Iowa State’s Collegiate Panhellenic Council (CPC) will announce the plans for this semester’s fall recruitment Friday. 

The announcement will take place during a livestream on the CPC’s recruitment Instagram page. A surprise special guest will be joining Vice Presidents of Recruitment Emma Van Ryswyk and Tiffany Piper for the announcement. 

Recruitment is expected to look very different this semester in the wake of COVID-19, much like other aspects of the semester. 

In a typical semester, primary recruitment would all be face to face. Potential New Members (PNMs) visit chapter facilities and interact with members of each sorority. Special events and large gatherings of people would also normally occur.

Primary recruitment takes place in rounds and would start with a welcome weekend, where PNMs get checked in. Presentations and videos are shown that introduce the different chapters. Over the week, the number of chapters PNMs interact with decreases.

The values showcase happens during the second round and PNMs get the opportunity to meet chapters and chapter members and learn about each chapter’s values and philanthropy. 

The third round of recruitment involves house tours, where PNMs visit chapter facilities and get taken on a tour of the house while getting to socialize and interact more with the members of that sorority. Typically, this round would involve many people in an enclosed space with little allowance for social distancing.

Preference night is the fourth round and is a more formal event, where PNMs get to meet with their top chapters. 

The next day is bid day, where PNMs get offered a spot in a chapter and celebrate with their sisters. 

Traditionally, recruitment is a showcase of spirit and would involve activities with a lot of singing and chanting. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has previously stated singing could be a transmission source for COVID-19. 

The sorority and fraternity community has already announced changes will be made during the semester to chapter facilities to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Other universities’ sorority and fraternity communities across the nation have also announced adjustments to the recruitment process for the upcoming semester, including making it a completely virtual event. 

The livestream is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Friday. Those wanting to tune in will find it on the Instagram account @isupennypanhellenic.