With a new year comes new students, new organizations, and a lot of Potential New Members (PNMs). As is tradition in Stockton’s Greek community, every Greek-letter organization on campus gathered together in the Campus Center Event Room on Monday, September 16 for Meet the Greeks, where anyone interested in joining a fraternity or sorority could meet their potential new brotherhood or sisterhood.

This year, Meet the Greeks was a bit different than what students were used to. Instead of councils having certain sections throughout the room — College Panhellenic, National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), Professional Fraternity Council, Interfraternity Council, and United Cultural Greek Council (UCGC) — the tables were more of a mixed bag, offering a less isolated setup for the chapters and allowing students to see all the tables as they navigated through the room. PNMs were also given “passports” at the door, which had all the men’s or women’s organizations, including co-ed fraternities, so they could explore every one.

Mat Greer, the Associate Director for Fraternity and Sorority Life and a proud alumnus of Kappa Sigma, created the new system. Greer stated, “We implemented the passport system to create a more engaging and organized experience for attendees. Each student received a passport upon entry, which encouraged them to visit different Greek organizations’ tables and collect stickers. Once they filled their passport, they could exchange it for a raffle ticket, adding an element of fun while incentivizing participation. The goal behind this change was to provide a structured yet enjoyable way for students to explore Greek life, ensuring they had the opportunity to interact with as many organizations as possible, leading to meaningful conversations.”

Greer also informed that this year’s Meet the Greeks had a much larger turnout than anticipated. The Greek Council had prepared 150 sorority passports and 150 fraternity passports, but they wound up running out within the first 30 minutes. Some PNMs that did not have any passports received stickers on their hands as an alternative. “In total, 380 students attended the event, excluding fraternity and sorority members, making it one of the largest MTG events we’ve hosted,” Greer said. “To further enhance the experience, we limited the number of fraternity and sorority members at each table to five. This decision was aimed at preventing the event from being overwhelmed by affiliated members and ensuring a balanced and approachable environment for all attendees, regardless of chapter size. Overall, the passport system significantly improved the event by fostering participation and giving attendees a gamified, interactive way to learn about Greek life while keeping them engaged throughout the evening”.

Besides the passport system, the new layout made it easier for members to talk to larger groups of PNMs and easier for the guests to see all the fraternities and sororities on campus. With a mix of Panhellenic and UCGC sororities, the chapters received PNMs that wouldn’t normally approach their tables. It made for a more diverse crowd of PNMs and more recruitment opportunities for all the chapters on Stockton’s campus. At the end of the event, the Divine Nine of NPHC and some Latin sororities performed their traditional and unique Step and Stroll performances.

Jillian Reuter, the Vice President of Harm Reduction for Tri Sigma, was excited to start participating as an active member, having only been initiated in the spring of 2024. Tri Sigma is currently re-chartering with only 8 active members at the moment, five of them having joined last spring. While the members were nervous, Meet the Greeks was a great place for the members to start their experience in recruiting. “I felt that it was a great event for potential new members to meet all of the organizations,” Reuter commented. “At first I was a little nervous to recruit, but realized that PNMs are [just as nervous], so it was comforting knowing that. Overall, it was a very fun experience, and I can’t wait for the coming years!”

Aury Franco, a founding member of the newest sorority at Stockton, Omega Phi Beta, was very excited to start her recruiting experience at the sorority’s first Meet the Greeks. “I definitely think Meet The Greeks is a very good event for anyone that’s interested in Greek Life,” Franco stated. “It’s a chance for anyone interested to get to know every organization and what they have to offer. Being the first time for myself and my line sisters tabling at Meet the Greeks it went pretty well. Even though we were towards the back, we still did get a good amount of people stop by and get to know us. Overall, I think it’s a great event.”

Students interested in joining a fraternity or sorority can fill out this eligibility form and follow the organizations on Instagram, who can also be found at @stockton_greeks. Follow the councils at @stocktonpanhel (Panhellenic Conference), @stocktonnphc (Divine Nine), @stockton_ifc (Interfraternity Council), and/or @ucgc_stockton (Unified Cultural Greek Council). Professional co-ed fraternities are Alpha Phi Omega (@stocktonapo) and Delta Epsilon Mu (@dem_alphapi)– one can join a social fraternity or sorority and these professional fraternities simultaneously.

To be eligible for recruitment, students must have a minimum of 12 earned credits — excluding AP credits — and a minimum GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale, while also being in good academic and judicial standing. Freshman students cannot start the process until their second semester, but they have a chance to get to know all the fraternities or sororities in the fall so they seem more familiar by the time spring rolls around!