Monday, October 8, 2012

Bid Day and Beyond!

We are all so happy with the way recruitment all wrapped up. As a staff we could not be more proud of the Rho Gamma team who pulled off the task of helping all the lovely ladies going through feel welcome and excited. 

I believe we will keep this blog up as a Panhellenic update kind of thing. Feel free to email me at phcrush@uoregon.edu if you have post ideas of Panhellenic relevant topics!

For now enjoy these pics from Bid Day!



Staff all ready for chapter reveal. 
That moment we waited all week for!





On a personal note:
Special thanks to my wonderful Mom, Susan.  Mom, I couldn't have pulled off this whole thing without your support. You stood by me every step of the way, answering my frantic phone calls, calming my nerves, and always knowing what to say (well... most of the time). You are an incredible woman,  and I know even when I'm far away at grad school our bond will never change. Thanks for giving me life, and now for keeping me living. 
Love, Cris


Sunday, September 30, 2012

Preparing for Preference Night

Monday evening is fast approaching and as the last night of recruitment many people feel nervous or overwhelmed. It's okay! Preference night is a time for all potential new members to alleviate all their concerns about each chapter they visit. It is a good time to ask questions, and make a educated decision.

Preparing for Preference Night

I would try to think of the "pros and cons" of every chapter you visited on Sisterhood day. Not just your top three. There are positives and negatives to every chapter.

Think back about your experience at all those chapters from open house day on.

Answer these questions about all the chapters you visited on sisterhood day:
- Can you remember the conversations you had at those chapters?
- What draws you to those chapters?
- Can these chapters offer you what you want from a college experience?
- Could you see yourself hanging out on an average weeknight with the women in these chapters?
- Could you see some of these women being your mentors during your college years?

 Doing the above things might make your decision easier Monday night!


Reminder Number One:

You should rank all the chapters you visit on preference night. 

That means if you go to three chapters you rank them 1, 2, 3. If you go to two chapters you rank them 1, 2. If you go to one chapter you rank 1.

You have the option to select only one out of three, two out of three, or one out of two. But if you do this your chances of receiving a bid to your top chapter goes down. Even if you do not feel like one of the chapters you visit is right for you, it is smart to rank it as your lowest number. By doing this you are raising your chances of getting your top choice. Also, even if you receive a bid to the chapter you don't think is for you, you could end up completely loving it on bid day and beyond!

Remember if you are being invited into a chapter it is because they think you would be a great fit in their sisterhood. That's awesome!! 


Reminder Number Two:

No single member has the knowledge or power to invite you into their sisterhood before the official bids are handed out. 

Keep an open mind about all the chapters even after preference night. It is hard not to get your hopes up, but remember the chapters know best if you would be a good fit or not for their sisterhood. 

Reminder Number Three:

The sorority women are just as nervous as you!

Each recruiting member wants to make sure you are finding the perfect chapter for YOU! That might not be their chapter, but they are nervous because they want to make sure you make a good decision for yourself. 

Most Importantly, Have FUN! Enjoy the time you spend with each chapter, no matter what chapter you receive a bid to all the women you talk to will be your Panhellenic sisters! 

Recruitment 2012 Photos!

I still have not seen group photos from everyone, but here are some that I have found so far! 
I am so happy everyone is having such a wonderful time!!

Start of Sisterhood Day!

Group 19 at KKG during open house!

Group 2 having some fun before Open House!

The lovely Rho Gammas of group 3!

Group Three!

Group 16 taking a formal group picture! 




Thursday, September 27, 2012

Open House Day 2

Don't forget to be at the under cover tennis courts at 6:15 tonight! 

Tonight will be much the same as last night, you will be traveling with your group from chapter to chapter. 

Also, don't forget to bring a jacket or sweatshirt for when it gets colder tonight! 

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Orientation Re-Cap

I have been getting a lot of emails asking about what you missed at orientation. Your Rho Gamma's should be contacting you soon, so they can let you know important stuff. We collected 661 toys for Jilly Bug's Toys for Hugs! YAY! They were Thrilled (and so were we)! 

Vital information: 
- Be at the Undercover Tennis courts at 6:15pm on Wednesday!
- If you cannot make it to some part of recruitment you need to fill out an excuse form in the Holden Center
- Do not skip a party without an excuse form or an emergency reported to your Rho Gamma. If you skip a party without one of those options you will be kicked out of recruitment. Every chapter is great and deserves your time. 
- Meet with your Rho Gamma before Wednesday!!!! She should call you, text you, and email you tonight or tomorrow morning. 


Other then that just enjoy some pictures from the evening!






There are 822 Women going through recruitment this year!  YAY!


Monday, September 24, 2012

Preparing for the Open House Days!


  • Take care of yourself
  • Eat dinner before recruitment (then brush your teeth!).
  • Drink lots of water
  • Wear comfortable shoes (you don’t want blisters the first day!).
  • Bring a little snack for in between events.
  • Only bring what is necessary
  • You are not allowed to bring your purses inside, so they will be stacked outside the house and one of your Rho Gammas will watch them. But please only bring a small bag- satchels and backpacks are not required. However if you are coming straight from class don't worry about it we will take good care of your bags during your visit to each chapter. 
  • Get your questions answered about what to expect
  • Make sure to meet up with your Rho Gamma over the next few days and get all your questions answered.
  •  If there is anything they cannot answer feel free to email us! phcrush@uoregon.edu
    Think of questions you want to ask chapters
  •   Is there something your looking for in a chapter?
  • What kinds of activities do you want to do with your chapter?
  • What is important for you in your college experience? 
  • Use those questions to create a set of questions you want to ask every chapter! Chapter members will be impressed by your prepared-ness! 
  • [Personal Note: I did this, I asked every single chapter three questions and it really helped me know where I wanted to be. FYI one of my questions was "Do your members where sweatpants to class?" ... Everyone answered yes, so that wasn't that helpful. haha. ]

Take a deep breath! They are way more nervous to meet you then you are to meet them! Your going to do great!

Panhellenic Love,
Crista & The Recruitment Staff

And follow us on Twitter! @UO_Panhellenic
If your talking about recruitment #ffr12

Friday, September 21, 2012

Panhellenic Field Day

Ever wonder what Panhellenic means? Pan=All, Hellenic=Greek... So put them together and you get all greek! 

This week all the sororities have been hard at work preparing for recruitment. It is a stressful time for everyone involved, they want to make sure they are at their best for all the women who come through recruitment! But we forced all of them to take a break and relax as a community while playing some fun field day activities (third grade style!).

Members competing in the hula hooping contest!

It happened to be a beautiful day in Eugene (rare I know) so it was a perfect opportunity to run around outside! The Rho Gamma's ran all the activities so it obviously went very smoothly!

One of the tallest towers of the day!

We played so many games, from the traditional sack race, to kickball, hula hooping, saltine eating, and red cup tower building. It was so fun! Each team had members from multiple chapters so it was really exciting for everyone to make some new friends.

Saltines anyone?

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Recruitment Staff


Crista, Hillary, Kelly, Laura A, and Moira
Not Pictured: Laura H, and Katie 
Panhellenic Vice President of Membership- That's Me! My name is Crista Coven, and I was elected into my position by the Panhellenic Community last fall. Many people ask how I got into my job, well, it happened as much by accident as it could have. I wanted to join leadership in Fraternity and Sorority life as soon as I joined. I did little jobs around my chapter until I was chosen to be on Panhellenic Recruitment Staff my Sophomore year. I was the Recruitment Assistant (see below) for one year then smoothly transitioned into being the VP of Membership.
My job is to plan all the logistical operations of recruitment. I made the schedule, hired the staff, did the marketing, and trained the staff. It doesn't sound like much but what a job!

Panhellenic President- Laura Hinman. Laura's job during recruitment is to take care of all the chapter members and presidents, keep stress levels down and everyone happy!

Panhellenic Vice President of Accountability- Katie O'Neill. Katie's job during recruitment is to make sure all the national and local recruitment rules are being followed!

Recruitment Assistant- Kelly Sommers. Kelly is my right hand woman for all things recruitment. She keeps track of time, schedules, names, plans events, runs meetings and helps with almost everything!

Logistics Assistant- Moira Cain. Moira makes sure the computer system that organizes the recruitment structure is running properly. Also, she is super helpful with computer problems!

Rho Gamma Co-Coordinators- Laura Addy and Hillary Ross. Laura and Hillary plan the training for the Rho Gammas (see below) and make sure that they all know what they are doing. They also help with all other aspects of recruitment!
Rho Gamma's and Staff
Rho Gamma- A recruitment counselor. We have 70 of them who will be their for all the potential new members during recruitment and beyond. They have been trained on all things recruitment, sorority, Oregon, and leadership! They are leaders in the community and represent the Panhellenic community for us all! They are not members of their chapter during recruitment. They must stop talking to their sorority sisters, not wear any chapter apparel, and can not tell anyone what chapter they are in all to make sure they can support you in an unbiased way!

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

T-Shirts for the Open House Days!

Below is the artwork for the t-shirts that just came in! If you are going through recruitment to join a sorority you will get the WHITE t-shirt at Orientation! 

You will need to wear these shirts for the first three days of recruitment!

The Black shirts are for the members of the chapters. Every recruiting member will wear the black v-neck for the first three days of recruitment!

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Registration Deadline

Just to be clear- to participate in recruitment you must register. 

Register by following this link:

https://secureapp.icsrecruiter.com/ICS/GM/v3/Pan/Web/Enrollment/RegistrationV3b.aspx?UID=UOREGN

It costs $50 to go through recruitment. You get a t-shirt and more importantly the opportunity to be a part of something bigger then yourself.

The deadline to register is ONE WEEK FROM TODAY! 
Saturday, September 22, at 11:59pm

If you have questions, feel free to ask! phcrush@uoregon.edu

Panhellenic Love,
Crista

GO DUCKS!

Friday, September 14, 2012

FAQ: Fall Formal

If there was confusion in the last email let me clairify:

"Fall Formal" = "Recruitment" = "Rush" = "FFR" = The week where you visit all the chapters, talk to women in each one, and at the end of the week you end up with a "Bid" to one of them! (see below for a description of what a "bid" is)

Thursday, September 13, 2012

FAQ: Greek Language

We get a lot of questions about what certain words mean that we use on a regular basis here is a little explanation!

Bid: Your invitation to a sorority, you will get one bid on "Bid Day"

Big Sis/ Little Sis: The mentoring program every sorority has, a big sis is an upperclassman or someone who has been a member longer then the little sis. Some chapters pair bigs and littles on bid day, and some pair them later in the fall!

PNM: Potential New Member - You! Anyone who goes through fall formal recruitment is what we call a "PNM"

Pref Night: Preference Night, the final night of fall formal recruitment where you go to up to three chapters and make a big decision!

Function: The term we use for events with fraternities, like dances, trips, paint-balling excursions, etc.

The difference between a Philanthropy and Community Service- A philanthropy is an event to raise money or items for an organization like the boys and girls club, we do these events on campus completely separate from the organizations. Community service would be something like actually going to the boys and girls club  and playing with the kids.

Panhellenic: There are two things associated with this term, one is the local Panhellenic or PHC. This is the council comprised of women from many of the chapters on our campus. They oversee all aspects of sorority life (like recruitment) and keep everyone going in a positive direction. National Panhellenic is the organization comprised of all 26 member chapters. They oversee ALL of us and there are representatives from every chapter on that council. Learn more about National Panhellenic here.

Any more terminology that confuses you? Tweet us those words at @UO_Panhellenic

Monday, September 10, 2012

Recruitment Fashion

For the first three days wear weather appropriate pants and comfortable shoes. Tennis shoes or flats are appropriate. The t-shirt in the picture will be provided. 

Philanthropy day is the first day to express your style. Make sure to wear a watch so you can keep yourself on schedule. Cell phones shouldn't be out during recruitment! Wear flats, sandals, or little tennis shoes. You will be walking a lot! 
Meet Emily! She is one of the women who will be a recruitment councilor! The outfit she is wearing would be perfect for philanthropy day. 
Meet Alana! She is another one of the women who will be a recruitment councilor! Her outfit is perfect for Philanthropy Day! Note: Those are jeans not leggings!

Sisterhood day is a wonderful day but very long! Wear comfortable shoes, sun dresses, pants, blouses, and don't forget your watch!
Emily's outfit here would be great for Sisterhood Day!
Preference night is the most important night! Wear a dress that is comfortable, appropriate, and expresses your style. Avoid wearing all black or all white because chapters generally wear those colors, you don't want to get lost in the crowd! If you choose to wear heels, bring flats or flip flops to wear in between chapters! 
Here Emily is all ready for  Preference Night!

Friday, September 7, 2012

Delta Delta Delta



Tri Deltas During Recruitment 2011
The Theta Delta chapter of Tri Delta is so excited to meet all you lovely ladies this fall formal recruitment! We welcome you to Fraternity and Sorority Life!

In 1888, Tri Delta was founded on the ideals of truth, self-sacrifice and friendship.
Members of our chapter live these goals in their personal lives, as well as remind one another of their importance within the chapter.

One of our large commitments to showcase these ideals is philanthropy. 





Tri Deltas at Delta Desserts


Delta Delta Delta nationally is the top fundraising Greek organization in the nation, raising millions of dollars a year for our philanthropic partner, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Our chapter contributes largely with our annual Delta Desserts event and our Sincerely Yours event, raising over $34,000 in 2012! We are very proud of our sisters!

In addition to philanthropy, we also hold social events, sisterhood events, and participate in other chapters’ events on campus! We believe in forming a strong bond with one another, as well as U of O Fraternity and Sorority Life.
 



Tri Deltas at a bowling sisterhood event

Our strong sisterhood is what got us here, and we are ecstatic to show you all the reasons for this “Delta Love!”

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Kappa Kappa Gamma




We are so excited that you are interested in Fall Formal Recruitment!


New Member Retreat to SunRiver, Oregon!

Kappa Kappa Gamma has been a part of the Greek Community here at the University of Oregon since 1913. Our time here on the U of O campus has allowed us to create strong bounds within the community. We pride ourselves on our ability to both work hard, and stay involved in the community. We are a diverse chapter, bound by our sisterhood, friendship, and common values.


Kappa Kappa Gamma during Recruitment!


Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), is our official philanthropic partner, which we have supported through the donation of thousands of books and volunteer hours to Boys and Girls Clubs, elementary schools and hospitals. Each fall Kappa holds our Kasino Night Philanthropy to support RIF, and next year we plan to include Kasino night with our Father's Weekend festivities. During Winter term we also hold Kappa Dodge ball to support Early Childhood CARES, which provides early intervention and services for children with special education needs from infancy through pre school.



Kappa Kappa Gamma Participating in Sigma Chi’s Derby Days 2011


We hope that we get the opportunity to share more about our sisterhood with you during Fall Formal Recruitment. Good luck with Recruitment!

Go Ducks!

Love,

Kappa Kappa Gamma


Visit our Twitter page: https://twitter.com/KKGbetaomega