result, it will take time to figure out ways other than recruitment to welcome the freshmen into the Wofford community that we value so much.”

Katie Husselbee ‘19 of Kappa Delta says that while the lack of immediate involvement in Greek life can help freshman girls make informed decisions about recruitment, a sense of isolation has become prevalent. “Personally, I think it can be a good thing that Greek Life is not the center of Wofford anymore. Now, I think freshman girls are given the time to really form their own opinions on each organization. But it’s been hard for people to make friends – I have heard that a lot of girls feel alienated and are ultimately considering transferring,” says Husselbee.

When asked to comment on their feelings regarding spring recruitment, freshmen Vivian Leva and Eleanor Crawford vocalized a variety of feelings on the process. Leva says, “I personally have liked having the whole fall semester to really contemplate the idea of rushing and make the best possible decision about it. I don’t think I would have decided to rush if recruitment had been in the Fall because I didn’t have a great grasp on everything yet.”

Crawford disagrees. “I think that generally there is a sense of isolation; we feel a bit behind and out of the loop,” she says. “I would really like to get to know the upperclassmen girls more, but I don’t feel like we have had tons of opportunities to meet them.”

While the opinions expressed thus far have been nuanced, there are women in the Greek community and beyond that feel a strong aversion to the concept of spring recruitment at Wofford.

A Greek woman who asked to remain anonymous expresses critical concern about the pressures that delayed recruitment puts both on the freshmen and sorority women alike.

“I don’t think it’s fair to the girls because of GPA requirements. Your first semester at Wofford is hard, and looking at that first semester GPA as opposed to high school seems unfair,” she says. “If you’re trying to get girls to stay at Wofford, you need to get them integrated into the environment early on. This delayed rush means the girls in Greek life have to be in recruitment mode constantly, and it’s a lot of pressure. I feel like I am constantly being watched. I think the freshman girls are at a disadvantage too, because they feel like they have to always be ‘on’ and impressive.”

With no plans to transition back to fall recruitment any time soon, the Wofford Greek community and general student population will be dealing with the implications of delayed rush for the foreseeable future.