Kent State women will be going through recruitment in search of sisterhood and their home away from home until Sept. 20.

Approximately 600 women will go through recruitment, said Dana Palumbo, the vice president of risk management and reduction on the Panhellenic Council.

The process lasts for seven days and each day includes different rounds the women have to go through in a formal manner.

The first three rounds of recruitment are the philanthropy rounds. This gives the women a sense of which chapter they might be interested in. The decision is based on the potential new members morals, values and personalities.

During this time the women are able to speak to members in all seven chapters, for roughly 30 minutes, getting a feel of what the house offers to each individual.

“I love the process and was hesitant at first about going through recruitment, but it’s organized and you’re going through with unbiased opinions of the current members,” said Mackenzie Sleigh, a current member of Delta Zeta and a sophomore speech pathology and audiology major.

As the potential new members are speaking to the current house members in different sororities they learn about the houses philanthropies, finances and may even include fun facts.

House tours are on Friday, and the women will be able to tour four houses.

“The girls get to learn what it’s like living in the houses and it is focused on a lot about sisterhood,” Sleigh said. “This round is my favorite because it is so cool to see different houses and it becomes clearer to the women going through recruitment which chapter will be their future home.”

Preference round is the second to last event women participate in and are able to rank each house based on their experiences and where they can see themselves belonging.

“The max you’ll get invited back to is two different chapters,” Palumbo said. “This is the day the chapters sell themselves onto you. It’s about an hour long and this gives the idea to the potential new member if they can see themselves being part of that chapter.”

The last day of recruitment is Bid Day, a social event where women meet on the student green or in the ballroom, depending on weather conditions, and find out what house they will be part of.

Freshman fashion merchandise student, Mikaela Melso, is going through recruitment for the first time and being a student that is from out-of-state, she said this will be a good way to make new friends.

“I really am excited about the sisterhood and girls that I can get along with,” Melso said. “I think that will help a lot with getting through school, having people I can relate to.”

Kayla Sturm is the greek life reporter for The Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].