What does it mean to Rho Gam? Rho Gammas — also known as “Panhellenic recruitment counselors” — are upperclass members of sororities at Dartmouth selected to guide students through the recruitment process. Rho Gams have to complete required courses designed to strengthen leadership skills and understand the underclassmen community they serve. These trainings are overseen by the Office of Greek Life and Student Societies, who also provide in-person training for Rho Gams, according to the Dartmouth College website.
As a first-year student, I am relatively unfamiliar with the rush process beyond public pledge tasks around campus, such as new members donning cowboy hats or chokers. However, much more goes into the process of sorting potential new members in houses. Much of it has to do with the upperclassmen that volunteer to guide underclassmen along.
Emma Cory ’26 first took upon the role as a Rho Gam during the winter term of her junior year. Cory said Rho Gams get assigned “10-12 potential new members” and are “expected to fully disaffiliate from [their] house” as part of the role.
PNMs “feel like they can come to you with any of their concerns or questions,” she said. “You basically just guide them through the process and make sure that they’re following all the rules.”
A majority of Dartmouth students are familiar with the terms “touse” and “bouse,” shorthand for “top house” and “bottom house.” This can create a biased atmosphere which encourages or discourages potential new members from rushing specific houses. Rachel Pontes ’26, a member of Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority and a Rho Gam this winter, said these misconceptions and biases makes Rho Gams especially important.
Rho Gams “provide an impartial view of where [a PNM] would best fit in and where they would be happy without hopefully adding bias of their own affiliation,” Pontes said.
Cory added that the role involves providing “mental and emotional support” to PNMs.
“I think that rush can be a brutal process and not a lot of fun,” Cory said. Rho Gams “provide support and make it as positive of an experience as it can be, providing perspectives you wouldn’t have when you’re rushing but might have as someone who’s been affiliated for a year or two.”
Marit Uyham ’27, who was a Rho Gam her junior fall, said the role involves a “busy couple of weeks.”
“You’re committing to the rush process for one or two weeks,” Uyham said. “But I think it’s incredibly rewarding to help guide PNMs … towards joining a sorority that they really find a home in.”
While a majority of students rush during the fall term, sorority rush also takes place during the winter term.
Uyham noted, however, that as a Rho Gam, she gave different advice during winter rush.
“We give our PNMs a lot of advice that they might not [know],” Uyham said. “The big one for winter is to tell them to dress warmly, wear shoes where they can walk around campus in, be careful not to slip on the ice, things like that.”
Cory, on the other hand, said there is “more anxiety” during winter rush compared to fall term, where “more people get a house.”
She said one of the challenges of being a Rho Gam is to “push back against the stereotypes” of sororities on campus.
“I think that there are a lot of stereotypes and perceptions about Greek spaces on campus that people develop from interacting with them … and having friends in certain spaces,” she said. “It can really influence people’s decisions about where they would like to rush or end up.”
Cory added that it’s important to “encourage people to [have] an open mind.”
“I think that a challenge of that is sort of helping people reorient themselves when things don’t go the way they’re expecting,” Cory said. “Because at the end of the day all sororities are basically the same — just a group of people with similar interests who like hanging out together.”
Uyham said her most memorable moment from being a Rho Gam was “the last day of rush.”
“We help hand out bids,” Uyham said. “Usually that’s a handwritten note from a sorority to a new member and I think that’s really exciting after a week or two of the busy rush process to see it come to an end in such a nice way.”
Pontes, who was a Rho Gam for the first time this winter, said that while she enjoyed Rho Gamming, she felt that welcoming PNMs within her Greek space was still valuable.
“I feel like it’s more fun to meet people that might be in the house and get to know potential KDEs,” Pontes said. “So I’ve always kind of chosen [to participate in rush with my house] because I feel like it’s just a good way to meet new faces.”
Uyham, on the other hand, said that she “would love to be a [Rho Gam] again.”
“I’ve had a really wonderful experience being Rho Gam in the past two terms,” she said. “I really appreciate having the opportunity from the Inter-Sorority Council to be involved in that [capacity].”
