Greek Life: The Journey
to Membership
Laura Bauer
Program Director for Fraternity & Sorority Life
Alemayhu Ayanaw
Graduate Assistant for Fraternity & Sorority LIfe
Overview
We will discuss the following:




How does a student go about joining a
fraternity or sorority?
How does this impact students today?
What do they do after they join in order to
get initiated?
What is initiation and how does it work?
Four Corners
Two Models

National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC)
& National Association for Latino
Fraternal Organization (NALFO)

Interfraternity Council (IFC) &
Panhellenic Association (PHA)
How to join: NPHC & NALFO
Informational/Interest Meetings:




Interested students (aspirants) are invited to learn
more about a specific organization
Aspirants are expected to have researched all of the
fraternities and sororities and know a great deal about
the organization they are visiting.
It is not generally accepted behavior for a person to
attend more than one organization's informational
meeting.
Contact Information of chapter members is given to
the aspirants
How to join: NPHC & NALFO
Interview/Application Process:




Aspirants are interviewed by chapter and
sometime alumni
Chapter votes on interviewed candidates
Selected Aspirants are notified
Aspirants send application to headquarters
How To Join: IFC & PHA
Informal Recruitment Events
 Chapters obtain names from council & alumni
 Chapters will host a series of events including
going for dinner, wings, ice cream, etc., going to
a Royals game, attending a KU event, or other
chapter specific events.
 After meeting a prospective member (PM) 3-4
times the chapter Chapter votes
 Bids are extended
How To Join: IFC & PHA
Formal Recruitment Events
 Council organizes a recruitment period and
PM’s register & pay to participate.
 Every PM meets every chapter through a
series of rounds of events.
 PM’s rank chapters and chapters create an
invitation list for the next round.
 PM’s will visit chapters who invited them
back in order of their own rankings.
 At the end of the recruitment period,
Chapters will extend bids to join.
Impact on the Millennials

Fraternities and Sororities are protected by
Title IX



They are free to be single sex
They are free to select their membership
Millennials are not used to selection



Parents consistently reinforce how great they are
Everyone makes the team
Not used to rejection
The Road to Initiation:
NPHC & NALFO Intake
Intensive Educational Process:








Learn the History of the organization
Learn the culture and values of the
organization
Write essay and reports on material
Risk management training
Practice event planning
Practice public speaking
Step Practice
Final Exam
The Road to Initiation:
IFC & PHA New Member Education
Pledge Ceremony
 Weekly Meetings with NM Educator
 Book or Manual to follow
 Team Building
 Retreat/New Member Skip
 Big Brother/Big Sister Revealing
 Final Exam
 Sometimes disaffiliation occurs

The Mystery of Initiation:






Each organization has its own ritual ceremony
Week of activities leading up to initiation (IWeek)
Initiation date may or may not be known by the
potential initiates
Initiation into the organization may be done at
Regional level and chapter level
May only take a few hours, may take all day
Special Dress is usually required
The Mystery of Initiation:




It’s a beautiful ceremony, usually based
in ancient and/or Greek Mythology
May be in one part or several parts
New Members may wear a blindfold or
hood
New Members may be lead in by active
members or in a line holding onto each
other
The Mystery of Initiation:

Ceremonies may include:









Oaths or pledges to take
Robes or Special garments
Candles
Alters with paraphernalia
Religious Symbols
Something to Sign
Description of the organization symbols
An opportunity to leave
Some Ceremonies may:



Be confusing because of language
Be outdated
Have evolved over time
(others are still as they were originally written)
The Myth of Initiation
In the past 20-30 years, initiation has
been tied to hazing.
 When it is done hazing-free, it is an
incredible experience for the students
 It sets expectations and reinforces
values
 It creates a roadmap to live your life

Mock Initiation
To give you an idea of what it is like,
we have created our own mockinitiation ceremony.
 It is meant to take a comedic
approach and help you understand
what a ritual ceremony may look like.
 Only participate if you are comfortable
doing so.

Questions?
Thank You!
Laura Bauer, lcbauer@ku.edu
Alemayhu Ayanaw, a2ayanaw@ku.edu