Rush weekend has come to an end for the Collegiate Panhellenic Council, and the council is pleased with the results.

The CPC experienced an 82 percent completion rate.

Of the 158 women who started the recruitment process, 132 completed it.

Crissi Arroyo, the president of the CPC, a senior early childhood education major and Delta Zeta member, said this is one of the best return rates the CPC has ever seen at NIU.

Rush was three days of information, food, ceremonies, games and socialization held by each of the four councils, where potential members of Greek chapters met the individual chapters under that council.

The first day of rush was open to all students, but the second and third days were by invitation only.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Holly Church, a freshman business major and potential Delta Zeta member. “[Delta Zeta] felt like home. The girls’ personalities really fit mine.”

Megan Hechler, the CPC vice president of recruitment, and a senior English education major and Sigma Kappa member, said rush gives students a chance to meet the members, see the houses and learn what the chapters stand for.

Following rush, students remaining at the end of the third day attended pledging classes.

The pledging process lasts from four to eight weeks depending on the chapter and involves learning about the history and mission of the chapter in addition to other procedures kept secret from virtually everyone outside the chapter.

Students may rush as many times as they want, but if they make it to the end of the rush process and sign a “Bid Card” to pledge to a fraternity or sorority, they must wait a calender year before pledging again.

If a student has completed the process and has been initiated into a chapter, he or she may not attempt to pledge another chapter.

Both Arroyo and Hechler said all students should look into rushing at some point.

Church and Rachel Lippens, a freshman accountancy major and Delta Zeta member, said rushing was a good experience and something they were glad to have done.

“Everybody adds to the Greek system in a different way,” Hechler said.

“You don’t have to be the treasury chair or the social chair if that’s not what you’re interested in,” she said. “You could be the music chair or the foods chair and contribute just as much. There’s always a place for everyone in a chapter.”