Collegiate Panhellenic Council at WCU’s Infographic about CPC Day #2 courtesy of Sydney Spivey, CPC Marketing Strategist at WCU.
Many organizations at WCU changed their strategies during COVID-19, and so did the members of WCU Greek society. CPC day is the main recruitment event this semester for sororities at Western Carolina, and this fall semester, they do it via zoom.
The day, under normal circumstances, would look like a sorority only party in the village. Now resembles a class lecture with Zoom meetings, breakout rooms, ice breakers and numerous GroupMe’s.
The Collegiate Panhellenic Council at Western Carolina, the governing body of WCU sororities, hosted their second and final fall “CPC Day” on Wednesday, Nov. 4, from 6 to 9 p.m. WCU’s first CPC day was held on Sept. 22. The five WCU CPC organizations: Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Xi Delta, Alpha Chi Omega, Delta Zeta, and Phi Mu participated in both of the events. Each organization had roughly 20 members on the Zoom call, as well as 10 CPC executive board members behind the scenes.
The National Panhellenic Conference, the governing body of CPC, has “forced sororities into virtual recruitment,” said Kayleigh Hand, CPC President at WCU. Due to the NPC ruling, CPC organizations were forced to develop innovative recruitment strategies to avoid a massive decline in new member enrollment while still following CDC, WCU, and NPC guidelines. Despite the drastic difference, CPC organizations are thrilled with new member turnout despite the pandemic with 58 potential new members signed up for CPC Day.
Hand had her concerns following the NPC decision about fall recruitment, but CPC Day numbers have come as a surprise. With 42 potential new members attending CPC Day 2, Hand and her executive council are pleasantly surprised and look forward to spring recruitment. Hand admits that formal recruitment, in the spring, typically carries 150 total new members. Hand attributes CPC Day’s success to the “most values-based recruitment we have ever had.”
Linda Carmody, better known as “LC,” is the Greek Life Director at WCU. Carmody’s main role, along with other administrators, is to “make sure all groups are following CDC and WCU guidelines.” Carmody agrees with Hand, saying, “all the superficial reasons that typically scare potential new members away are gone, and values-based recruitment has taken control.” Carmody believes the matching outfits, perfect hair, and glistening teeth can scare prospective candidates, so the online format pushes values-based recruitment to the forefront.
CPC Day begins with a Zoom general meeting hosted by the CPC executive board, introducing themselves like it is the first day of class. Each executive member stated their name, their position title, their major, their hometown, and an interesting fact about themselves. Before breaking into organizational Zoom meetings, Kennedy Reed, Panhellenic Vice President of Recruitment, closes the general meeting with a quick reminder about signing up for formal recruitment in the spring semester.
Following the general meeting, potential new members are assigned a sorority and log into their specified meeting. Once with their designated sorority, they are greeted by 20 sisters, listen to the sorority president introduce herself before watching their recruitment video. Each potential new member is assigned to a breakout room with about five sisters to engage in a more personal atmosphere. The recruit and assigned sisters will meet each other and discuss the basic information about the sorority for less than 15 minutes before closing remarks from the organization president. In total, the Zoom meeting lasts around 20 minutes per group before bringing in the next set of potential new members.
April Wivell, WCU freshman and potential new member, said that she enjoyed CPC Day and is still interested in joining Greek Life. Wivell said she wants to be a member of Greek Life because she “wants to do something outside her comfort zone and get involved on campus” and that she enjoyed talking to sisters from the different houses & learning what Greek Life has to offer.
Katie Hill, a member of Alpha Xi Delta sorority, says she “loves getting to know potential new members and encouraging individuals to join Greek Life.” Hill says the online format is not her favorite mode of communication because “it comes with technical difficulties, confusion and awkwardness.” Hill also says, “you miss out on the body language, which is an important factor when trying to connect with someone.”
WCU is expected to continue the hybrid format for the spring semester, likely leading CPC Days to an online format for the foreseeable future.
CPC spring recruitment link is officially open for sign-ups. The link can be found in the bio of WCU’s CPC Instagram page as well as many other CPC organized events. Also, check out the Greek Student Engagement and Development page for more information on Greek Life at WCU, as well as connect with the Greek Student Engagement and Development via ENGAGE to learn more.
