A fraternity is a group of men or women bound together by friendship, brotherhood or sisterhood, and common goals and aspirations. Women’s fraternities are most often referred to as sororities. Though there are many different fraternities and sororities, they all share common founding principles that are of interest to any college student. Fraternities endeavor to enhance your educational experience by emphasizing intellectual, interpersonal, and social development. The ideals of lifelong friendship, sound education, campus and community service, and social interaction are what fraternity and sorority members strive to live by every day.
Joining a fraternity or sorority not only provides individuals with a home away from home at New Mexico State University (NMSU), but it also enhances an individual’s overall experience. Each fraternity and sorority at NMSU provide forms of scholastic support, facilitates the development of leadership skills, and encourages members to care about their surrounding communities.
Hollywood rarely portrays an accurate depiction of the world, especially when it comes to college social activities. Although fraternities and sororities do hold social events, most of these do not include alcohol. Today's fraternity and sorority communities across the nation have adopted a stringent approach to socializing, thereby creating a safer, more beneficial environment for its members. There are strict guidelines and procedures about alcohol availability at chapter events enforced by the (inter)national organizations, the University, and by internal chapter standards.
Each fraternity and sorority have varying criteria for membership that traditionally includes GPA and academic expectations. For individuals to be eligible for Panhellenic (Sorority) Recruitment, they must be a regularly enrolled, full-time student (12 or more credit hours) on NMSU’s Las Cruces (Main Campus). For individuals to be eligible for Interfraternity Council (Fraternity) Recruitment, they must be a full-time student (12 or more credit hours) on NMSU’s Las Cruces (Main Campus) and they must have at least a 2.500 GPA.
The time commitment for joining a fraternity or sorority is dependent on the individual member and their level of involvement in their organization. Typically, each chapter has weekly meetings, brotherhood or sisterhood events, educational and social programming, and philanthropy opportunities throughout the academic year.
Annual membership dues vary from approximately $200 to $4,500. These costs are used to pay for the upkeep of a chapter house or lodge, philanthropy events, scholarships, intramurals, and the dozens of social and community events offered.
Fraternity and Sorority Life at NMSU consists of 13 (inter)national organizations which include 8 fraternities and 5 sororities. The fraternities within NMSU’s Interfraternity Council (IFC) are Alpha Gamma Rho, Alpha Tau Omega, FarmHouse, Lambda Chi Alpha, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Chi, Tau Kappa Epsilon, and Theta Chi. You can use this link to further explore the fraternities on campus: https://studentlife.nmsu.edu/fsl/interfraternity.html.
Additionally, the sororities within NMSU’s Panhellenic Council are Alpha Xi Delta, Chi Omega, Delta Gamma, Delta Zeta and Zeta Tau Alpha. You can use this link to further explore the sororities on campus: https://studentlife.nmsu.edu/fsl/panhellic-council.html.
Panhellenic traditionally holds a primary recruitment at the beginning of each fall semester. The formal process allows for potential new members to explore each of the Panhellenic chapters on campus. For the Fall 2023 semester, Panhellenic recruitment will take place from August 25th-28th. In addition to primary recruitment in fall semesters, some Panhellenic chapters can participate in an informal recruitment in the spring semester.
The Interfraternity Council (IFC) holds an informal recruitment at the beginning of each fall and spring semester to which each chapter coordinates their own events. For the Fall 2023 semester, IFC recruitment will be held from August 28th-September 1st.
No, you are not required to join a chapter by merely taking part in Recruitment. Recruitment is a time to see what fraternity or sorority life can offer you. Going to open events, recruitment functions, or registering for recruitment does not commit you to joining a fraternity or sorority.
Bid Day is when you pick up your invitation to join a fraternity or sorority. For primary recruitment, the sororities utilize a mutual selection process where interested women indicate, in order, the organizations they are interested in joining and the organizations choose the women they are most interested in having as members. The selections are then matched. Women receive their bid (invitation to join) on the last day of the recruitment process.
The men’s fraternities use an open bid process where an interested student may receive a bid from more than one fraternity. Bid Day comes at the conclusion of recruitment each semester. If you get more than one bid, this setting gives you a chance to make your informed choice with no pressure. There are also staff present to answer any questions you might have.
If you are interested in participating in Panhellenic Recruitment to potentially join a sorority on campus, you can register for Recruitment by using this link: https://enroll.icsrecruiter.com/pan/nmstun#!/enroll/enrollment-disclaimer. Potential New Member (PNM) Orientation programming will occur during the week of Recruitment so you can have a better understanding of the recruitment process.
If you are interested in participating in IFC Recruitment to potentially join a fraternity on campus, you can complete the IFC Recruitment Form: https://crimsonconnection.nmsu.edu/submitter/form/start/597968. When you complete this Form, your information will be provided to the chapters on campus if you are eligible to participate in Recruitment.
Research shows that students who get involved in at least one group their first semester perform better academically. Even if you are worried about your classes, it is worth finding a group to connect with outside academics.
If you’re not sure which group to join or how to start thinking about getting involved, we usually recommend that during your time in school, you should try to get involved in at least 3 different types of groups – one that is academic or connected to your major or professional skills that will serve your future career, one that is service-based since we all benefit from serving those around us, and one that is purely for fun.
The individual Panhellenic and IFC chapters on campus elect officers to manage the organization’s operations. The officers are assisted by alumni of their chapter who volunteer as advisors. Along with elected officers, each chapter reports to their (inter)national organizations for additional support and guidance
At NMSU, the Fraternity and Sorority Life Coordinator serves as the primary contact to all Fraternities and Sororities on campus. You can use this link to access their contact information: https://studentlife.nmsu.edu/silp/contact-us.html.
A great first step is sitting down with your son or daughter and researching all the organizations available for them to join at NMSU. Along with using information provided by NMSU, you can review information provided by local chapters and their national websites.
