Sorority recruitment is an intense and emotional time on campus, characterized by long days and stressful decisions. However, this year’s recruitment brought unexpected challenges to participants: limited access to food.  

This year, Tulane University’s Malkin Sacks Commons required students to pay a $10 door fee to enter before Jan. 10, even if they had a meal plan. The policy stipulated that for students participating in recruitment, the fee ended on Jan. 7 and their meal swipes were reactivated.  

Information about the door rate was made public on Jan. 6, when the Instagram account @tulanehospitality advertised that there was a “door rate of $10,” which could be paid with credit, debit or WaveBucks and that meal swipes would be active on Jan. 10.  

According to Jadii Joseph, Tulane Dining Services director of dining operations, Panhellenic participants were able to use their meal swipes starting on the first day of recruitment, Jan. 7. He said this date was decided based on dates provided by the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Programs.  

However, the Instagram post did not clarify that Panhellenic participants could use their meal swipes starting Jan. 7. Additionally, many students were not aware of the fee prior to arriving for recruitment. 

Tulane University Campus Dining made the $10 fee known through signage around campus.  

Confusion over this policy led some recruitment participants to avoid the Commons entirely as they did not know they could use their meal swipes from Jan. 7-10. 

Freshman Caroline Cunningham said she and some of her friends were unable to use their meal swipes to access the Commons during recruitment, but she knows others were able to use their meal plans.  

“I had assumed, when I got back to college, that my dining hall plan would carry over into the new year. … When I tried scanning my card, I was told that my card wasn’t working.” Cunningham said. 

Unable to use her meal swipes, Cunningham had to pay the $10 door fee. She estimates that at least five of her friends experienced the same issue that day.  

The next day, Cunningham was informed by a friend that everyone experiencing the issue now had six meal swipes to use for the week. 

“I think if I had known [that I would run into issues], I probably would have just tried to make more plans to get more groceries before the week started,” Cunningham said. “I don’t think I would have been deterred [from recruitment], but it could possibly have been a [deterring] factor for another person.” 

While students viewed the fee as a financial obstacle, the university described it as a temporary measure to allow access before meal swipes became active for the spring semester.  

“The $10 door rate was intended to allow students easier access to the Commons before meal swipes were activated university-wide on January 10,” said Tulane spokesperson Michael Strecker in a statement to The Hullabaloo.  

“I think we should make rush accessible for everyone and I think a big reason people don’t join sororities is because it’s not affordable for them,” sophomore member of Greek life Aaliya Weheliye said. “You have an obligation to feed people when they’re paying your tuition.” 

Sophomore Greek life member Ava Kay Kuruzovich said the door fee surprised her and recounted that many participants discussed struggles to access sufficient food during recruitment. Potential new members participating in recruitment are already required to pay a $60 registration fee. 

“Lots of the potential new members [told me the fee] was really discouraging because they had houses all day and didn’t have time to go to the grocery store so they were just eating granola bars in their room instead of full meals,” Kuruzovich said. 

Additionally, active members of Greek life had to be on campus starting Jan. 4 for “work week,” the period sororities use to prepare for recruitment. The Commons was not open during work week, so many students had to find alternative food options. 

 “It was really difficult to get food at an affordable rate because I don’t have a car on campus, and we had to basically Uber Eats everything,” sophomore Greek life member Molly Plunkett said. “I spent more money in those three days than I think I have on Uber Eats in a semester.”  

Moving forward, Campus Dining plans to post information about the dining plans start and end dates on their website and social media accounts.