As always, first-year sorority hopefuls will move back into their dorm rooms well before the spring semester begins, ready to brave freezing weather and occasional snow in high heels and dresses. However, formal spring recruitment this year will last only one week.
This year, the Inter-Sorority Council shortened spring rush from two weeks to one, following a national trend of shorter recruitment periods.
The condensed rush will coincide with only two academic days instead of one and a half weeks. Women now will be finished with rush events by the Sunday after classes begin and receive their bids by Monday.
"It's not necessary, for the first years especially, when they're deciding their schedules, to be worried about extracurriculars when they should be focused on their studies," ISC President Cahill Zoeller said. "It accomplishes the same process in a much shorter amount of time, so why not?"
The ISC executive board and Presidents' Council also has been active this year in tweaking its rules for contact between first years and sorority members to ease difficulties.
"The policy is supposed to be there to create an even playing field for all women entering recruitment," said Sunter Armstrong, ISC vice president of judiciary. "It's not a policy to hinder first years from getting involved in other activities and getting to know upperclassmen."
In response to concerns from presidents of individual sororities, the presidents' council changed its bylaws to allow sorority members to interact with first years off-Grounds if they both are participating in an event sponsored by a University organization. Previously, off-Grounds contact between sorority members and first years was restricted to common courtesy.
"It got to the point where first years and upperclasswomen weren't able to participate in activities that were disaffiliated from Greek life," Armstrong said. "We didn't want to not encourage girls to get involved with other activities because they were first years or sorority women and worried about contact policy."
The Presidents' Council also altered their bylaws to allow an exception in the contact rules for all lawful sisters, including stepsisters and adopted sisters. Before the change, only biological sisters were exempt from ISC contact regulations.
Finally, in response to an increasing number of sororities hosting philanthropies in the fall, the ISC amended its bylaws to prohibit advertising in first-year areas and prizes that include sorority paraphernalia.
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