By Kendrick Jackson, Advertising Manager
With recruitment season over, fraternities and sororities will now shift their focus to the initiation process of joining a Greek life organization. During the next several weeks, new members will get a closer glimpse of what it is like to be a part of that respective Greek life organization.
The true meaning of brotherhood and sisterhood lies within the initiation process. New members will learn the deep, rich history of their respective organization, partake in philanthropy events and obtain various skills throughout this time.
“The Phikeia (new member) process is so important because not only does it show who we are individually, but also as a whole,” said William Campbell, president of Phi Delta Theta.
Many new members are optimistic about their future experiences in Greek life. “[I am looking forward to] a group outside of wrestling to be friends and family with, and do absurd things with,” said Dillon Shaw, a new member of Chi Nu.
Not only will Shaw and other new members alike get to have fun, but WLU Greek Life offers so much more than typical fraternity and sorority stereotypes one may find.
Alpha Xi Delta will host their Moundsville Penitentiary fundraiser tomorrow night for Autism Speaks. They were selling tickets for the event Monday and Tuesday, and also had a Bake-It-Blue bake sale Wednesday. The sorority has 12 new members.
Beta Rho Epsilon will have eight new members for the fall semester. The sorority doesn’t have any upcoming events, but every spring, BPE hosts a Relay for Life fundraiser that benefits cancer survivors.
Chi Omega will have 13 new members this semester. The sorority has fundraised all week for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Catch the ladies at the football game tonight, as they will have balloon releases for 50 cents and baked goods on sale for $1.
Delta Theta Kappa will also be in attendance at the game tonight, as they continue to fundraise for Breast Cancer Awareness. As they have done all week long, the sorority will be selling raffle baskets and t-shirts for the cause. For the fall semester, DOK has nine new members.
Lambda Psi Sigma is bringing in 12 new members this fall. Recently, they raised $600 for the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), with a bake sale they held during the football game against University of Charleston.
Beta Theta Gamma has four members as of now. The fraternity has been collecting money for hurricane relief, and this week is the last they are taking donations.
Chi Nu is delighted to have 12 new members this semester. The fraternity will help out the town of West Liberty with Fall Fest this upcoming weekend. They will have more events later in the semester too, so stay tuned for more.
Kappa Delta Kappa renovated the basketball court behind Beta Hall this past weekend. The fraternity repainted the court lines and performed landscaping work. KDK has six new members this fall.
Phi Delta Theta has partnered up with West Liberty Elementary this semester, and will co-host several events to help the school finish funding their new playground. The fraternity will also help out with Fall Fest this upcoming weekend. The fraternity has seven new members.
Theta Xi, however, is currently still in the recruitment progress. They are also planning events and projects to fundraise for and help Habitat for Humanity.
WLU fraternities and sororities are benefiting not only the campus, but also the surrounding West Liberty community. Students are starting to take interest in philanthropy efforts, and the numbers are starting to show with the recruitment numbers for this fall semester.
This is in large part due to Kate Billings, the on-campus activities coordinator. Billings entered WLU in the Fall 2014, and she herself was a part of the Phi Sigma Sigma chapter at Binghamton University.
Billings has used her experiences as a guide for WLU Greek life, and in her three years as the WLU Greek life advisor, Billings has witnessed drastic changes in Greek life relations.
“The cohesion as a group has definitely improved, in terms of the morale and willingness to work with each other,” said Billings. “You definitely see more people supporting each other in the going Greek effort.”
For more Greek life event updates, please visit the WL Activities and WLU Greek Life Twitter pages.
Photo credit: WLU Greek Life Twitter
