Fraternity recruitment transitioned from in-person rush to virtual-only for the Fall 2020 semester.

The announcement from WKU’s Department of Student Activities stems from administration fears of increased spread of COVID-19 from potential new members visiting each fraternity.

According to Andrew Rash, Greek Affairs Coordinator over 300 incoming freshmen signed up for recruitment, making it “one of the largest groups in years.”

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Rash has stressed keeping PNMs and fraternity members safe as a top priority.

With a successful online-only sorority recruitment happening just last week, Rash is looking to model fraternity recruitment in a similar way. Any technical difficulties via Zoom were solved by directly contacting the PNM via FaceTime, phone calls, or other methods.

According to the official IFC recruitment schedule, on Monday, PNMs met virtually half of the chapters, and the other half on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, PNMs listed their top five fraternities and met them again if the chapter shows interest as well.

Thursday was Pref Night in which each PNM will list their top three fraternities and begin narrowing it down to one. Finally, Friday will be an altered Bid Day with no mass gatherings and only selected representatives from each fraternity to assist PNMs in signing their bids.

If fraternities are caught violating COVID-19 guidelines they could be subject to disciplinary actions, according to Rash.

Fraternity members voiced their worries for online-only recruitment, but are staying optimistic.

Recruitment chairman for Phi Delta Theta, Brian Mazzoni, said the sudden shift was “stressful” but wants to keep energy and morale high as they recruit in unprecedented circumstances.

Zach Payne, Vice President of Recruitment for Sigma Phi Epsilon, emphasized getting to know each PNM, finding their common interests, and “gaining as much exposure for the fraternity” is vital in a Zoom setting.

Both Chairmen expressed how happy they were that recruitment was still proceeding and are excited to welcome a new pledge class.

Easton Reynolds can be reached at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @epdogg5000