With a new women’s club in the mix, women’s pledge class numbers have decreased per club, but increased overall.
Since its recharter, Tri Kappa Gamma has accepted a class of 41 pledges, adding six women’s clubs to the list. Moreover, Zeta Rho is not participating this semester because of a lack of pledges.
Ali Rakestraw, president of Alpha Kai Omega, said a sixth club was needed.
“I thought we’d get a few more pledges, but with TKG we didn’t know how many we’d get,” said Rakestraw, senior biology pre-med major from Longmont. “But I’m glad they’re here now because we needed it with so many girls.”
Mark Jackson, director of student organizations and programs, said he thinks the new club is doing well considering its novelty.
Last year, three women’s clubs took more than 65 pledges, but this year, no club had more that 59 pledges. Overall, the amount of women pledging increased to 256 from 253.
This semester, Alpha Kai Omega has 43 pledges, GATA has 54, Ko Jo Kai has 59 and Sigma Theta Chi has 58.
Men’s pledge numbers increased from last year with a total of 163. Frater Sodalis has 10 pledges this year, Galaxy has 46, Gamma Sigma Phi has 53, Pi Kappa has 10, Sub T-16 has 18 and Trojans have 16.
Spencer Woolfolk, president of Galaxy, said his club was expecting a larger pledge class than previous years. Usually, Galaxy’s pledge class is made up of 25-40 students.
“We anticipate having a larger than usual pledge class, but that has never been our focus,” said Woolfolk, senior marketing major from San Antonio. “We care about the quality of our men rather than the quantity. This year, there are a large number of men who believe in our ideals and are great fits for Galaxy.”
Overall, five clubs received at least 40 pledges.
Aside from the new addition to the list of clubs, there are no major changes to the pledging process and should look similar to last year, Jackson said.
One difference, though, is that clubs can have honorary members of the opposite sex, but they cannot be actual members.
Bid night began Friday night, and pledging began Monday morning. New members will get into their respective clubs shortly after Homecoming.
