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| August 30, 2012
Going Greek? HIRNI PATEL CONTRIBUTOR
Men and women participating in Panhellenic and Intrafraternal Council (IFC) Recruitment are anxious as the events begin. Nearly 60 percent of the Millsaps student body is involved in the Greek system and all students are encouraged to at least participate in the recruitment process. According to Megan James, director of campus activities, the recruitment process is an “exciting time and also a great opportunity to meet freshmen and upper classmen.” IFC formal recruitment began on Aug 27. and will continue until Bid Day on Sept 1. The IFC recruitment process is three nights of formal recruitment. Most events are formal, and the men are required to wear either a coat or tie. All freshmen and interested, unaffiliated men are encouraged to attend formal recruitment activities for the purpose of meeting other Millsaps students. Senior Garrett Wilkerson, IFC president, says, “I still encourage guys who didn’t go through rush to go Greek. It provides academic, philanthropic, social and leadership opportunities at Millsaps.” Monday evening unaffiliated women who are going through the recruitment process will meet the Panhellenic Recruitment team—which consists of
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members from each sorority—at recruitment kickoff. Panhellenic recruitment counselors are sorority women who have disaffiliated from their respective chapters for the recruitment period. They are trained to remain neutral as they answer any questions that potential new members have during the recruitment process providing listening ears as potential new members decide which sorority, if any, to join. Senior Taylor Scyster, president of the Panhellenic Council and recruitment counselor, encourages freshmen to “definitely go though the process open-minded” and to “ignore stereotypes.” The formal process consists of events hosted on three nights. After each event, the women who are going through recruitment will rank the sororities in an order of their preference after each event. The Philanthropy Round on Sept. 4, in which each potential new member creates a craft affiliated with each sorority’s charity, is the first event of formal recruitment. The event is casual, so the girls are not required to wear formal attire. On Sept. 6 the women may be invit-
ed back to up to three houses to watch skits that the affiliated women have prepared. The skits incorporate various details about each sorority. This night is more casual than the Philanthropy Round, so girls are expected to wear either a skirt and blouse or a sundress. On Sept. 7, girls may be invited back to up to two houses for Preference Night which is the most formal of the three events, and potential new members are expected to wear cocktail dresses. The potential new members
Pearigen: We have not had a discussion about that. That will be on the staff agenda.
MILLSAPS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1.
P&W: What are the immediate steps that will be taken to begin implementing the new plan? Pearigen: We are full of plans that we can be working on this year. We are working to increase, promote and continue communication with religious organizations on and off campus. Strategic goal number three in the plan is campus enhancements. One of our first goals is to reclaim the north east corner of campus where the Texaco now is. For now, I have become a big fan of pressure washing. It makes an amazing difference. Of course, we ultimately need things like a new performing arts center, but we can pressure wash now.
rank a last time before Bid Day, which will be held on Sept. 8 at 2 p.m. All other members of the Millsaps community are encouraged to support the Greek women during their run, which is the first time they welcome their new members “Recruitment is great for those who never thought they would go Greek. Greek life focuses on community service, philanthropy, and scholarship,” says James.
*Note: Pearigen recently released information on the most recent staff meeting, reporting the agreed upon changes to return the old, wooden chairs to the cafeteria.
Pearigen addresses students at Fourth Night Ceremony. | Photo by Genny Santos.
P&W: Speaking of campus enhancement, what’s the deal with Franklin? Pearigen: I had hoped that while no one was living there we could go in and renovate it. I asked for a cost to do a major renovation that would include things like the bathrooms, carpet and paint and ceiling tiles. The total cost was $2.5 million. I don’t want to just go in there and throw paint on the walls; the building needs new things like plumbing. Our students deserve that. But for now, we have to raise the money to complete that project.
P&W: Can you explain some of the recent changes in the academic departments? Pearigen: We had to consider every department and ask if it is a core element of the Millsaps experience and therefore has the potential to drive students into it. The only department we cut was computer science. This does not mean we are walking away from technology. We are continuing to teach classes. We reduced the number of people teaching in French and Spanish. We didn’t have the student enrollment to support it, but we have the student interest to add a language.
The shifting allows us to cover what we need to cover while we search for strengths in that area. *Note: There were also changes made in the Chemistry and Biology departments, the Else School of Management and the History and Computer Science departments. These changes were accompanied by modifications in different administrative staff positions. P&W: What are your plans to address continued student concern about the meal plan and cafeteria environment?
P&W: How can students be involved in the Strategic Plan? Pearigen: The first and foremost thing is to encourage prospective students to enroll. We need to get our enrollment up. Also, academic performance of students has a lot to do with the strength of the institution. It has an affect on the overall campus climate. As I mentioned in my speech at convocation, student involvement is crucial. I invite your voice and your activism. We have a large group of student leaders who are doing everything, but I want to see more students ramp up their level of engagement on campus. P&W: Anything else? Pearigen: Ask questions. I am always available to listen to your concerns and advice. My email is Rob.Pearigen@millsaps.edu.