By Kimberlyn Bland, Contributing Writer
Greek life is an amazing opportunity that is presented to students of West Liberty University each year, but joining Greek life is more than just joining a club or organization.
Many students came to discover this for themselves as recruitment took place for sororities and fraternities, welcoming 85 new members, 61 women and 24 men, to the community.
The sororities of West Liberty include Alpha Xi Delta, Beta Rho Epsilon, Chi Omega, Delta Theta Kappa, and Lambda Psi Sigma. Recruitment week happens annually, during the fall semester and consists of meetings and events that help unite the sororities and allow all the young ladies to bond.
According to Megan Lees, this was definitely a successful recruitment and “seeing so many young ladies come out for formal recruitment was the start to the excitement for the week. We have grown more and more each year as a Greek community and this fall was a huge score for all of the chapters.” She continued to express her excitement to watch each new member add something new to their sorority and Greek life in general.
The fraternities of West Liberty University include Beta Theta Gamma, Chi Nu, Phi Delta Theta, and Kappa Delta Kappa. President of Phi Delta Theta, Brandon Galici, was able to answer a few questions regarding new members and what they can look forward to this year.
“I look forward to teaching the new members the benefits of Phi Delta Theta,” Galici said. “We foster the development of leadership and growth on both a personal and professional level.” He continued to say the turnout during this year’s Phikeia (their preferred term for recruitment) has been great compared to other years and explained a possible reason as to why. “Our members did a great job of recruiting friends that they had already built a relationship with, which fits our recruitment ideology of ‘people join people.’”
Joining Greek life is about building leadership skills, networking and being involved on campus. Greek life helps students grow and learn in a supportive environment with mentors and friends that are eager to help.
Chelsea Williams, a Alpha Xi Delta recruit said, “In the beginning, I honestly didn’t understand what everyone meant about how I would ‘find a home’ when I was rushing. Throughout the recruitment process, I really enjoyed it and when bid day finally came, I was so excited to run across the quad to my new sisters. After being welcomed with open arms, I finally understood what it felt like to find my home and it was one of the best feelings.”
Finding a home away from home is an important part to being successful and happy in college, and it’s never too late to get involved.
