The ceremonious run down Broadway Street has become a celebrated tradition for Tulane University Greek life. New members rip open their bid cards and flood the streets, ecstatic to arrive home for the first time. Tulane Panhellenic Council’s Primary Recruitment of 2024 left potential new members and sorority actives physically and emotionally exhausted, and one-third of 121 sorority members who responded to The Hullabaloo’s survey said they tested positive for influenza. 

Recruitment, also known as rush, is draining on both sides. Harsh cold weather, a flu outbreak and constant changes to the day-by-day schedule made this season grueling. Some sorority actives arrived at their chapter houses before 8 a.m. each consecutive day and rarely returned home before 9:30 p.m. Others required all members to remain at their house all day, sometimes outdoors in rare low temperatures. 

Between days, the rounds get longer, and fewer girls return to each house. While some PNMs can eat, rest and touch-up their makeup between rounds, others only have 21 minutes of travel time. Along with sorority actives, PNMs are consistently “on the floor,” requiring many young women to go for hours without food, bathroom breaks, rest and self-care. Admittedly, this is no different from how recruitment has always run, but the addition of the flu exacerbated the consequences. 

The Panhellenic Council strives to create a low-stress, safe environment during recruitment, but this year, they missed the mark, chiefly through managing sickness and influenza. Louisiana has had some of the highest flu cases in the U.S. This outbreak may have been further exacerbated by large gatherings of people out-of-state in the city before Tulane’s recruitment process, such as New Year’s Eve and the Sugar Bowl. The flu was bound to find its way to Tulane’s campus; however, how the outbreak was managed and contained could have been drastically different.

Five Panhellenic sororities — Alpha Epsilon Phi, Tri Delta, Kappa Alpha Theta, Chi Omega and Sigma Delta Tau — reported their diagnosis in the survey. The breakdown of over 120 responses from recruitment actives showed around 41% of the respondents tested positive for influenza after recruitment began. Almost 40% of respondents said they did not get tested for the flu but claimed they felt “very sick;” over 26% knew they had the “SRAT FLU,” the popular name for exhaustion, bronchitis and a combination of illnesses. 

According to the survey, when asked about the average number of meals actives received or ate daily during recruitment, over 33% said they only had one meal daily because there was no time to eat. An additional 33% of sorority actives said they simply lived off snacks during recruitment. Forty-four percent of respondents reported eating breakfast and dinner, but felt energy-deficient and nauseous midday without a meal. 

Sorority members who choose to temporarily disaffiliate from their sorority and become recruitment counselors are responsible for guiding PNMs through the process and helping them through the emotional hardships of the week. Astonishingly, Panhel provides RCs with three catered meals daily in the Lavin-Bernick Center and allows them daily breaks. A portion of each chapter’s dues directly support the Panhellenic Organization, and the foundation shows its commitment to its member’s health and safety, though it may miss the mark on nutrition. 

While recruitment likely catalyzed the spread of the flu between sororities, food inaccessibility inhibited a fast recovery even on Tulane’s campus. A member of Alpha Epsilon Phi said, “The Commons hours weren’t flexible toward recruitment. So, if there is a way to offer an alternative where you don’t have to buy every day,” active members would be less pressed for time and money regarding nutrition.

Additionally, Tulane’s campus had not yet reopened for the semester, and multiple food options were closed, even though 42% of students participate in Greek life on campus.

Whether it was a fear of being dropped by houses or being dropped by the entire process, PNMs felt they didn’t have a choice of whether to prioritize rush or their health. 

Tulane University’s Recruitment Rules state, “A PNM must attend all Recruitment events to which they have accepted invitations. In case of illness or emergency, the PNM shall notify the Panhellenic Recruitment Staff and/or their Recruitment Counselor. The Panhellenic Recruitment Staff shall inform the sororities involved.” PNMs who had the flu attended their events because they would be released from the process if they missed one of their houses. 

Recruitment chairs at sororities quickly made accommodations just 30 seconds before the start of the round. This exposed actives to sick PNMs, all forced to stand very close together, given the noise pollution and the number of people in the room. The game time solution for sick members was to sit on the couch or converse on the porch. 

Shockingly, Panhel did not use face masks, Zoom or any other safety precautions developed during the 2020 virtual recruitment. 

Tri Delta suffered greatly — actives began leaving the floor due to illness, and only half of their sorority members were standing by preference night. Executive members resorted to threatening conduct meetings if actives showed up sick on Bid Day. Still, girls were sent home, hoping to prevent the further spread of illnesses. Unfortunately, PNMs were not held to the same standards. After running home to Tri Delta on Bid Day, a PNM collapsed due to fatigue during the ceremony in the house. 

Ultimately, Bid Day was a big success and a sigh of relief. However, when the adrenaline from a day of overwhelming emotions wore off, most girls were exhausted and ill, with only one day before the start of the second semester.