IFC chapters hold second round of fall recruitment
The women of Alpha Sigma Alpha walk out into the trenches on Oct. 22 on the field outside the Rec Center for the first round of Women’s Tugs. They were coached by fraternity Phi Kappa Psi.
November 10, 2021
The Interfraternity Council chapters held a second recruitment for the very first time the week of Oct. 25 as the number of individuals participating in and joining Greek life organizations took a hit last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
NIU has four Greek life organization councils: Interfraternity Council (IFC), National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), Panhellenic Association (PHA) and United Greek Council (UGC).
There are ten IFC fraternities here at NIU, according to the NIU fraternity and sorority website.
This is the first time that any Greek life organizations at NIU have had a second recruitment in a single semester, said Alex Bueno, a junior marketing major and chapter president of Delta Chi.
There were some activities that the IFC fraternities held together, and some that were held individually, including playing football and hosting grill-outs.
In the Holmes Student Center on Monday, Oct. 25, all IFC fraternities were present in order to allow individuals interested in joining one of the fraternities to ask questions and get more information before deciding, Bueno said.
On Oct. 26, Phi Kappa Psi, and possible new members, watched the World Series, ordered pizza and had the chance to get to connect with each other, said Austin Hastings, a junior physical education major and health minor as well as vice president of Phi Kappa Psi.
The second recruitment class was helpful because it allowed students to focus on adjusting to college and on their studies before making the decision to join a Greek life organization, Hastings said.
The outcome from the second recruitment was different for every IFC chapter.
“For our (Phi Kappa Psi) second rush class we got a total of five guys and the first rush we got 18, so that put us up to 23 total, which is where we wanted to be,” Hastings said.
Sigma Nu did not take in any new members from the second recruitment, but took in 24 new members from the initial recruitment earlier this fall, said Raaif Majeed, chapter president of Sigma Nu.
“My favorite part about being in Phi Kappa Psi is the brotherhood aspect of it, knowing that I have 40 brothers that I can go to for anything and just have somebody to talk to, whether it’s about school, family life, relationships, anything like that,” Hastings said.