Greeks see more interest

The fourth floor of the Davis Center was buzzing Sept. 21 when hundreds of female students met the five sororities for UVM Greek Life’s formal recruitment.

Sorority registration is up 29 percent from last year, said Kim Monteaux, UVM’s Greek Life adviser.

The average chapter size of each sorority in 2011 was 70 girls, and this year, two sororities have more than 80 members each, she said.

Monteaux credits the above average numbers to more students who value philanthropy, community service and finding a home away from home.

Monteaux said sorority recruitment involves informing prospective members of the values and commitments of the five different sororities on campus: Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Delta Pi, Delta Delta Delta, Kappa Alpha Theta and Pi Beta Phi.

Some current sorority members, like senior Julia Keeler, were in Burlington all summer working on the recruitment process and communicating the benefits of joining a chapter. 

Keeler credits the sororities’ dedication toward recruitment and social media as significant factors in the increased interest. 

“Things have changed because of Facebook and Twitter,” she said. “It was easier to get the word out which led to more girls wanting to do it.”

By meeting sorority members on a number of clubs, sports teams and through a variety of majors, potential new members have more personal conversations and are able to view Greek Life in a more positive light than before, Keeler said.

“The increase definitely gives the potential to make campus more diverse which is really great,” she said.

The smaller size of sororities at UVM compared with other colleges has proven to be a considerable draw toward the University’s chapters, Keeler said.

First-year Geneva Morley became interested in UVM’s Greek Life for this reason.

“I knew how big the school was and I wasn’t ready to join competitive sports,” Morley said. “This is a good way to meet a close group of people in a non-competitive way.”

Keeler asserts that establishing these relationships, the sisterhood, is easier with a smaller number of girls because they encourage group activities that involve all the members.        

“I know all my sisters very well and I love them all very much,” she said. “That’s hard to do with 300 women. It’s unique that we have 30-100 and that we are able to do things all together.”

First-year Lucy Mower said she enjoyed going through UVM’s recruitment process.

“UVM’s chapters are definitely not as stressful as other schools,” Mower said. “UVM isn’t as competitive or intense and is a lot more open.”