Along with the many recent Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council recruitment and bid activities, the Black Greek Council and the United Greek Council’s recruiting processes are also under way.

Although many of the practices and recruiting methods are similar to that of the Interfraternity and the Panhellenic councils, the United Greek and the Black Greek councils have more time to choose their potential new members because they recruit twice a year. The number of minority students on campus results in a smaller pool of potential new members and makes recruitment a challenge for both councils, said Lamark Ferguson, senior in LAS and vice president of Sigma Lamda Beta.

Ferguson works alongside his brothers to host events for potential new members. He said the most effective way to recruit is to stay in touch with the people they meet. He said that since the interest to pledge has declined a bit, they have had to put more effort into the process.

“Recruiting has changed a bit since I was pledging,” he said. “Things are still successful, but we have to focus a lot more on the recruiting process.”

Alpha Kappa Delta Phi faces the same challenges when it comes to recruitment. Its small size creates more work for the mostly Asian sorority. Although it has rush events, it also relies on word of mouth, Facebook and fliers. Amy Kim, senior in Business and former president of Alpha Kappa Delta Phi, said sometimes supporting other organizations helps show the unity of the United Greek Council.

“We try and support a lot of organizations,” she said. “We can show our support and expose ourselves to potential new members a lot better on a more personal basis.”

Members are recruited for the United Greek and Black Greek councils during both the fall and spring semesters. Information sessions after Quad Day seem to be the most effective way to get a chance to talk to potential new members, according to Osvaldo Torres, junior in LAS and president of United Greek Council. He said the way each chapter recruits is up to them, but almost all United Greek chapters’ activities take place at La Casa Cultural Latina or the Asian American Cultural Center.

“The recruiting never stops,” Torres said. “A lot of the chapter members are from underrepresented communities, so we are here to at least show the freshmen that they have many resources available to them.”

Black Greek Council chapters also rely heavily on information sessions and word of mouth. Formally, the meetings give a detailed description of what is expected from a potential recruit. Informally, people interested in Black Greek Council may simply talk to different fraternity members at their leisure. James Hunter, senior in Aviation and Kappa Alpha Psi member, said, “Interest varies with students now.”

“With all the activities to do on campus, sometimes pledging loses its value,” he said. “But we will accept anyone who wants to dedicate themselves to our brotherhood and show them we’re here for them.”

The United Greek Council will host an all-council information session called “Culturally Greek” on Friday in Room 314 at the Illini Union at 7:30 p.m.