The Panhellenic Council kicked off its formal Rush Week on Tuesday with 15 campus sororities working together to let women who are interested in greek life find a sorority.

Since Tuesday, prospective sorority members, also called rushies, have been walking from sorority to sorority, spending time with members and becoming familiar with Iowa State.

Panhellenic Council President Andrea Hefty, a senior, said registration began Tuesday at 10 a.m. The rushies chose to visit 15 chapters, hence the name 15 Party Day.

Wednesday was 10 Party Day. The rushies receive invitations from the sororities and “they narrow their choices down to 10,” Hefty said.

“Rush is a mutual selection process. It’s the chapters as well as the women going through rush,” she said. “The chapters extend invitations, then the women reduce the houses that they choose.”

“It all goes through Rush central,” which coordinates the 15 National Panhellenic Conference member chapters participating in Rush Week. “We make sure it all goes smoothly and safely,” Hefty said.

Friday is Two Party Day and Friday night the women select their top choices. “This is where they are really making the decision for the chapter they really want to be in,” she said.

Saturday is Bid Day. “At 3:00 on central campus the women will receive their bids on the chapter. We’ll have a Rush rally.”

The chapters will come and meet their new members and then go do “sisterly activities.”

Hefty said, “A couple of chapters are having bands play for their members. Some chapters will have picnics and some will do movie nights and game nights.”

Hazing and harassment of new members, such as measuring bodies, is a practice that does not occur, although it is portrayed in movies and books occasionally.

“That is a stereotype,” said Robin Shaffer Lilienthal, the greek affairs coordinator at the Student Activities Center.

“Rush activities are based strictly on conversation. Anything based on body size is irrelevant to chapters,” she said.

“They look for women who are going to be interested in service to the community, leadership, scholarships and friendship. Usually the women are meeting each other through the rushing activities for the first time.”

The fraternities do not hold a formal Rush Week, but they do hold informal Rush activities in the summer by bringing prospective members to the house and visiting, said Matt Campbell, recruiting coordinator for Phi Kappa Phi.

“We get a lot of incoming freshmen, and if we know the guys we give them a call and see if they are interested in greek life,” he said. Often, he added, the prospective fraternity members would visit during the university’s orientation periods and stay with the fraternities instead of in the dormitories.