After a year of limiting sorority rush to one term, the Panhellenic Council, the governing body of the College's sororities, is allowing the five houses that held rush in the fall to hold another round this term.
The sororities will each host one hour-long party the weekend of Jan. 14 - 15, but only upperclass women who did not rush last term may attend. Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority, which accepted members last spring through a sign-up process, will not be allowed to hold rush this term.
Before last year, sororities held rush both Winter and Spring terms but last year Panhell moved the process - and limited it - to Fall term, Panhell President Rachel Perri '94 said. This meant that the '95s who were off campus that term had to wait an entire year before they could rush.
"Following the change of policy last year, winter rush will be held to catch the people who have slipped through the cracks," Nicky Schmidt '94, the former president of Sigma Delta sorority said.
"We want to cater to the women who didn't get through in the last couple years. Sorority rush really was not fulfilling the needs of women on campus," she said.
Panhell sent letters this week to all unaffiliated upperclass women inviting them to rush. Women who turned down bids last term are not eligible to rush unless their bid was open.
Open bids are given by houses that did not fill their rush quotas to upperclass women who may or may not have rushed.
Women participating in rush this winter must rank the five houses in order of preference or they will be excluded from the bid process, the letter stated. All women will receive a bid from one of the houses that they must accept, even if it is from their fifth choice, it continued.
"In this way every woman who chooses to rush will be guaranteed a place in one of the five houses rushing this winter," the letter stated.
Panhell has not yet decided the number of bids each house will be allowed, but houses who did not meet their quotas in the fall will be able to accept more members this term than houses that were filled.
Usually the number of bids given to each house is determined by the number of women rushing. But Panhell will not know the numbers for this term until registration, which is scheduled for Jan. 10.
