One fourth of the undergraduate population is involved in Fraternity or Sorority Life at Trinity. Orientation — a time for the newest members to bond with their organization — started on Jan. 31 and ends today, Feb. 21.
Greek Life organizations invite new members in by offering them a “bid” on Bid Day, Jan. 31 this year. From that moment forward, the new members are referred to as “new active members” and are members of that fraternity or sorority.
Orientation and recruitment are a part of the year-to-year operations of Greek life organizations, with recruitment in the fall and orientation in the spring. Cate Shaffer, junior earth and environmental geosciences major and co-orientation chair for Zeta Chi, attended the FSL mandatory training as a part of the orientation planning process.
“There’s a training in October that all o-chairs and presidents are required to go to. That usually includes all the anti-hazing protocols and any new policies that have come in to try and be as supportive as possible,” Shaffer said.
New rules for this year’s orientation include a built-in day off for new actives and changes to the New Active Class Order, formerly Pledge Class Order. The day-off rule mandates that FSL organizations incorporate a day into their orientation schedule where new actives do not have any activities related to their organization.
NAC is when new members recite the names of all the new members in that same year. The changes to the new active class order state that NAC cannot be used before every event, making it less like a lineup. Historically, lineups have been used in Greek life organizations across the country to demean or ridicule new members. The new parameters for NAC order at Trinity exist to prevent hazing.
FSL states that organizations cannot force NACs to participate in events. Shaffer stated that it’s important for the new actives to take care of their mental health even if it means stepping back from some orientation activities.
“They aren’t required to come to every event, but we do like to know where they are. We just want to make sure we’re checking in on them,” Shaffer said.
The past three weeks can get busy for orientation chairs. Angelina “Jojo” Salinas, sophomore communication and art history double-major and Zeta Chi recruitment chair, mentioned that the end of the rush season allows her to relax more while still staying involved with orientation events.
“It can just get very intense being recruitment chair for any org because you have a lot of things going on,” Salinas said. “Now in the spring semester, I can be a little more laid back.”
Recruitment chairs orchestrate the size and participation of their organization’s NAC. Salinas went on at least 20 rush dates — meetings with prospective new members during recruitment. Salinas stated that through this process she has made new connections.
“It definitely feels really rewarding for me, even speaking to people who didn’t end up joining Zeta Chi, just getting to know them and talk to them,” Salinas said. “I definitely feel very happy, because not only did we get new members in Zeta Chi, but I now have multiple friends and acquaintances and other orgs, and I always say hi to them.”
Organizations do orientation differently, and the events are tailored to each organization and its NAC. Greta Kenaston, first-year undecided major and new member of Gamma Chi Delta, enjoyed the orientation process.
“The stereotype is that it’s really stressful,” Kenaston said. “A lot of people say that it’s the most fun you wouldn’t want to have again, but I would do it again.”
New Gamma members have a say in how much they participate in orientation. Kenaston stated that leaning into orientation and attending various events helped her enjoy the orientation process.
“Since everything is optional, what you put into it, you get out of it,” Kenaston said. “I wanted to get the most out of it. I went to pretty much every event that I could, and it was super fun.”
*Kappa Kappa Delta declined to comment.
* Cleighton Schedule, Alpha Chi Lambda, Chi Delta Tau, Iota Chi Rho, Phi Sigma Chi, Sigma Theta Tau did not respond to request for comment.
