Fraternity and sorority recruitment, a rite of passage for many Tulane students, begins this week, says Jacob Bolin, director of fraternity and sorority programs.

Tulane traditionally defers recruitment to the spring semester so that students can find their academic footing and Greek members have time to plan events. This semester, the start of the season has been pushed back a few weeks, Bolin says, so that students coming to Tulane for the first time can get acclimated.

Panhellenic recruitment begins Thursday (Feb. 9), while the Interfraternity Council kicks off its recruitment on Saturday (Feb. 11).

"Without the fall semester, students will have a different perspective on Greek events. Those who transferred saw Greek life on other campuses," Bolin says. On most campuses, recruitment and pledging began in the fall. "They won't have seen our fraternities and sororities in their natural setting, as it were. This year we hope to make the process more user-friendly and welcoming, because of the wide variety of experiences students had in the fall."

Although the date for recruitment has been pushed back, pledging and initiation will occur at the same time they normally would, shortening the new-member period.

Bolin expects that this year and for many years to come, the fraternities and sororities of Tulane will have a renewed focus on community service. All of the 25 organizations (15 fraternities, 10 sororities) have a national philanthropy and a local or national community service commitment, such as Habitat for Humanity or adopting a school. Bolin says they will be looking for ways to get more involved in communitywide service activities. Partnering with organizations at the consortium schools--Dillard, Loyola and Xavier universities, who have been working together with Tulane on projects since Hurricane Katrina--for both social activities and community service is also new on the agenda.

The organizations each have their own history, tone and tenor, and balance of social and service activities. Among the activities under discussion is an open meet-and-greet session hosted by the historically African-American fraternities and sororities.

"I encourage people to be open to all the organizations and to take their time to learn about them and their members before making any decisions," Bolin says. "Being involved in the Greek system is a great way to strengthen your ties to the university, and to a group of people who have spent years together studying, socializing, working with the university and serving the community."

Although some of the sorority and fraternity houses were damaged by Hurricane Katrina, they will all be open for the spring, Bolin says.

Details on the National Panhellenic Council "Meet the Greeks" event will be released shortly, and the Delta Xi Nu Multicultural Sorority Inc. rush process begins soon. For more information about the process and ways to register for recruitment, go to: http://greek.tulane.edu/join.htm.