As the spring semester gets underway, so has recruitment for many of Tech’s student organizations.
This includes Ramblin’ Reck Club, Student Center Programs Council (SCPC), Greek Life and SMILE. Ramblin’ Reck Club is one of Tech’s oldest and most revered clubs on campus.
Its founding reflects its mission.
“We were founded in 1930, so as you can imagine, the entire world was pretty sad at the time,” said Whitney Miller, fifth-year ECON major and the 2021 Reck Club Membership Chair. “The head football coach at the time looked for a group of enthusiastic students to bring the campus morale up, which is why we say we’ve been spreading joy since 1930. That’s, at our core, what we wanted to do.”
The centerpiece of the club and one of many symbols of Tech, the Ramblin’ Wreck, is one of an abundance of opportunities the club has to bring spirit to campus.
The club hosts student experiences, plans Homecoming, attends sporting events and is active in a multitude of other ways to bring smiles to the faces of otherwise stressed students.
Because Ramblin’ Reck Club has such a crucial duty on campus, their recruitment and selection process is intensive and selective.
“Because we are such a small and intimate club, it’d be a little weird to just have an application and pick people,” Miller said. “We are looking for such a weird niche of enthusiastic Tech students, our process looks for a person and not just what they are on paper.”
Once a prospective member fills out their application, a series of socials and interviews take place to get to know the applicant. The club has an extremely holistic review process, but the general trait the organization is seeking is genuine passion for Tech.
“A common misconception is that you have to be an expert on traditions, history and Reck Club to apply for Reck Club, and that’s not necessarily true,” Miller said. “We’re more about enthusiasm and how excited you are to learn more than what you already know coming into the process.”
The application can be accessed at reckclub.org and is due by midnight on Friday, Jan. 29. Applicants with any questions can contact Miller at [email protected].
Another organization on campus responsible for shaping campus life is SCPC, who plans a variety of different events around campus and Atlanta, including Midnight Breakfast and Ramble In. While the application deadline for SCPC has already passed, recruitment usually occurs at the beginning of each semester.
The deadline has also passed for the Interfraternity Council (IFC) rush week, but the Continuous Open Bidding (COB) process is still open for the Collegiate Panhellenic Council (CPC), which will accept new sorority recruits on a rolling basis throughout the semester.
Unlike previous Spring semesters, all eight CPC chapters, as well as two associate chapters are recruiting for membership.
The interest form for COB can be found at gatechcpc.com.
SMILE, a relatively new student organization, is responsible for uplifting the mood around campus through love notes, painted pumpkins, goodie bags and staff appreciation.
Their application is also rolling and can be accessed via their Facebook or Instagram, @SMILE.gatech.
With the long list of student organizations, only a fraction of whom even have a recruitment or application process, every student at Tech is guaranteed to find their place and people on campus.
Recruitment for the fall will also be quickly approaching, so students can keep an eye out for organizations they are interested in joining.